Vikings mark half-century of victory

IN 1972, nine junior boys turned up to the first training session of the brand-new Sebastopol Youth Club Soccer Team.

This squad was the seed that grew the Sebastopol Vikings Football Club, and this week, their 250-strong member community are celebrating 50 years of the sporting organisation.

President of 10 years Rod Oppenhuis has been a Viking for more than two decades, and is approaching 500 games with the club.

With five senior men’s teams, a senior women’s side, and juniors from under-eights to under-17, he said the blue-and-gold group has been a gamechanger within the Ballarat soccer scene.

“Not only have we got local juniors of all levels of ability, but since 2013, we’ve had seniors playing local and state-level football if they’re strong enough,” he said.

“Other clubs are now following this model, but we were the first to challenge the players and do it. We’ve got all levels of ability covered, which is unique to the club.”

Some of the Vikings’ big milestone moments include State League promotions in 2015 and 2017, and the senior men, senior women, and reserve men all winning the league-cup double, also in 2017.

The Vikings’ home pitch was originally gifted to the club by the former Borough of Sebastopol, and Mr Oppenhuis said State and local governments have recently funded about $2.1 million of upgrades to the facility.

“We’ve got two main pitches at St Georges Reserve now, the lights, clubrooms, and all the infrastructure we need,” he said.

“We aim to create an atmosphere that makes people want to come and join us. We never knock anyone back, keep our fees low with the support of sponsors and fundraising events, and are a very social club, which fosters friendships and encourages people to stay.

“We’re getting players from all over Ballarat. Generally, players that come here don’t leave, so that’s a great sign that things are going well.”

A 50th anniversary gala dinner was held at the clubrooms to mark the occasion last Saturday night.