The inaugural Touch Footy Charity Cup will be held at Les Burger field, Cabarita on Saturday, February 16 from 8.30am till 5pm.
The competition has 20 registered teams composed of men and women, boys and girls. Ages range from 15 to 60-plus.
The event came about when Michael Ashburn and some of his long-term mates, Guy Lanston, Drew Lanston, Cale Rowston, Sarah Lyne, Nathan Roughead, Aaron Eastgate and Jamie Donaldson, discussed the issue of youth boredom during a post-mortem of their weekly Touch game.
“A few things have happened to the kids around here that have shocked us into action,” Mike said.
“The young ones have nothing to do and there are drugs and alcohol around and we all felt we should do something. We want to help our younger friends make better choices.
“We’ve had our own share of hard times but we’ve been lucky in some ways, as we’ve stuck together and that got us through. So we want to show our younger mates that, when you work and play together, everyone wins.”
From this discussion came the idea of a fund-raiser.
Their ideas were formalised after a discussion with Nick Aldridge, President of Cabarita Economic Development Com-mittee. Nick works tirelessly to encourage projects that will not only bring economic benefits to Caba, but will harness the community spirit.
The teams will compete for the honour of the Charity Cup. For their efforts, each player will be given a jersey from the sponsor, Mass Nutrition. Each team has paid $350 to enter. It’s free to watch.
Raffles will raise money. Prizes include a signed Cronulla jersey, a signed Newcastle Jets jersey, a Canterbury Bulldogs signed Cap and a Chipper Wilson signed surfboard, amongst other items. Money raised will go to programs designed to provide youth activities and to raise awareness of Drug and Alcohol problems.
The canteen will operate a BBQ all day. Prizes will be awarded at 5.30pm back at the Cabarita Sports Club, another helpful sponsor. Hutchinson Builders, Toolies Construction, Dfend, Urban Zoo and the St George Bank in Tweed City have financially contributed to this event. The day will be a great family outing next to the Caba Skate Park.
