Mount Waverley not only set the standard on the field last year, but the club has also been kicking plenty of goals off the field as well.
The Mountain Lions pride themselves on being an inclusive club, and last year opened their doors to the Chadstone Demons All-Abilities football team.
The Demons used Mayfield Reserve as their home venue for the 2016 season, and following on from this successful alignment, the team has now rebranded to become an official part of the Mount family.
The team is now known as the Mount Waverley Demons, and Mount Waverley President Jay Cavanagh is delighted to officially welcome them to the fold.
“They were great. So they came down to our side last year, they Chadstone (FC) pretty much kicked them out,” Cavanagh told The 5th Quarter yesterday.
“Chadstone wanted girls playing there and didn’t want (the all-abilities team), so kicked them out.
“A few of our boys umpire for them, so they said come down to Mount. So they came down last year, which was great, and they had a really good year.
“This year they’ve officially become Mount Waverley. They’re a great bunch of people down there and doing great things for the community.”
The Mount Waverley Demons provide people living with a disability the opportunity to participate in organised sport, which has a huge impact on the local community. Chiefly, the team promotes a healthy and active lifestyle by providing opportunities for disabled people to participate in organised sport, opportunities that are often difficult to come by.
More importantly, the team aims to break down break down the widespread stigma of intellectual and physical disability by facilitating mainstream integration of those with living with a disability.
Last Wednesday night, several Demons players represented the senior team during their Seymour Law Cup clash with Lyndhurst. Not only did the Demons perform admirably in Mount colours on the night, but it was a remarkable show of solidarity that further strengthening the relationship between the senior club and the all-abilities team.
Cavanagh said the connection between the two teams had been initially formed at administrative level, and has so far been a resounding success for all parties.
“Pete Willoughby, who is actually a basketballer, he played basketball in the Paralympics for Australia, he’s sort of running the show down there (at the Demons). I think he’s the secretary and he does a lot of the ground work down there, and he has been heavily involved in our club as well. It’s been a good match,” he said.
The Demons field two teams in the FIDA competition, with their senior team falling just short of the Division 2 premiership last season.
