February 26, 2016
The Murgon Judo Club has become the first judo club in Queensland to be graded as a Level 3 Good Sports Club – the highest level any club can attain.
On Thursday night, Cr Kathy Duff paid a visit to the club to present sensei Stan Munday and other club officials with their Level 3 certificate.
The Good Sports program is run by the Australian Drug Foundation, and it aims to reduce the likelihood of risky drinking and/or alcohol-related harm to sports club members.
Good Sports is the only community sports program in the world that has been proven to reduce harm from alcohol, and thousands of Australian sporting clubs have signed up for it.
In order to gain Level 3 accreditation, the club needed to have two RSA-accredited members – even though it doesn’t serve alcohol at training nights or functions – but it only had one.
So Barry Pratt from the Murgon Bowls Club, who has the necessary RSA accreditation, joined as an associate member to help the judo club get over the line.
“We really need to thank Barry for doing this for us,” Stan said.
“Children need sport, and sports should lead by example to help reinforce the right messages about food, alcohol and drugs.
“This is where the Good Sports program plays such an important role.”
The judo club also recently received a grant from the State Government’s Get Going Clubs program to buy some extra equipment, but the delay between putting in their application and getting final approval caused a few unexpected problems.
“We were scared when we found our original quote was no longer valid and a new quote came in an extra $400 higher,” Stan said.
“This really worried me.
“But our suppliers Hart Sport gave us a 15 per cent voucher, which saved our bacon, and I really must thank them too.”
The club’s final order was placed this week, and will be delivered in due course.
