Sacred Heart Girls' College
My netball dream is...
On behalf of the Sacred Heart Girls’ College Netball community, I would like to apply for a grant through the ANZ ‘Dream Big’ Scheme.
Sacred Heart is a catholic girls’ school in Central New Plymouth. There are currently 700 students on the roll and Netball is our most popular sport. This year there are 25 netball teams participating in the local Saturday competition. Our Senior A team participates in the Taranaki Premier 2 competition against other adults and performs exceptionally well. We also have a number of Taranaki age group representative players. This is considerable considering our low numbers compared to the other two schools for girls in New Plymouth.
Netball facilities at our school only include 3 asphalt courts and an Events Centre which has one indoor court. Our courts are used heavily throughout the winter season for practices and many games. When the school was established in 1965 the court area was laid down. In early 2000’s, the Events Centre was built on the site of three more netball courts. Heavy transport caused damage to the other courts but they were only patch repaired. The court area has never been updated since. As you know asphalt is not good for the body with bare skin. Revamping these courts is vital we want to continue to be strong and to benefit our netball community.
Our courts are in need of immediate repair or replacement. The community was consulted in 2014 through a survey. The respondents included players, coaches, managers, referees and even parents not involved in sport. There was an overwhelming majority to turf this area with all-weather multipurpose turf. The Board of Trustees and Mission College Trust Board is supportive of this action and are prepared to put in $80,000.00. We are expected to get grants, fundraise and seek sponsorship from our school community to cover the shortfall.
By turfing this area, it would enable the courts to be multi-purpose and could be used for Netball, Basketball, Hockey, Tennis, Volleyball, Football and Cricket. Putting in lights would further enhance the usability of these courts after dusk. Having adequate facilities for players, coaches and umpires and their development is important to us at Sacred Heart. Three years ago our lunchtime was reduced to 50 minutes from one hour making it harder to have worthwhile practices at lunchtime. With more practices required after school, we are running out of day light hours to have them all completed. Having a well-lit turfed area would be very beneficial.
We have had quotes done to turf and light this area and it does not come cheap. Approximate costs for restructuring and resurfacing would be $200,650,00 + gst and approximate lighting costs would be $90,000.00.
Any funds received would be greatly appreciated and would go towards a great cause. Thank you for your time in considering our application.
Melissa Seddon
DIRECTOR OR SPORT
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If you, your team, club or school need ANZ's help to bring your netball dreams to life then apply here