Yarroweyah Recreation Reserve Community Asset Committee president Paul Iskov.
Photo by
Owen Sinclair
Seven months have passed since news broke that the Yarroweyah Football Netball Club was entering a recess, sparking concern for what lay ahead for the dairy community and its beloved community reserve.
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But now, months later, the Yarroweyah Recreation Reserve is once again buzzing with life.
“We went from one user group,” Yarroweyah Recreation Reserve Community Asset Committee president Paul Iskov said, referring to the Yarroweyah FNC.
The scent of Deep Heat and sweaty socks lingered in the change rooms, hinting at the innumerable memories made there.
But life didn’t take long to return.
Today, Lion Muay Thai is one of three user groups taking advantage of the reserve’s facilities.
Since moving in two months ago, founder and instructor Ben Herezo has turned the former home and away rooms into training rooms, complete with sparring bags and foam matting on the floor.
Ben Herezo started Lion Muay Thai out of his farm shed 12 months ago. The program proved so popular that he looked around for a larger venue — and found the home and away rooms at the Yarroweyah Recreation Reserve.
Photo by
Owen Sinclair
“It’s been super good,” Mr Herezo said.
Mr Herezo has even added a collection of national flags hung on one wall, a nod to the diverse nationalities of his students.
Twelve months ago, Mr Herezo started the training gym out of his farm shed.
His classes for adults and children quickly proved so popular that when he heard about the rooms at the reserve, he jumped at the chance to turn them into a training gym.
With more space, Mr Herezo has been able to take on even more students. Credit: Lion Muay Thai.
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Contributed
“We obviously had to get more equipment; we’re still getting more. We’re going to add a ring in there. I’m picking mats up from Melbourne this weekend,” he said.
Without the facilities at the reserve, Mr Herezo’s classes would have been confined to his shed, which had capacity for only 12 people at any one time.
The home and away rooms at the reserve are now the venue for Lion Muay Thai.
Photo by
Owen Sinclair
“Hopefully, I can hire it for multiple years, maybe two to three years, and then my game plan after that is to open a 24-hour gym with this at the back of it,” he said.
“It’s good because it’s big enough that you can get a larger number of people in here, thus serving the community more. But it’s also not too big where you’re going to lose that personal touch,” he said.
“A lot of money goes into [maintaining] these facilities, and we see time and time again they just don’t get used any more. They bring sport to the community.
“With a small town like Yarroweyah, if this shuts down, then the locals have then got to travel long distances to get to other sporting groups. So it’s good to have something they don’t have to travel far to.”
The other two groups breathing life into the reserve include a horse carriage club called Northern Country Carriage Driving, and a junior football team called the Little Hoppers.
But they’re not the only user groups keen to pluck the fruit of opportunity.
With even more groups signalling an interest in the facilities, including a cricket club and rugby league team, the future is bright for the Yarroweyah Recreation Reserve.
“It’s not going to go to waste, put it that way,” Mr Iskov said.
“We, as the recreation reserve committee, want to keep it in good condition for the locals to use.
