The Reclink Community Cup is coming back to Victoria Park this Sunday, June 15 to raise funds for disadvantaged Australians.
Melbourne’s most hotly-contested game of footy is just around the corner. No, not that casual game that unfolds at the MCG every spring. We’re talking about the big guns. Bring on the Reclink Community Cup.
On Sunday, June 15, Victoria Park will host a game of Aussie Rules like no other in the name of Reclink Australia. The iconic annual football game sees local musicians (Rockdogs) take on Triple R and PBS radio presenters (Megahertz), plus a bucketload of live music threaded throughout the day.
Reclink Community Cup
- With Charlie Needs Braces, Cong Josie & the Hell Racers, Frente, Milo Eastwood, Surprise Chef + Ella Thompson, Spiderbait and Wrong Way Up
- Sunday, June 15
- Victoria park, Abbotsford
- Tickets here
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
The marriage of music and sport
The showdown will feature a collision of music and sport in an effort to raise funds for Reclink’s sport and recreation programs for disadvantaged communities nationwide.
While Naarm has bolstered a reputation for both its music and sport communities, it’s not often that we witness the marriage of the two in such a cohesive – and undeniably beautiful – way.
Legendary Triple R presenter Chris Gill says that the reason why the Reclink Community Cup has been able to combine music and sport so successfully over its 32-year history is simple. “It’s because they don’t fit so successfully.”
“I mean, generally sport and music are sort of two separate fields,” Chris says. “But more often than not, people have multi-pronged interests in their lives. You get some incredible sports people within community radio and within the rock and roll world.
“It’s just a lovely, lovely place for people to share in and for music to be performed. It’s sort of how it should be. An amalgamation of music and football is a very interesting and groovy place to be in.”
“They’re momentous moments”
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The charity AFL-style football match hosts a whopping 10,000 attendees in Naarm alone each year. That’s not even including the other fundraising games played elsewhere around the country.
Over $200,000 is raised annually for Reclink Australia’s programs thanks to the Community Cup. Those funds are then used to deliver programs to engage, support and connect vulnerable people in communities through sport.
Chris has been playing in the Cup for almost two decades, now representing the Megahertz as co-captain. He says the grassroots community spirit is what keeps him coming back each year.
“It’s when you have young players who kick their first goal or get their first kick. Some of them, this is their first ever game of AFL football. They’re momentous moments.”
The “smiling, happy people” may be the dominant element driving Chris’ enthusiasm for the Cup, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t see its fair share of competitive fire. “Oh, we’ve been training for months. Does the word boot camp mean anything to you?” he teases.
“I feel like we’ve been putting in and putting down some very heavy physical preparation for this incredible day. We will continue to train – rain, hail, sleet, sun or shine.”
From Abbotsford backstreets to the Big Apple
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While the Rockdogs should heed Chris’ warnings about the kind of force the Megahertz will be bringing to the field on June 15, the foundational point of the day isn’t lost on anyone involved.
Community spirit ties the event together, bringing in people from all walks of life. From all over the world, too, with Aussie-owned New York City pub, Old Mates, displaying a Reclink Community Cup Poster on its walls.
As for the musicians hitting the stage over the course of the day, Reclink have invited a collection old and new favourites. Legendary rockers Spiderbait will be performing, alongside Naarm’s own Milo Eastwood, Charlie Needs Braces, Wrong Way Up and Cong Josie & The Hell Racers.
Surprise Chef is teaming up with Ella Thompson for “a combined never-before-in-the-history-of-the-funk-universe” performance, according to Chris.
Frente will also be winning hearts on the day as they perform their iconic tune, Ordinary Angels, which doubles as this year’s theme. Celebrating the unsung heroes in the community, the theme is a tribute to the legends who uplift the people around them, whether on or off the field.
The game has featured a plethora of antics throughout the years, from mid-game streakers to on-field sausage sizzles. Peppered with live performances between the four quarters, plus before and after, it’s the perfect cacophony of art, adrenaline, community and chaos.
“In my eyes, it’s the perfect game of footy,” Chris says, summing the Cup up. “Yeah, it does bring a lot of people together.”
For tickets to Reclink Community Cup on Sunday, June 15, head here.
This article was made in partnership with Reclink.
