Brisbane sporting clubs are facing repairs costing hundreds of thousands of dollars after kids tore up their fields in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred has battered the southeast with heavy rainfall with some totals exceeding 400mm.
Parts of Brisbane have been put on alert for flooding with many waterways bursting their banks with some residents told to move to higher ground away from the water or get ready to leave immediately if the threat worsens.
While many are facing devastation from the weather event, others in Brisbane have been looking on the bright side of the deluge and widespread power outages that saw over 350,000 homes without power over the weekend.
Children and their parents have taken to local parks with boogie boards for some fun on the waterlogged fields.
But sporting clubs have taken to social media to demand they stop – because they are causing thousands of dollars of damage.
Mitchelton Football Club members were shocked to see children using boogie boards on their field after flooding from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred
Many locals were not sympathetic to the club, saying kids should be allowed to have fun
Brisbane suffered widespread flooding over the weekend from the monsoonal rain deluge
A local parent posted a seemingly harmless image of children having fun at Mitchelton Football Club in Brisbane’s inner northwest, but quickly drew fire from the club.
‘I chased so many kids off the grounds yesterday and today as have other Mitchelton FC staff,’ a club member posted in reply.
‘Hundreds of thousands of dollars goes into the maintenance of those fields for 10 minutes of run ruining them.’
It comes after the club was left reeling from the 2022 floods that completely inundated the clubhouse and fields, while hoons also ripped up the turf to compound the club’s pain.
However the parent of one of the children enjoying themselves has defended his actions, despite having large expanses of parkland around the football club to use instead.
‘Was just trying to make the most of a s***y situation to bring a little joy into our lives,’ he posted.
‘I’ll go back to taking photos of bad parking and post my thoughts on Facebook.’
Many Brisbane locals rushed to the defence of the parents, despite the damage being done to local sporting clubs.
The new damage to the football fields at Mitchelton FC come after the club was devastated by the 2022 floods
Hoons also ripped up the fields at Mitchelton FC in 2022, resulting in expensive repairs
‘Think the rain will do enough damage, let them have fun,’ one posted.
‘It’s been a long time since you had fun huh?’ asked another.
‘How dare kids be kids,’ fumed another.
But others said the parents were being inconsiderate, especially with so many other parks available to use.
‘I’m sure you would feel differently if it was your work and money that someone was carelessly ruining,’ one posted.
‘There’s some grass on the other side of the fence they can play on and have a great time that would have no impact on thousands of community members,’ added another.
‘The people who think this is okay have clearly never been on sporting or fundraising committees or volunteered their time to support local committee,’ posted yet another.
Northern Suburbs Hockey Club also took to social media to demand locals ‘please keep off sports fields until they firm up’.
Northern Suburbs Hockey Club also took to Facebook to tell locals to stay off their pitch
‘Every single footstep does damage if the fields are still soft,’ the club continued.
‘Dorrington Park, Ashgrove, is maintained by Northern Suburbs Hockey Club. Although some support is provided by Brisbane City Council, most of it is funded by the club including the top dressing done in early January for over $24,000.
‘It is very disappointing for our members and volunteers who help make this happen when Dorro gets treated like a water fun park.’
The constant rain is not expected to become isolated showers until Tuesday.
‘Even after the rain does ease, flooding can continue for several days to come,’ the Bureau of Meteorology’s Jonathan How said.
