Panmure Football Netball Club gets creative to support sponsors during COVID-19 restrictions

The Parma Bus arrived at Panmure Recreation Reserve with more than 100 meals onboard.

The tasty teas were from club sponsor Flying Horse Bar and Brewery with club president Marie Condon, senior football coach Chris Bant and A grade netball mentor Josie Ellerton there to hand them out.

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It was the Bulldogs' innovative idea to keep their community connected during the COVID-19 pandemic which has brought grassroots sport to a standstill and forced the temporary cancellation of Thursday night club teas.

Ellerton said people ordered and paid for their parmas via the Flying Horse and were encouraged to wear their red, white and blue club colours when picking up their orders at the club.

"We normally have Thursday night teas and Tiff Melican cooks and everyone loves Tiff's parmas," she said.

Ellerton spoke to Flying Horse's Matty 'Monkey' Monk about a parma night for the club to lift spirits during social distancing restrictions.

"It's isolation teas. It's done to support the Flying Horse," she said.

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"By now we would've gone on a Saturday night after playing and we haven't been able to because of COVID-19 but we still wanted to help our sponsors.

"Monkey said he'd bring the bus out and 'we can call it The Parma Bus'.

"We've had over 100 parmas ordered. It's amazing. We're supporting a sponsor because they support us.

"It's another way to create a little bit of togetherness."

Other south-west sporting clubs, such as Warrnambool Football Netball Club, which is rotating takeaway orders through its various sponsors each week, have implemented similar ideas to help give businesses a boost while sit-in meals are prohibited.

Both the Warrnambool and District and Hampden league competitions are on hold until at least May 31 as the region navigates its way through the coronavirus pandemic.

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