Grassroots sports club rewards program returns

THE Transport Accident Commission (TAC) will give thousands of football and netball clubs across Victoria the opportunity to take home up to $10,000 for kicking road safety goals this season.

Entering its fourth year, the TAC Club Rewards Program is a key feature of the TAC’s 32-year partnership with AFL Victoria and will once again encourage local clubs to come up with their own ways of promoting road safety.

Clubs may choose to provide non-alcoholic beers at events, showcase posters around the club to encourage drivers to drive distraction free or come up with other unique ways of addressing road safety.

To date, there has been six fatal crashes in the City of Greater Geelong, while more broadly, 13 crashes in the Barwon South West region, up from 10 this time last year.

TAC’s Head of Road Safety Samantha Cockfield said the TAC Club Rewards Program would encourage people within sporting clubs to start to have more conversations about the dangers of distracted driving.

“Too many people have died on our roads this year, and we know that distracted driving is a key and prevalent issue among young to middle-aged drivers, thousands of whom spend many hours at local sporting clubs every week.

“Victoria’s football and netball clubs are often at the heart of their communities and prioritising road safety within local clubs could be the reason someone gets home safely, instead of a tragic alternative.”

Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne said the TAC’s partnership with AFL Victoria continued to provide an invaluable link with thousands of communities across the state who travel for their sport each week.

“Victoria’s grassroots football and netball clubs have strong community connections and a culture of looking out for their teammates.

“This partnership allows us to reward clubs that proactively promote road safety throughout the season, injecting much-needed support for club initiatives, while they help to keep our roads safe.”

Head of AFL Victoria Ben Kavanagh also threw his support behind the road safety rewards program, citing that “footballers can cover hundreds of kilometres on the roads every year… so road safety is something that we all need to be thinking about.”

Since its inception, the TAC Club Rewards Program has provided more than $2.3 million to hundreds of Victorian football and netball clubs.

The program has assisted with a range of initiatives, including facility improvements, the purchase of new equipment, training for members and offering safe transport from club events.