Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Darwin Badminton Club President Cedric Francis

Transcript

Katie Woolf spoke with Darwin Badminton Club President Cedric Francis · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Three point sixty with Katie Wolf.
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: Everyone is listening to Mix one O four point nine one. Well,
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: joining me on the line right now as the president
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: of the Darwin Badminton Club. Good morning to you, said Rik.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Good morning Katie. Thank you for having me on three sixty.
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: Oh, no problem at all, Saidrek. Now, talk us through
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: the current situation that the badminton club here in Darwin
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: is in. So talk us through exactly what the situation
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: is for you guys at the moment with the badminton club.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, right now, right now, we are awaiting the least
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: to be signed between the government and the current venue owner.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: This lease expired on the twenty sixth of June twenty nineteen,
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: and we've been paying on a monthly basis. What we're
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: looking for is at least a two year contract at
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: the moment, which hopefully will give us time to get
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: into a new premise. And that is the crust of everything.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: What we want is a new home for badminton as
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: we've outgruned this present place and.
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: So at the moment, realistically, you haven't had I guess
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: you know, you'd say you haven't sort of had a
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: permanent home for quite some time. All that lease has
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: been on and off reely for some time, hasn't it.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: That is correct. Starting in nineteen ninety two, my wife
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Vienna started badminton along with a few others and they
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: started the club as well. And since then there've been
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: from Tracy Village in seventy two to Tracy Village Sports
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: Club which got burnt down, and then from there they
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: went to Rapid Creek Primary School and then onto Nightcliffe
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: Community the Center and finally the sports minister at the time,
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: Nick Donde very good. The film gave us sports thousand
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: Sanny Day and we were there right until Trink fourteen
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: and we were asked to leave that place because it
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: was being demolished. We are now at twenty one Albatross
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: Streets in Vernelly in there which has fixed coach. One
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: of the coats is not up to scratch. It's got full,
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: I think, and we get about fourteen players every day
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: Monday to Friday, and the Dozen Badminton Club, which is
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: the main frontline fall badminton in Darwin. We are finding
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: it very difficult to accommodate all these players, well more
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: players sitting sometimes and playing wow.
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: And so I Saidric, really, what you're after here is
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: I guess you're appealing to the Northern Territory government that
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: you know that you need a home for badminton.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: That is correct. In June of twenty eighteen a design
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: was done by Dean Osborne and that was sent over
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: to Chief Minister Michael Gunner, the Sportsminister Lauren Moss and
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: Minister Natasha Filed And well, what it stated was that
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: they'd be a Doven indoor sports center which was comprised
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: off the squash courts, badminton courts, tennis table tennis courts
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: and the toy library the four and one. But the
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: Anti government thought it would be the price was too much,
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: which was about Ken Malone, and then we made it
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: just premise only for badminton, which was around six million
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: at the time. But that has dragged on and we
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: haven't heard anything from them. Copies of all the paperwork
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: for the new venue were sent to Minister Lauren Moss
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: in April of twenty twenty. We received an acknowledgment but
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: there was no progress after that.
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: Now, Cedric, what impact is this having on the club
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: and on badminton in the Northern Territory more generally at
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: the moment.
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: Well, it's a lot of restriction to the players because
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: the night is truly, you know, overcrowded, and we've also
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: had to turn back people on the night. It's a
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: very bad Badminton is a lovely community. Both We've got
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: people that are over eighty five playing the game and
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: there's youngsters as young as seven and eight years old
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: that are playing the game. So I think it's a
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: really sad tory that we don't have our own homes.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: And Cedric, you know, I suppose some people listening maybe thinking, well,
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: it sounds like quite a bit of money for the
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: government to fork out for a new home for badminton,
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: but it sounds like you're also quite prepared to be
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: pretty adaptable here in terms of what in terms of
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: what you've got.
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: Oh yes, we've discussed that with the government on a
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: few occasions. Actually, tomorrow, a couple of our representatives from
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory Badminton Association, I'm meeting with the government
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: to get the least say between the anti government and
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: the venue owner that we can remain in those premises
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: for another couple of years.
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, oh wow, Cedric, If there is anybody from the
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: government listening today. What is your message for them?
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: My message would be, please give us the form up
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: our own. We are just as good as all the
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: other spots in Darwin, and just as deserving as all
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: the other spots.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Well, Cedric, I really hope that that some kind of
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: agreement can be met. Please keep in contact with us,
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: let us know how you go. And I really appreciate
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: your time this morning.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: Thank you, Katy. I appreciate your thame, no problem at all.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: I'll keep you in for sure.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: Thank you, Thanks very much, Cedric,