Soccer club's silver lining

ALMOST DONE: Westminster Soccer Club's new clubhouse is expected to be finished laster this month. Photo: The Queensland Times

IT'S been almost 17 months since Westminster Soccer Club's clubhouse was burnt down during the early hours of March 7, 2009.

Club chairman, Rob Price, was one of the first people on the scene to witness the destruction.

He vividly remembers what he saw like it was yesterday.

“I received a phone call from one of our senior men's players who lives around the back. He told me he saw smoke coming from the clubhouse,” Mr Price recalled.

“What I saw when I got there was devastating.

“It was just smouldering. The place was ripped apart.

“The firies were going around putting spot fires out.

“I couldn't believe it; I couldn't get my head around what had just happened.”

The fire, which gutted the clubhouse to such an extent that nothing could be salvaged, was an obvious setback for the Queensland Christian Soccer club.

But the club refused to let the fire break their spirit, continuing to operate and service their 300 members despite having limited resources or facilities.

Soon though life will return back to normal.

As part of Ipswich City Council's $3.3 million improvements and upgrading of Redbank Plains Recreation Reserve, Westminster Soccer Club were funded for the construction of a replacement clubhouse.

The multi-purpose facility is on track to be finished some time this month, just in time for the club's grand final weekend in early September.

Mr Price was relieved the club would soon have a new building to operate out of as they gear up to celebrate their 25th anniversary in 2011.

“It means a lot to us, that we've got a place; we can now properly function as a club again,” he said.

“The facility is superb. It's not only good enough to host our game days, but can host our peak events like grand final weekend and state titles.”

Unfortunately though, some things can never be replaced as Westminster treasurer and registrar, Sue Peacock, pointed out.

“At the end of the day it's just a building, but it's what we put in it like trophies, memorabilia, photos that we can't get back,” she said.

“There's things in there we'll never be able to replace like a lot of our records.”

By: Griffith Thomas