By Grace Jones | posted on April 14, 2018
ALBANY Vikings Masters Sporting Club was recognised for its commitment to mental health and sport earlier this year when it was awarded the WA Masters Club of the Year Award.
While the obligatory plaque hasn’t quite made its way through the post, club president Sean Maguire said the club was honoured to receive the award.
“It’s an amazing achievement for us,” he said.
“We’ve grown the club from something that used to have three or four blokes turning up to training, to 25.
“It’s amazing to see what we’ve made available to the community.”
Club secretary Ian Neil said the growth of the club hasn’t been centered primarily on the football club, but also on the development of basketball and netball teams, with soccer and cricket teams soon to follow.
“The focus of the club is fitness and fellowship,” he said.
“It’s about mental health wellness, community development and getting players to come down and get fit and make friends, for both men and women.”
With the core principle of raising mental health awareness for players and in the community, vice president Dave Larchet said the club was also family-orientated.
“It’s not just about coming down and playing footy, it’s bringing your family with you,” he said.
“We quite often get the young blokes come down with their dads on training night to have a run and kick a ball.
“The wives come down for game days to help out.
“Everyone gets involved.”
With the season open for the Vikings football side on April 21 against the Dalyellup Dinosaurs, Maguire said the club would love for people to come and get involved.
“We’ll be playing at the North Albany Football Club. It’s going to be a really good match,” he said.
“We’re not just looking for people to come play; we’re also looking for people to come and watch.”
To join any of the Albany Vikings Sporting Club’s teams, contact them via their Facebook page.
