You probably didn't know Tuross Head has an oval that's about as big as the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Yet, sitting pretty by Coila Lake, Kyla Park Oval hasn't homed a sports club for more than a decade. A conversation around a pub table sees the oval back in action.
Adam Carey moved back to his childhood home of Tuross to start a family – something of a trend for couples in their 20s and 30s it seems. Adam says Eurobodalla has a lot to offer, but it's what you make of it that counts.
"Growing up in Tuross, we made our own fun surfing, diving, fishing and riding bikes. But if you're not into any of that, there wasn't much to do."
Sitting at the local tavern last year, Adam and his mates talked about the good old days of the Tuross Shamrocks – a rugby union team their dads played for 20 years ago.
From there, a new committee was created and the Tuross Head Touch Rugby League & Social Sports Club was born. They set up the club to be flexible for multiple codes.
"We could do soccer, netball, AFL 9s, or softball. We decided to kick off with a touch footy comp, which seemed to be flavour of the month."
Adam was quick to contact Council, asking for the facilities to be tidied and oval fit for purpose.
"The ground was solid with hard, thistly grass, like a cow paddock," says Adam.
"You could tell the canteen hadn't been opened in a long time – there were spiders and dead beetles everywhere."
It cost Council about $9,000 to get the lights up and working again – repurposing two from Gundary Oval – and tidy up the toilets and canteen. Our parks team say Kyla Park Oval's playing surface could potentially be the best in the shire but with lack of use it was far from premium. They did their best to whip it into shape before boots trod the ground last October.
In the small town of about 2,300 people, word spread quickly and registrations flew in.
"We thought there was only going to be four or five teams. That escalated to nine," Adam says.
With 135 players registered, the club turned to local businesses for sponsorship to buy merch and equipment, securing 30 sponsors and avoiding bank loans for gear, fees and insurance.
"We generated about two years of funding, which is amazing."
Just as everything was set and ready to go, some unwanted donuts were served.
"Someone in a four-wheel drive tore up the oval – we were gutted," says Adam.
Council crews patched it up, but ideally, eight weeks were needed for full recovery.
"We delayed the comp by three weeks and staggered the field to avoid injuries."
Counting down the days to the start, Adam wondered if anyone would turn up.
"Turns out it was the best thing happening in Tuross and brought the community together."
The mixed competition had men and women ranging in ages from 12-68.
"It was special to see mums and dads playing with their kids; we had first grade league players and Moruya, Bodalla and Narooma people join us too. As soon as the competition finished, everyone wanted to know when the next round would start, so we've kicked off another that goes until April."
- This story was first published in Council's quarterly newsletter for residents, Living in Eurobodalla. A printed edition is delivered to Eurobodalla's 26,000 households.
