Port Arlington Football Netball Club

History

Before being involved in the program Portarlington found that addressing alcohol related behaviors was almost impossible. They had no benchmark set however as soon as they implemented one it had an immediate impact. In particular it addressed U18 players drinking around the ground on match day.

Although Portarlington had a very hard working committee they saw the culture at the club as being wrong. There was also no overall governance to which they could underpin the direction of behavior they desired from not only the players, but also volunteers, members and supporters. It was difficult to enforce discipline as they had no policies, smoking, and alcohol for instance, and a poor community image and involvement. On match days, groups of cars gathered around the ground and consumed copious amounts of alcohol. Included in that crowd were many of the U18’s and their cars. The club also had a group outside of the committee that believed that the club would not survive without alcohol, even on Sundays.

Key things the club did to create change?

Portarlington introduced an alcohol policy; this was not just a one liner but a comprehensive list of expectations and guidelines. By doing so and including a copy with every membership, the foundation was set to which the club could begin to look to address their issues. Some of the guidelines involved are:

Reduced raffles involving alcohol
Eliminate alcohol from the players change rooms
And the continual reinforcement of overall commitment to the standards expected at the club. With compliments to the smoking and alcohol policies

Challenges & difficulties

Convincing all within the club of the need to change. Whilst the club lost a small percentage of members, a number of which have since returned, the club has been able to increase its membership base since introducing the program in 2002. Difficulties experienced in the introduction of the program were outweighed by the overall support of the club, its members, Leisure Networks and surrounding community.

The Outcome – how the club has changed

Firstly the main area which was improved was the overall image of the club with regards to players, members and the general football community. Portarlington now host junior finals on behalf of Football Geelong, as well as for the last four years or so a round of their main final series, for both football and netball.

Sponsorship is another area that has been a big winner for the club with their numbers increasing over the last few years to in excess of 100. The most pleasing thing however is that their churn is very low, not one local business has pulled its sponsorship over recent years, and indeed there are many that have increased there amounts because of what the club have put in place. There is now a church on their list of sponsors, signing up for a fence this season. Portarlington believe that this is a good indicator as to how the club is traveling but this is not a one-way relationship. Portarlington supported the same church at the Bellarine show, providing players and prizes for the handball and kicking competitions.

A significant benefit to their members is the environment that has been created at the club. An example being the in excess of 100 meals they do every Thursday night, many are families that come because they feel that it is a safe, healthy atmosphere.

Another indicator that the clubs policies are working is the functions. Portarlington do serve alcohol but there is now a firm understanding of expectations leading to lots of fun but above all, full enjoyment by all and no trouble.

The club has also implemented 3 non-alcohol related areas of significance for fund raising. They are:

A gate raffle at all home games
Significant increase in sponsorship
Thursday night meals

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