EIGHT of the Hampden football league’s 10 clubs will participate in a revamped pre-season competition in March.
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The Hampden Football Netball League announced South Warrnambool’s Friendly Societies’ Park as the venue for the March 28 event.
But chief executive officer Mike Farrow said Warrnambool and Terang Mortlake would not feature in the football matches because of pre-existing practice match commitments. After initially hoping the Bloods could reschedule their practice match to play in the event, Farrow said those efforts had failed.
The league, after consultation with clubs, has now set a permanent date for the pre-season launch to make it easier for clubs to schedule their own practice matches.
He said the league would hold the event four weeks before the start of the season each year.
Farrow said the league had decided to turn the event into a season’s launch, rather than just be a lightning premiership-style competition.
He said clubs would not be competing for prizemoney, instead they would play two opponents in matches of two halves.
“It is effectively a full- on practice match for each club,” he said.
Funds from the day’s sponsor, Boag’s Draught, would be distributed to clubs rather than just a winner and second placegetter.
The league is also set to give the day a family-friendly focus with children’s entertainment.
Farrow said sponsors would be invited to attend and given the option of displaying products as part of the changed nature of the event.
He said the decision to move the event to the Friendly Societies’ Park, instead of Port Fairy’s Gardens Oval, was designed to maximise spectator and sponsor attendances.
The league was forced to move last year’s competition from Port Fairy to the Friendly Societies’ Park because the Gardens Oval surface was deemed unsafe for play after top-soil containing rocks was spread across parts of the ground. Farrow said the decision to switch it away from Port Fairy had nothing to do with last year.
“The majority of the league’s sponsors are in Warrnambool,” he said.
“It’s no reflection on Port Fairy at all.”
The netball pre-season competition will also be held at the Friendly Societies’ Park on the same day.
