A sporting club in a country town is so much more than a place for fitness and a bit of friendly competition — it’s the heart and soul of the town and a big part of the community. On the Eyre Peninsula, the history of the Cleve Sporting Bodies Club has meant a rollercoaster of emotions for its people. We caught up with the ex-president of the club, Kelly Richardson, for the story…
“The original two-storey club rooms were built back in the mid-seventies and many familiar faces from the community helped out, including none other than Fred and Lloyd Ramsey. It was a hive of activity, with many generations growing up playing netball, footy, cricket, basketball, tennis, and plenty of socialising being done at the club over the years,” Kelly recalls.
“Unfortunately, in 2016 a huge storm ripped through and completely destroyed the rooms. Knowing the importance of this space to the wider Cleve community, the committee and community members made a joint decision to use the insurance money and try and apply for a grant. The idea was to rebuild and improve it, focusing on disabled access and access for prams, in particular.
“It was a huge mission! We knew it wasn’t easy to get grants and before that, we had to get council on board with financial support. We spent countless hours over two years doing the planning to get the grant and often feeling like we were going round in circles. Eventually, the council approved $250,000 in support, we secured nearly $700,000 with the grant and we managed to include $500,000 of our own, so we started the project.
“We were incredibly happy to start the rebuild and in February 2020, we opened the new Cleve Sporting Club and safe to say, it was a huge milestone. It was a very emotional time for everyone involved and took great dedication from everyone who played a part. Our amazing community volunteered thousands of hours of work, donated in-kind machinery and materials to help with the build, plus over $100,000 was donated in cash.
“And this weekend, we’ll be having our very first home game for our netball and football teams in over six years. It will be really exciting to see what this does for our wider community, bringing more people to the area on weekends, and from a personal point of view, I have two girls who are very excited about playing at home.
“I think the collective effort and determination of everyone to rebuild this club — and improve it greatly for our next generations — says a lot about the people of Cleve. I’ve lived here my whole life and have never felt prouder of the people around me,” Kelly says.
