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Connect Five

Wednesday, May 23, 2018 - 10:43 AM

Bouncy castles, Laser Tag, giant games and a bucking bull ride sit temptingly atop newly re-turfed lawn. Footballs in assorted sizes lie scattered around a marquee that shades a drawing table covered with pots of crayons and pencils in every colour of the rainbow. This may sound like a scene from a child’s fantasy but one the Swan Districts Football Club have made a reality for the community with their recent re-launch of the Swans Play Zone.  

Excited chatter, laughter and screams of delight filled Steel Blue Oval as teams of children playing laser tag chased each other across the grass in between turns on the bungee run at the opening of the revamped Swans Play Zone. Face-painters transformed toddlers into tigers whilst the Swans’ mascot was overwhelmed with requests for hugs and photographs throughout the entire day.

“I win!” local resident Joe (8) shouted, as he inserted a token into the left slot of a giant Connect 4 game. “I’m having the best time ever!” he said with a huge grin. “I want to come back for every match”. “It’s been a great family day out,” his mother, Sarah, agreed. “I’m glad we can keep the legacy of being a Swans supporter going. The Swans Play Zone is a great way to introduce our kids to the team’s home ground and with the club providing so many free activities to entertain them and keeping ticket prices reasonable, we can continue cheering them on at all of their home games,” Sarah said.

According to Swans CEO Jeff Dennis, there were many areas the club could have invested funds into renovating but chose to prioritise the Swan Play Zone. “Swans have broadened its scope from a football-focused club to also being a community-focused one. Our purpose is to build community, create authentic connections with local residents and businesses and enhance overall wellbeing. We appreciate and value the loyal support of our sponsors, members and fans and investing back into those relationships and projects such as the Swans Play Zone upgrade is one of the ways we are doing that,” Dennis said.

The Swans Play Zone makeover is just one component of a greater process of transformation. Whilst Joe and his peers are engrossed in Connect 4, Swan Districts are engaged in the task of connecting five. The Swans community, which comprises five local municipalities including City of Swan, Town of Bassendean and the Shires of Mundaring, Kalamunda and Chittering. To cultivate true community connection, the Swans have undertaken bold changes, re-conceiving its vision, objectives and values to ensure the club is relevant to the community in which it belongs.

“Our vision is to become a well-connected and community engaged football club that improves people’s lives in the Swan community,” said Dennis. “To achieve this, it’s important that we stay true to our ethos of developing people and building community.  This is why we nurture the skills and talent of our own players and promote primarily from within the club. We have transformed our home games, with each one paying tribute to a unique sector of the Swans community to strengthen the bonds between those community members and Swan Districts. We are growing and deepening our relationships with the 84 schools and 19 junior football clubs located in our community. We’re also building upon the huge success of our longstanding VSwans regional community development program which have significantly improved student retention rates, contributed to increased Year 12 WACE attainment and higher education opportunities as well as greater numbers of work ready school-leavers with industry recognized qualifications. We are also in the midst of establishing ‘Swans in the Community’, our new metropolitan-based community outreach program.”

Swan Districts aims to be just as successful “off-the-field” as they have been on the field since their incorporation into the WAFL back in 1934. Judging by the smiles on the faces of the children in the Swans Play Zone, the club’s evolution is off to a great start.