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Mildura Weekly : Friday May 8 2015 Vol 9 No 26
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sport 29 FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015 MILDURAWEEKLY.COM.AU • Australian Paralympian Benny Roche (centre) with Social Soccer for Everyone participants Mohammad Adi Shujaee and Arif Hussain (back row) and Murtaza Shujaee and Asif Shujaee. SUNRAYSIA residents are flocking to the world game in droves this season, according to Football Federation Vic- toria Sunraysia Regional Ad- ministrator, Susan Watts with the competition enjoying a surge in new registrations to start the 2015 season. Susan, RIGHT, said early numbers indicated a signifi- cant increase in registrations compared to this time last year, with the success of the local competition following a trend across the State. A recent Football Federa- tion Victoria report indicated that total player registration numbers in Victoria had already reached 56,028 – slightly up on the 55,993 re- corded to this point in 2014. FFV officials expect total playing numbers across Vic- toria to exceed 62,000 by the end of the season – an 11 per- cent growth on last year. “At this early stage of the season we certainly seem to be up on last year’s registra- tion numbers, and Sunray- sia is also one of the largest soccer playing populations in the State compared to its overall population,” Susan said. “One of the more posi- tive things to come out of this season so far is the num- ber of new faces playing the game. “Mildura United is a club that has welcomed a number of new players to its ranks in junior age groups, while I’ve also had a lot of interest from girls aged 17 to 18 about get- ting involved in the sport. “It’s certainly an indica- tion that soccer is continu- ing to grow locally, and it’s something that we have to build on.” Susan said the recent suc- cess of the country’s inter- national teams had played a major role in more local residents taking up the sport. “Australia’s win at the re- cent Asian Cup has certainly played a part (in increased playing numbers),” she said. “Events like that get people excited, and hopefully more people will consider playing soccer locally. “It’s a sport that is really accessible, and I also believe local residents are becoming more aware of the sport.” Susan said Football Federation Sunraysia was looking at exploring oppor- tunities to create a number of new competitions that would appeal to a variety of participants, with the intro- duction of a social competi- tion high on the agenda. “Not everyone wants to play competitive sport,” she said. “Some people would be quite happy putting a so- cial team together and play- ing for pure fun and fitness. “Our sport is at the point where we have to try and ca- ter to different interests, and ideally it could lead to more people playing with one of our local clubs.” Susan said another aim was to start a stand-alone ju- nior girl’s competition. “At the moment our female participants play alongside the boys up until the Under 16 division,” she said. “While there’s nothing wrong with that – and the girls more than hold their own – there is certainly scope to have an all-girls competition in those young- er age groups, which again would help grow the sport, and entice more people to play.” Soccer’s on the rise By VINNIE RODI AUSTRALIAN Paralympian Ben Roche, 26, is a firm believer in the power of sport, saying it has the capacity to bring people closer to- gether. “Sport is a wonderful thing,” he said. “It can cater for people from all backgrounds and walks of life – and those with physical or men- tal disabilities – and has a way of bringing people together for a com- mon cause.” A long-time lover of the world game, Ben was born with Cerebral Palsy – a condition that affects the right side of his body. Visiting Mildura this week at the request of Football Federation Sunraysia, Ben was on a mission to spread a message of inclusion and acceptance across the region, with the multiple Australian Pararoos Paralympic Football side represen- tative visiting schools and organ- isations in an effort to achieve his goal. “The last six months has been full on,” he said. “Football Fed- eration Victoria approached me a while ago to become an ambassa- dor for their ‘Access for All Abilities’ program, with the aim to promote inclusion in football. “Since then I’ve been travelling around Victoria, visiting clubs and associations and schools to talk to people about how they can make their clubs more inclusive. “It’s about opening doors, and making sure people know that any- one and everyone is welcome to get involved in soccer.” Born and raised in Melbourne, Ben took up soccer at age five, and was forced to work harder because of his disability. “My Cerebral Palsy doesn’t al- low me to use the right side of my body well, which means I have to work a lot harder to maintain strength and conditioning,” he said. “I train six or seven days a week to make sure I maintain that strength, and when I was younger it was often hard to force my way onto the field. “It wasn’t that my coaches were bad people who refused to play me, they simply didn’t know how to ap- proach someone with my condition.” At 12, Ben was one of two people with Cerebral Palsy given the op- portunity to train once every three months with the Australian Paralym- pics team at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. In 2003 he was invited to join the national team in South America, where Australia participated in the World Cup, finishing 10th. The next few years saw Ben play in a few different tournaments, in- cluding one in America and the Far East, and South Pacific Games in Malaysia where the Australian team came second. At the same time Ben worked at getting a Victorian team up and running through organising sev- eral ‘come and try days,’ going on to become the co-founder of the Victorian Paralympic Football Pro- gram, which now supports more than 30 footballers with disabili- ties. After Malaysia, Ben took a few years off from soccer to focus on work, returning to the sport in mid-2009 to play in the Paralym- pic Youth Games. He scored seven goals at that tournament, and was also in scor- ing form in 2010 at the National CP Football games. In August 2010 Ben represent- ed Australia in Scotland where the national team finished ninth, and is currently training at the Victo- rian Institute of Sport twice a week with a scholarship supported by Football Federation Australia. • Continued Page 31 Soccer star Ben spreads inclusion message At the local Mildura Phonebook, we pride ourselves on providing a great product, with very competitive prices, along with prompt and friendly customer service. A good decision for your business. 424 San Mateo Ave, Mildura | 5021 1777 | www.milduraphonebook.com.au Kylie Curran 0430 008 295 | kylie.curran@milduraweekly.com.au Amanda Lynch 0428 729 243 | amanda.lynch@milduraweekly.com.au Call Kylie or Amanda today. Let them show you how our print and digital advertising solutions can work for your business. prompt s
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