Recognising our South Australian volunteers

By ALEXANDRA BULL

Greg Bald’s dedication to his footy club is like no other.

Bald was the president of the Kangaroo Island Western Districts Community Sports Club, which was destroyed by the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires.

Bald described the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires as a “very traumatic time for many of Western Districts Sporting Club community”.

“Many club members had lost everything in the fires. We were very fortunate that the funding support came through many small and large sporting group donations, community group donations and grants,” Bald said.

He was an instrumental figure in securing funding for the rebuilding of the club as the president of the Rebuild Committee and oversaw the process from start to finish, not only providing a vital place for people to play football and netball, but also a place where the community can come together.

“Early on we were introduced to Lisa Faraci (SANFL) who informed us that we had secured a three-way donation from the AFL, Cricket Australia and the State Government for a $1 million change room facility,” Bald said.

“This was amazing – our small club in the scrub was receiving support from these major organisations.”

From there, Bald was introduced to SANFL Head of Infrastructure and Government Relations, Belinda Marsh, and AFL’s Amber Koster, who took the Western Districts’ concept to the AFL National Facilities Panel to see if they would support the club.

The club was successful in securing another $1 million from the AFL National Facilities Panel.

“This gave our community a major lift in some of the toughest times in Kangaroo Island’s history – this financial support didn’t just happen overnight and there were many months of meetings,” Bald said.

“Rural sporting clubs provides communities with a vital gathering place to catch up with friends and family. Many of these communities are isolated and these clubs are a way people can forget about their troubles and enjoy the company and support of their community.”

He added that not long after the 2019/20 fires, the Covid-19 lockdowns began, giving the club some time to get “all our ducks in a row”.

“Building on the west end of Kangaroo Island has many challenges with the ferry and wet weather,” he said.

“The build started in mid-2022 and we were in our new facility in September 2023.

Greg Bald’s passion and dedication toward his club is what saw him win the Outstanding Contribution Award at the 2024 Sport SA Awards in May this year.

“This has been a very humbling experience for me but also came with the pressure now to deliver the project to the community inside the budget, which I can safely say was achieved,” Bald said.

“To receive so much support for our small club was unexpected and unbelievable; some of the people I had never met have now become my close friends.

“I did not do this alone and must thank the steering committee who volunteered their team to help navigate this process.

“I can’t name everyone who helped us through this difficult time, but on behalf of the Western Districts Memorial Community Sports Club – thank you all.”

Know a volunteer like Greg Bald? Nominate them for the SANFL Volunteer of the Year award here.