17 Jan 2018 Myrtleford Times, Myrtleford VIC (General News) by Jamie Kronborg MYRTLEFORD football great Bob McNamara used to train in the 1980s under lights rated at just 17 lux on the Myrtleford sporting ground named in honour of his father, Charlie. But the sporting and community opportunities for night training and games, potentially have been transformed at the R. C. McNamara Reserve with a $302,000 investment which on Monday night was evident for all reserve committee members and user club representatives to see. Jaclyn Symes (MLC, Northern Victoria) encouraged assembled sporting club and community representatives on the balcony of the reserves Ablett Pavilion with a count of one, two, three to yell Go Saints! her signal for new lights with a minimum average 100 lux-rating to be turned on around the oval. The dramatic improvement funded by Alpine Shire Council and Victorian government grants extends sporting prospects in the community and adds to new 200-lux lighting for Myrtlefords netball and tennis courts. The council bulked up its grant for the project from an initial allocation of $50,000 to $202,572 and the Victorian government contributed $100,000 from its Country Football and Netball Program. We can potentially go to night football games on the oval now, Mr McNamara said. The poles have already been wired to allow an extra two lights on each of them that would take the rating to 150 lux. We need to find just $18,000 to enable us to do this and meet the lighting standard for night games in the local league. Reserve user groups include not only the Myrtleford Football Netball Club but the Myrtleford Lawn Tennis Club, Myrtleford Netball Association, Ovens and United Cricket Club and Ovens Valley Canine Club. Ms Symes said the lighting had come about because of a really significant investment for a small council. So congratulations to the reserve management committee, the council and the community, she said. Youve been knocking on the right doors and ticking the right boxes. It opens up great opportunities for sports and enables training longer into the evenings. Alpine mayor Ron Janas said the project was a fine example of collaboration between the reserve committee, user groups, council and government. The upgraded lighting at McNamara Reserve provides increased opportunity for evening training, and supports the long term vision for the reserve as key location for sports events in the upper Ovens Valley and potentially North East Victoria. The project comes on the back of a $148,000 surface upgrade for the netball and tennis courts, which was completed at McNamara Reserve last year. Caption Text: BRIGHT LIGHTS: Victorian parliamentarian Jaclyn Symes (third from left) with Alpine mayor Ron Janas (left), McNamara Reserve committee secretary Marnie Broz, Myrtleford Football Netball Club president Michael Quirk, reserve president Bob McNamara, Myrtleford Lawn Tennis Club president Peter Ternes and Alpine councillor John Forsythe at the lighting ceremony. PHOTO: Jamie Kronborg Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.