THE costs associated with travelling to tournaments just got easier for Moree Jiu Jitsu Club, after Moree Services Club this week kicked in with a massive $5000 donation.

Coach Brett O’Neill and assistant coach Nick Sabine said the donation will be used to help with travelling costs to tournaments and competitions in New South Wales and Queensland.

“Most competitions are on the coast or in Brisbane – a bit of a distance – and this donation will help pay for the kids’ fees and registration, and maybe some accommodation,” Mr O’Neill said.

“Some of the fees can be a bit expensive and can cost up to $200, depending on how many divisions a child wants to enter.

“The trips away are generally a minimum of three days, sometimes four, so it’s not a cheap exercise,” he said.

Mr Sabine said the generous donation was very much appreciated.

“On behalf of our club, I want to thank Moree Services Club, which is very supportive of all sporting clubs, groups and organisations in Moree,” Mr Sabine said.

“We try to push to make people better, and donations like this helps us do that.

“The money will go towards kids’ competitions, training, and traveling costs. We’re looking at hiring buses to do competitions, and this donation will help subsidise travel expenses.

“On average, to register a child for a competition is about $75 – for one division – and there’s accommodation and travel costs as well,” he said.

“There’s a fair few competitions coming up. The Queensland State Championships are doing their circuit at the moment.”

(back from left) Stuart King, Nicholas Sabine, Brett O’Neill, Gary Maidens and Rob Shield with (middle row from left) Beau Ross, Matilda Madden and Logan Cubis and (front row) William Hartin, Ari Macey, Henry Hartin, Austin Madden, Blake Young, Logan Braithwaite, Cooper Lablack and Ollie Lablack.

Mr O’Neill echoed Mr Sabine’s words.

“This is a massive donation,” he said.

“Nick suggested we apply for it, and it’s much bigger than we expected.

“What the Services Club does is beautiful; they’ve always helped the community, and we’ve had a lot of local support as well. The council has helped us out with a few things and now, to have this donation, means we can look at travelling away,” he said.

Moree Services Club board president, Gary Maidens, said organisations like the jiu jitsu club were important to Moree.

“We like to sponsor kids through our community sport program and keep clubs like this going,” Mr Maidens said.

“We want to keep the kids active. Junior sports clubs like the jiu jitsu club are very important to Moree and donations like this are what we like to do with any kids’ sport in our town.

“It costs a fair bit for the kids to travel, and this money will help offset some of the costs associated with that,” he said.

The Moree Jiu Jitsu Club has 40 to 50 children registered, ranging in ages from seven to about 13, and just as many adults in senior classes.

The group meet at Moree Showground three nights a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday – from around 5pm.

“We limit it to about 20 kids per night, depending on the number of coaches available,” Mr O’Neill said.

“There’s also about 50 adults on the books, depending on when they can or can’t come along. Our total membership, between kids and adults, is close to 100.”

The club travelled to Inverell last year to compete in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu NSW Championship, and returned home with plenty of medals.

The $5000 donation from Moree Services Club means more travel to major tournaments is now possible.

“There’s a list of competitions coming up, so we’ll get these kids involved,” Mr O’Neill said.

“We went close last year at Inverell, and the kids are all still talking about it,” he smiled.