MEDOWIE Football Club are tipped to host some big end of season finals fixtures in the Newcastle Football Association following the installation of new state-of-the-art LED sports field lighting at their Yulong Oval home base.

The Bumblebees recently celebrated the official opening of their new lighting system after funding was secured through a $450,000 grant from the NSW Stronger Country Community Fund.

Club Secretary Luke Radcliffe told News Of The Area, “The lights were a vital upgrade that will enable our club to extend playing and training times, as well as supporting them to cater for significant growth.

“The contractor Green Energy Queensland replaced our six old poles with eight new higher LED lighting poles that completely cover our two competition fields and Juniors field,” revealed Mr Radcliffe.

“These new lights are a huge fillip for our club and will make a big difference in being able to safely train and exercise during the cooler months of the year,” he said.

“Another plus is that the club can remotely manage the lighting of our sporting facility from anywhere in the region with the Lighting Control app,” Luke added.

Medowie FC can boast healthy numbers for the 2023 season with 52 teams registered from Under 6s through to Over 35s.

They will field two senior women’s teams in the Friday night All Age competition plus the inaugural Over 30s women series that is played on Monday nights plus junior all girl teams in the Under 7s, Under 10s and Under 12s.

The Bumblebees have made an early impact in the Under 15A competition under the guidance of Zone Head Coach Matt Morris where they sit on top of the table while Jaye Walker’s Under 12A team are currently in second spot.

Medowie FC will celebrate Female Football Week this Sunday May 21 with two charity matches at Yulong Oval – the club’s Over 30s Women team v the Over 35s Men at 10.30am followed by the All Age Women v All Age Men at 12 noon.

These games will be preceded by the Medowie U/12s Girls fixture at 9am.

By Chris KARAS