Community is behind Gresford's success

Fielding 27 teams with a grand total of 320 players, the Gresford Vacy Scorpions president Jim Doyle said they have players from the age of four to 61.

With one of the largest clubs in the region, Doyle attributes this to the inclusive culture and democratic way that the club operates.

"People feel as if they've got a say, as if it's their club. Sometimes you go to clubs and it will be dominated by individuals on a committee whereas at our club we've got 31 people on the committee so everybody has a say," he said.

"It's all about the culture of it, a welcome and inclusive culture."

This community orientation shows itself in its commitment to local and state level events.

Doyle said that the Gresford Vacy Scorpions donate the most blood in northern NSW and they volunteer at an array of events like the Gresford Billy cart Derby.

Another huge attraction of the club is the strong female participation both in the committee and in their teams.

"We now have four all girls teams. We've had an increase in female participation since the world cup. We expect to grow the club by increasing the female participation," Doyle said.

However, this doesn't mean that the Scorpions don't have their own challenges. The wet weather has resulted in the vast majority of games in 2024 having been cancelled.

"Most of the teams have only been able to play one out of three games," he said.

For more information visit their Facebook page.