HELP FOR NETBALL MANUREWA
Community benefits from upgrade
NZCT exists to fund amateur sport. We’re keen for all Kiwis to have access to sport and for sporting organisations to have the equipment, coaching and infrastructure they need to run sports in local communities. So, when we were approached by Netball Manurewa for financial assistance upgrading their netball centre, we knew we wanted to be involved. In the end, thanks to our Auckland publicans, NZCT was able to contribute $75,000 towards the centre. Kay McIntryre, who is managing the project, says NZCT’s help is greatly appreciated.
“The netball centre is a fantastic community asset and is well used by many different groups,” says Kay. “However, the netball courts themselves were in desperate need of an upgrade, and the building was struggling to cope with the volumes of people using it.
“The netball centre was originally built in 1985,” she says. “It’s in a central location and is a very popular meeting place for people from this low socio-economic area. We decided that best option for the community was to upgrade and extend the existing facilities,” she says. “So we’re embarking on a three stage, three year project to bring the netball centre into the 21st century.”
Kay says the stage one work, which started last September, is progressing well. The amenity area on the eastern side of the original building has been demolished and rebuilt on the northern side. The new building includes a first aid room, toilets, officials’ and administrators’ offices – as well as a kitchen, café and seminar meeting room.
“We’re now in the middle of the fit-out,” says Kay. “The building work is nearly finished and we’ll be using the centre as it is this season. Stage two of the upgrade involves adding a new toilet block and an equipment storage facility on the eastern side of the complex, and re-cladding and installing floodlights amongst other things. But this won’t start until January 2012.
“We also want to increase the size of the indoor netball court. Currently the run-off area around the court isn’t big enough to comply with Netball New Zealand’s safety standards, which means we can’t host any NPC games without seeking dispensation first,” she says. “There are no indoor netball courts in the Counties Manukau area that meet this standard – so we are keen to be the first centre to get it. That would help us secure national provincial matches and attract larger crowds to see their home team in action.”
Kay points out that the netball centre is used extensively by the local Pacific Island community for large family and cultural gatherings. And she says that many other sports and community groups use the centre too.
“In addition to the 900 netball players who use the centre, the facilities are also used for badminton, karate, volleyball and by two church groups,” says Kay. “Often an entire family can be involved in different activities at the centre. It’s really nice – this is definitely is an important community asset.”
