Swamprats join with sport elite

One of the State’s smallest sporting clubs, hailing from Young Sidings, are rubbing shoulders with heavyweights of Australian sport as the newest members of a national sustainable sports alliance.

Representatives from Youngs Siding’s Swamprats Cricket Club recently travelled to Flemington Race Course, joining corporate behemoths such as the Geelong Football Club, Australian Grand Prix Corporation and Tennis Australia after becoming part of Sports Environment Alliance.

The Swamprats are the Alliance’s third WA member, uniting with the West Coast Eagles and City of South Perth for a vision of a sustainable future for sport.

Spokesman Steve Grimmer said the club was proud to join the SEA and could see the humour in working alongside the likes of the AFL and Cricket Australia while representing a club of roughly 20 people.

“We did have some people asking us how big our association was,” he said.

“We can see the funny side of it but it also just shows you that it doesn’t matter what size you are, you can play a role in having a more sustainable future for sport.

“Because of our size and the novel nature of our club I think we can provide some leadership because if we can do it, anybody can get involved.”

Mr Grimmer said the Swamprats had their own water tank, a composting toilet and were always on the lookout for ways to reduce their carbon footprint.

Their attitude went down well with their much larger counterparts.

“They were wonderful and were very supportive of such a small organisation getting involved,” Mr Grimmer said.

“Our community has a really strong commitment to the environment and sustainability.

“We’re going to get better at recycling and we’ll continue to educate our members to do the right thing when it comes to sustainability.”