E-bike vandalism damages South Tweed Junior Rugby League club’s main field

SOUTH Tweed Junior Rugby League club (JRL) says recent vandalism involving youths on e-bikes has caused significant damage to its main field, impacting its recovery from recent wet weather and forcing last weekend’s games to be relocated to its other fields – prompting concerns about potential financial losses.

Club president Adam Keevers said volunteers arrived on the morning of 15 May to find the main playing surface damaged following an incident on the evening of 14 May.

He said heavy rain had left the field vulnerable, and the damage had created deep ruts and holes across the surface, leaving parts of the field out of action.

“The other two fields are fine, but yeah our main field out the front of our clubhouse, we’re not able to use,” he said.

With the main field closed, the club was forced to move the weekend fixtures on 22 and 23 of May to its other fields, further from the canteen, reducing match-day foot traffic and impacting revenue.

“There’s some pretty serious damage on the main field and so now we’re putting the kids out on the field that’s a worse field,” Keevers said, speaking on the evening of 22 May.

“When we have kids on the main field then the parents are right next to the canteen, they’re spending more money because the canteen is right there.”

Keevers said the canteen is a key income source for the club.

“Where the field is now, they’re away from the canteen – it’s out of sight out of mind and for a small junior club like ours, the canteen revenue’s massive for us,” he said.

 

“We only have six or seven home games a year, so even if that happens twice and you cut our canteen revenue in half, that’s a massive hit to our funds.”

He said the main field, located near the clubhouse, would take time to recover and require new turf work in damaged sections.

“Who knows how long it’s going to take,” he said.

“The council have put in some new grass in the big holes where they’ve just put their wheels in it and just spun their wheels digging up these massive holes.”

“That takes time to grow in.”

Keevers said the issue was not isolated, claiming similar incidents had been occurring alongside the rise in popularity of e-bikes in the area.

“Just driving down the streets now you run into multiple kids who are on their e-bikes doing wheelies down the main road,” he said.

“It’s pretty much coincided with the rise of e-bikes and the rise of the damage… just the blatant vandalism that is happening to our fields.”

In an effort to curb the behaviour, Keevers said the club had sent out communication to parents and carers of registered players warning that any kids part of the club caught riding e-bikes on the fields will face suspension from the following game.

But he said the main concern was youths not registered at the club.

“That being said, I don’t think there’s any kids who are registered at the club who are doing damage,” he said.

 

“It’s the kids who don’t understand what this space means to the community, especially our little community, that are doing the major part of the damage,” he said.

In response, the club, alongside other local clubs, is considering stronger preventative measures at the site, including fencing, but Keevers said enclosing the grounds would change how the community uses the space.

“It’s at the point now where between us, Touch and potentially cricket, are thinking about spending money out of our own bank accounts, like out of our own committee…we’ve built up these funds who use towards the footy club, the touch club, the cricket club…we’re considering going to the council and saying we will pay for a fence that is going to fully enclose the ground, but then what that does, that closes it off to the everyday community…” he said.

Keevers said the club remains a vital community hub for local children.

“It gives young kids a purpose,” he said.

“Every day when they’re at school, they’re looking forward to training that afternoon, their game on the weekend.”

Keevers added that these acts of vandalism are hindering the positive experiences provided by local sport.

“These kids only get very few opportunities throughout the year to practice and play the sport they love, and yeah these kids are just flat out taking it away from them,” he said.