A historic south-west cricket association has pulled up stumps but its president believes its clubs will thrive into the future.
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Grassmere Cricket Association on Monday decided the 2020-21 season would be its last, ending a 75-year presence on the region's sporting landscape.
President Rhys Dews labelled the decision "a tough call to make" but said the association's six clubs were well-placed to preserve their history and survive long-term.
He said the executive would spend its final months working to help clubs enter the next chapter of their existence.
Dews said none of the six clubs had yet finalised future plans but said the path pioneered by Purnim and Panmure, who joined the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association in the winter, was an option.
They're hard discussions to have but we look at it from a positive way moving forward now and look at it as the next chapter.
- Rhys Dews
"The best-case scenario is that every club will have somewhere to go," Dews said.
"That was the main goal and that's what we've been working towards. Once we lost the two sides (Panmure and Purnim) it made it tough. You don't have much room to move as a five or six team competition.
"They're hard discussions to have but we look at it from a positive way moving forward now and look at it as the next chapter."
Dews said the association was proud of its longevity and reputation as a place to enjoy cricket.
"That's a big part of how we have made it to 75 years. We've just always been able to come out and enjoy our cricket," he said.
"That's our biggest promotion that we've had and I know moving forward definitely every club will want to continue that social atmosphere with whatever they do next.
"We want to try to keep a bit of that GCA spirit still out there."
The Grassmere Cricket Association will cover the cost of umpires post-Christmas in a bid to help clubs financially look to the future.
"If clubs are moving into Warrnambool and that, there's going to be a lot of costs associated in that," Dews said.
"They'll have to look at turf wickets, new gear, new signage and all of that stuff.
"It's only a little thing we can do but we want to put back into the clubs and help them out where we can. It's just one less burden they have to worry about with everything else that's going on."
Killarney, Hawkesdale, Yambuk, Wangoom, Woolsthorpe-Mailors Flat and Grassmere are the six remaining Grassmere Cricket Association clubs.
Grassmere will play Hawkesdale in the association's Twenty20 final on December 19.
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Nick Ansell
Nick Ansell is a sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard.
Nick Ansell is a sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard.
