The Bathurst Giants Football Club are the lucky recipients of a brand new Volkswagen Golf Alltrack 132TSI Premium, valued at $44,649.
The Club were awarded this year’s top prize after entering the Volkswagen Grassroots Grants program which again contributed an additional $10,000 to help community football clubs in need.
Sydney’s 2005 premiership player Nick Davis was on hand to present the Giants with their new Volkswagen at their home ground, George Park Oval.
Davis also made the most of his visit to Bathurst, running a training session for the Giants ahead of the 2020 season.
Bathurst Giants Clubman of the Year, Scott Traves, said he couldn’t believe the news when he found out his club had won this year’s top prize.
"I'm a fan of the Swans and I have their app on my phone. I saw the grassroots program notification come through and I thought I'd give it a crack. Simple as that," he said.
"Just recently I got the email back saying I'd won and I couldn't believe it. I rang Swans reception to see if the person who sent me the message worked there.
"They said 'Yep. They're part of our grassroots program' and that's when I said 'Oh, this is really happening'.”
Traves said the grant is a huge boost for the Bathurst Giants and the region’s AFL players.
"It's going to help us out immensely. We only started out five years ago and we've been making ends meet. It's a big boost for us," he said.
"This is unbelievable. You always hear about these competitions and grants that are going on and somebody's got to win it but you never think that it's going to be you or somebody you know.
"It's great having Nick Davis, hero of the Sydney Swans, here and it's been a wonderful afternoon. It's a great program they've put together with Volkswagen."
This year’s Volkswagen Grassroots Grants program saw over 110 clubs enter nationally, with a number of clubs looking to develop their junior and women’s teams, as well as support players through off field programs.
Launched in 2015, the Volkswagen and Sydney Swans initiative has now delivered over $94,000 in community grants to over 46 AFL clubs across Australia.
Moggill Junior Australian Football Club (Moggill, QLD), Glencoe Football Club (Glencoe, SA), Tasmanian University Football Club (Sandy Bay, TAS), Sale City Junior Football and Netball Club (Sale, VIC) and the Cardiff Hawks (Cameron Park, NSW) were the five lucky minor prize recipients of this year’s Volkswagen Grassroots Grants program, each receiving $2,000.
Volkswagen Australia Director of Customer Experience and Marketing, Mr. Jason Bradshaw, was happy to be able to offer the Volkswagen Grassroots Grants program for another year.
“Supporting local communities is an important focus for us and partnering with the Sydney Swans has allowed us to create a program that helps develop clubs at a grassroots level. We’ve seen the number of applicants rise especially with junior and women’s clubs and we’re proud to continue supporting an inclusive sporting code.”
Westpoint Volkswagen and Moggill Mustangs presentation.
Photographed (L to R) are: Luke Hawkins, Dealer Principal at Westpoint Volkswagen and Rich Pidgeon, Club President at the Moggill Mustangs.
Jackson Motor Company & Tasmanian University Football Club presentation.
Photographed (L to R) are: Luke Bartulovic representing the Tasmanian University Football Club and Lawrence Kertesz, Sales Manager PV at Jackson Motor Company
Cardiff Hawks and Kloster Volkswagen presentation.
Photographed (L to R) are: Mitchell Mulville, Peter Risby, Brad Heuchan, Theo Linsley
