VAFA General Discussion 2022-2023-2024

[Chief]

Hi all.

Aucklander and I have had a couple of runs through recent posts in this thread and removed a few unsavoury comments.

The usual griping and gossip is par for the course, but some posts go overboard.

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[eth-dog]

What are the facilities like at Manningham /Yarra Cobras please

Pretty solid. Big ground

 

[bedford]

Pretty solid. Big ground

Hopefully better rooms than Parkside

 

[eth-dog]

Hopefully better rooms than Parkside

Like comparing Gunn to the MCG

 

[Phantom Strobler]

New system sucks. No players names for C reserves, under19 and thirds. Help!!!!

6pm and still no team lists for C reserves and womens premier B reserves. Pathetic new system.

 

[10571z]

VAFA regrading of the thirds has seen a reshuffle to accommodate Old Xaverian teams to win as many flags as possible. With four thirds teams, two more than other club, they seem to be above the law of grading and apparently cannot be in the same division as other Xavier clubs. One of the Old Xavs teams will be moved a div in spite of being 4-0 and a percentage of 220. They will continue playing Richmond Central whom they beat by 90 points... Doesn't really seem fair and equitable.

Surely if you have 4 thirds sides you’d accept they could be placed in the same divisions?


Hardly surprising from the VAFA when a big school club is the beneficiary

 

[GerryG]

Surely if you have 4 thirds sides you’d accept they could be placed in the same divisions?


Hardly surprising from the VAFA when a big school club is the beneficiary

3rds fixture …..please

 

[oldtimer]

Hopefully better rooms than Parkside

Have you ever not whinged about opposition rooms, ground, wtc

This is the whole idea of home ground advantage. It’s not to make the away team feel comfortable.

You should have been around in the 80s and 90s when the away teams played at the Albert Park Grounds.

 

[bedford]

Have you ever not whinged about opposition rooms, ground, wtc

This is the whole idea of home ground advantage. It’s not to make the away team feel comfortable.

You should have been around in the 80s and 90s when the away teams played at the Albert Park Grounds.

Where did i whinge , Manningham is a fantastic ground , great size , parking pretty good and a good canteen.
Good game by the kids again .
Also i was around Albert Park grounds , more than you would know , sport

 

[aDingoStoleMyBaby]

VAFA regrading of the thirds has seen a reshuffle to accommodate Old Xaverian teams to win as many flags as possible. With four thirds teams, two more than other club, they seem to be above the law of grading and apparently cannot be in the same division as other Xavier clubs. One of the Old Xavs teams will be moved a div in spite of being 4-0 and a percentage of 220. They will continue playing Richmond Central whom they beat by 90 points... Doesn't really seem fair and equitable.

Shuffling clubs in all directions to facilitate the OX machine. Some of the moves(or non-moves) outside of OX are also mind boggling. It would be a nightmare of a job no doubt but the thirds comp has become a flag factory for Xavs. It's a shame as it lends itself to more and more forfeits during the season as teams just think "why bother".

 

[GerryG]

Shuffling clubs in all directions to facilitate the OX machine. Some of the moves(or non-moves) outside of OX are also mind boggling. It would be a nightmare of a job no doubt but the thirds comp has become a flag factory for Xavs. It's a shame as it lends itself to more and more forfeits during the season as teams just think "why bother".

Agree…
But need fixture urgently , people (players and volunteers , canteens, club staff , umpires ) need to be able to arrange weekends , work and social commitments
If it gets to difficult .. numbers will drop off

 

[bedford]

Agree…
But need fixture urgently , people (players and volunteers , canteens, club staff , umpires ) need to be able to arrange weekends , work and social commitments
If it gets to difficult .. numbers will drop off

And the ladder showing 1 round !

 

[Mike Olotripo]

It seems the thirds / what was once called clubbies is really now just an after thought for most clubs. It’s a sad but predictable outcome.

 

[Mr Platinum]

Surely if you have 4 thirds sides you’d accept they could be placed in the same divisions?


Hardly surprising from the VAFA when a big school club is the beneficiary

They have to satisfy themselves with non-descript flags now for their ‘premiership count’. Apparently Mick Blood and Dan Richardson are their next recruits.

 

[God Yeah]

Agree…
But need fixture urgently , people (players and volunteers , canteens, club staff , umpires ) need to be able to arrange weekends , work and social commitments
If it gets to difficult .. numbers will drop off

Agree with this.

The comp won't survive very long if teams have to wait till Thursday night to know who, where and when they are playing.

 

[lettheboysplay]

It seems the thirds / what was once called clubbies is really now just an after thought for most clubs. It’s a sad but predictable outcome.

Yeah, gotta say, being someone being at the backend of playing seniors and ressies over more than a decade, I thought playing thirds would be a great way to cap it off, but the administration around the Thirds division is really disheartening, slow and unequal, and I wouldn't be surprised if there is a big backlash next year.

 

[Gun Island]

Where did i whinge , Manningham is a fantastic ground , great size , parking pretty good and a good canteen.
Good game by the kids again .
Also i was around Albert Park grounds , more than you would know , sport

That Cobras coach lost the absolute plot , would play under him . Will concur that it’s a nice ground , no idea what the rooms were like , good parking options though .


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[GerryG]

Yeah, gotta say, being someone being at the backend of playing seniors and ressies over more than a decade, I thought playing thirds would be a great way to cap it off, but the administration around the Thirds division is really disheartening, slow and unequal, and I wouldn't be surprised if there is a big backlash next year.

Interesting, 3rds Round 6 now scheduled for Cup Day

 

[God Yeah]

Interesting, 3rds Round 6 now scheduled for Cup Day

That could interrupt a few holiday plans

 

[AM]

Hmm!

Private school seeks 40-year lease over public sporting grounds

By Tom Crowe

It’s a plan that some think is win-win: a private school offering to replace ageing council-owned pavilions with new facilities that can cater to more women’s teams.

However, opponents of the idea argue a proposed new lease deal hands virtual ownership of a public park to that private school – for generations.

Ivanhoe Grammar School has used Chelsworth Park in Ivanhoe as the home of its sports teams for decades as part of an arrangement with Banyule City Council that is due to run until at least 2034.

Under the agreement, Ivanhoe Grammar has priority use of seven sports ovals, three tennis courts and two pavilions in exchange for paying for maintenance of the grounds, which costs about $400,000 per year.

The public is permitted to access the 11-hectare site outside of school use – usually limited to training on weeknights and matches on Saturdays – while Ivanhoe Grammar is not allowed to put up fences preventing entry.

The council will decide this month whether to sign a new lease with the school that will allow it to use Chelsworth Park for another 30 years – with the option to extend the tenancy by a further 10 years. If it proceeds under the proposed timeline, the lease could run until 2064.

In return, the school would pay for the redevelopment of two pavilions at the park, at a cost of $14 million. The grounds are also used by nine community sporting teams, such as the Old Ivanhoe Grammarians Football Club.

Sienna Whiteman, vice president of the football club, said a new two-storey pavilion would increase the number of change rooms from two to four, providing more accessibility to different players.

“The existing facilities are clearly obsolete, it evokes an era where football was male-centric,” she said.

But some community members expressed their opposition to the deal at a council meeting last month.

They raised concerns about increased use of the park, the size of one of the new structures, a lack of car parking and the loss of trees.

“The reason I’m opposed to it is due to the lack of consultation and the use of public space by an exclusive private school,” said one objector, Liz O’Connor, who has lived in the area on and off since 1992.

“They are the tenant and yet they feel they have the right to put up a massive structure without any input from the community.”

Another objector, Helen O’Kane, said she believed the proposal for a new lease was being driven more by Ivanhoe Grammar than Banyule council.

Plans for the new pavilions are still being prepared by the school.

“I just think this is particularly outrageous,” she said. “I’ve lived here for 50 years and I’ve watched Ivanhoe Grammar, which is a very privileged private school, encroach on the community amenity.”

O’Kane said the new lease would mean Ivanhoe Grammar was the tenant for another two generations.

“That’s virtually ownership,” she said. “It’s a long time.”

Whiteman, a former Ivanhoe Grammar student, said the football club was struggling to attract women to play because of the current 1970s-era building, designed by prominent architect Graeme Gunn.

“It not only doesn’t provide safe changing facilities for women who are playing, but also for other roles such as umpiring.”

Christian Cortese, president of the Old Ivanhoe Soccer Club, which also uses the ground, said sporting teams were growing fast in the area and needed better facilities to accommodate players, particularly girls and women.

“The challenge that we find with a club of 350 members is having one pavilion with two change rooms,” he said.

“It is one of those sorts of situations that it is definitely not safe and up to current standards to allow females to interact with our sport.”

A spokesperson for Ivanhoe Grammar said it was awaiting the council’s decision this month.

“We hope it will be of benefit to the whole community, especially in the improvement of facilities for girls’ sport,” they said.

A Banyule City Council spokesperson said that feedback was being considered before a formal decision on May 20.

The Age 9 May 2024

 

[bedford]

Hmm!

Thank you

 

[MortlockWatcher]

They've been using the parklands with no less frequency since I started going to school there many moons ago, so why hasn't the issue been ongoing. There were no complains during the 80s or 90s from residents when I was there.

Interesting adjectives from the two objectors. Privileged. Exclusive. Sounds like a bit of jealousy or NIMBY-ism coming out (but there are facilities already there, it's just that the football one is going to be two-storey).

 

[Champ or Chump]

They've been using the parklands with no less frequency since I started going to school there many moons ago, so why hasn't the issue been ongoing. There were no complains during the 80s or 90s from residents when I was there.

Interesting adjectives from the two objectors. Privileged. Exclusive. Sounds like a bit of jealousy or NIMBY-ism coming out (but there are facilities already there, it's just that the football one is going to be two-story).

I think IF the school is paying for the new facilities and want a long lease to 'justify' that sort of cost, then that is fine. Either that or the School buys the land outright and we are done with it. Then the school can do with it as it wishes.

One small concern, having been in a position where our club 'requested' use of grounds (for a practice game) not being used, the school was not interested in supporting another local sporting club. This may be the area they (the school) need to be more flexible on moving forward IF local people are worried it is losing it's multi-purpose use for the community.

That said, I hope they continue with the lease, the new pavilions are built and the area continues to improve facilities for sport and recreation for all involved in the community, especially the school and OIGFC.

 

[Over The Post]

Will be a sad day when the umps no longer have to scrape the possum and rat s**t off the benches to put their stuff down. Should have a heritage overlay put on the Lodge, like the old University rooms needed.

Seriously, agree with MW and Chump.

 

[AM]

They've been using the parklands with no less frequency since I started going to school there many moons ago, so why hasn't the issue been ongoing. There were no complains during the 80s or 90s from residents when I was there.

Interesting adjectives from the two objectors. Privileged. Exclusive. Sounds like a bit of jealousy or NIMBY-ism coming out (but there are facilities already there, it's just that the football one is going to be two-storey).

I reckon your reference to the objectors not having kicked up before (assuming that's accurate) is a form of whataboutism. The NIMBY comment is self-serving.

Candidly, I'm not keen on private schools getting hold of public land (for all intents and purposes) their exclusive use. I know of a private school that has access to public land, presumably for a fee, but it's by no means theirs whenever they wish to take it over.

St Kev's overcame the need for more sporting space by acquiring private property and building the facilities. A preferable model for mine.

 

[Max Leader]

I think IF the school is paying for the new facilities and want a long lease to 'justify' that sort of cost, then that is fine. Either that or the School buys the land outright and we are done with it. Then the school can do with it as it wishes.

One small concern, having been in a position where our club 'requested' use of grounds (for a practice game) not being used, the school was not interested in supporting another local sporting club. This may be the area they (the school) need to be more flexible on moving forward IF local people are worried it is losing it's multi-purpose use for the community.

That said, I hope they continue with the lease, the new pavilions are built and the area continues to improve facilities for sport and recreation for all involved in the community, especially the school and OIGFC.

Chump,

Over the last 20 years we have never played practice matches at Chelsworth due to curator of the ground insisting they lay turf over the hard wicket. We never get a home game in Round 1 either. We played our practice matches at Mernda.

In 2024 due to changing to carpet pile over the Hard Wicket meant we player a practice match and Round 1 at the Pine.

Won’t hurt to ask for 2025. We are also confined by cricket and cricket finals.