Footy, fun and rock’n’roll awaits when this year’s Reclink Community Cup kicks off on Sunday at Victoria Park in Melbourne. So promises Chris Gill, a veteran player who will take to the field for the 17th time this year.
“It’s a super-funky, family-friendly day. Actually, quite a fantastical day,” the record store owner and radio host says.
Since the inaugural match in Melbourne in 1993, the Community Cup has gone national and gained a cult following, with games scheduled later this year in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra and Perth.
Sunday’s event will draw a “massive crowd of music fans, there to eyeball the cultural athletes” and support a charitable cause, Gill says, as it pits local musicians (aptly named the Rockdogs in black, red and yellow) against the Megahertz, a team made up of community radio presenters from Triple R and PBS (in red and white stripes), with live bands playing throughout the day.
Gill says that the combination of footy, mud, crazy costumes and rock’n’roll gives rise to some of the funniest moments you’re ever likely to see on a sports field.
“Some of the funniest moments have occurred when streakers have taken to the field, including one memorable year when a family of four streaked – that was weird … Or when we all did the flashmob of Time Warp during the game, or the time the WAM-BULANCE came out to help people who were having time out on the sidelines.”
He also recalls speaking with Anthony Albanese on the footy field in 2019 and asking him if he’d heard the awesome new single by Kaiit called Miss Shiney. “He was like, ‘Yes, it’s a monster single, she’s a legend.’ And she is!!!”
Albanese has in previous years pulled on a guernsey for the Western Walers at Henson Park in Marrickville, and DJ’d at fundraising gigs at venues including the Corner hotel in Melbourne.
“As a proud Waler, I’ve had the privilege of seeing this event grow and evolve while always staying true to its community connections and its cause,” the prime minister says.
He says the Cup is “a tribute to the power of sport and music to bring us together and an extraordinary example of Australian kindness”.
“I wish I could be there this weekend to put my hamstrings to the test and have a crack on the decks after. I’ll be following closely from the G7 in Canada. Long live the Community Cup.”
Phoebe Crehan, who presents the program The Planetarium on Triple R and will be playing with the Megahertz this year for the second time, says growing up she “never saw footy as a sport I could be involved in”.
“It felt super intimidating. Last year was the first time I ever kicked a footy, let alone play in a match.”
Crehan says she was drawn to the Community Cup because it “is all about encouraging each other to have a go and enjoy ourselves, while letting the crowd feel a part of the fun too”.
“The true heroes are Reclink though, as they do this all year round, nurturing inclusivity and connection for people who might otherwise miss out.”
According to Dave Wells, CEO of Reclink Australia, the Community Cup generates more than $250,000 each year for the organisation, which works with Australians experiencing serious disadvantages by connecting communities through sport and recreation to improve mental and physical health and reduce social isolation.
“We look at the Cup as essentially a one-day music festival that just happens to be interrupted by a fairly average game of Aussie Rules,” he says. “This means that people of all genders and abilities are welcome and able to play on the same field, in a version of the game that is designed to maximise participation, and with less focus on the actual score.”
The Community Cup has hosted its share of Australian rock legends over the years, including such luminaries as Tim Rogers, Dan Sultan, Adalita, Courtney Barnett and Regurgitator, some of whom have pulled on footy boots as well as performing.
Australian rock darlings Frente will head up the music lineup on Sunday, and their beloved track Ordinary Angels has been adopted as this year’s theme song for the annual fundraising event, celebrating the “unsung legends of community – the ones who show up, uplift others, and create joy on and off the field”.
This year for the first time a green vinyl compilation record will be released featuring some of the musical history of the Cup, with tracks from Rockdogs former coach Paul Kelly, and other past performers including TISM, Baker Boy, Hiatus Kaiyote and Archie Roach, who was honoured posthumously at the Cup in 2022.
