South Australia’s emergency services staff and volunteers are to be dedicated for their daily sacrifices and commitment with an AFL football match next month.
For the first time, the inaugural Emergency Services Match will be fought out by the Crows and West Coast Eagles at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, 10 June.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Joe Szakacs said that establishing a dedicated football match for Emergency Services personnel was due to the desire to thank and promote the exceptional work of Emergency Services agencies and recognise their positive impacts on our community.
Mr Szakacs said that as part of the agreement, 3,000 tickets will be given to personnel from the SA Police, the Metropolitan Fire Service, the Country Fire Service, SA State Emergency Service and the South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission.
He said to ensure fairness in ticket allocations, staff and volunteers interested in attending the game can apply for an independent ticket ballot where names will be randomly drawn on 29 May.
“This is a monumental announcement that marks the first time in South Australia’s history that we recognise our emergency services personnel through a dedicated AFL match,” Mr Szakacs.
“I’m thrilled that our emergency services staff and volunteers, who have recently gallantly handled fires, floods, extreme weather events and other confronting incidents, will have the spotlight shone on their efforts,” he said.
“The match also presents an opportunity for exclusive access to our emergency services through engaging and interactive off-field activations.”
Chief Executive Officer for the Adelaide Crows, Tim Silvers said Emergency Services personnel did extraordinary things every day to protect local communities and the match will be all about recognising that.
“We want to thank them for their efforts, and we hope this gesture, while only small, goes some way to showing our appreciation,” Mr Silvers said.
“Through football we have a platform to celebrate the contributions these individuals make in our community and we are proud to be able to make this game part of our annual football calendar,” he said.
