By David Nagel
It’s only a guess; but it would be a very good assumption to make that the Officer Community Hub has produced more international representatives for Australian sport than any other facility in the Cardinia Shire.
And that lofty and impressive title is bestowed on the Parker Street facility for one particular reason…it’s the home of the Pakenham Floorball Club (PFC)!
As recently as May, six players from the PFC represented Australia at the World Floorball Championships qualifier in the Philippines.
Australia won bronze at the event which secured qualification for the World Championships in Sweden from 7-15 December.
Pakenham’s representation was strong, with Ryan Alexandrakis, Dylan Clutterbuck, Jesse Justice, Jordan Noel, David Noney and Gavin Staindl making the Pakenham floorball community proud.
They’ll be treated like heroes in Sweden; with floorball a hugely popular sport right across Europe.
But the PFC is not resting on its laurels and is taking steps to make sure there is a long lineage of Pakenham players wearing the green and gold in the future.
Over the recent school holidays, the PFC held its second annual Three-v-Three Paky Floorball Cup.
A round robin all-day event, the Paky Floorball Cup gave juniors of all ages the opportunity to battle each other for glory.
PFC Junior Floorball Coordinator, Tracy Justice, said ‘the cup’ was a fun and hugely successful event.
“It was a great day; the playoffs were very competitive and hard-fought matches with the under-11s tipping into overtime,” Justice said.
“It was fun, but also competitive; it was great to watch the Varga brothers not give an inch as they went head-to-head against each other.
“It’s just great to be able to give these junior players a platform to show off their skills.”
Female participation is also a focus of the PFC, with Abbey Luttrell and Shannon Barnes recently representing Australia at the Women’s World Floorball Championships in Singapore.
Future role models are already starting to emerge with a newly-formed all-female Under-15 team producing a highlight of the tournament, making the final but heartbreakingly losing the match in the dying seconds.
“It just showed that the future of Women’s Floorball in Pakenham is on the rise,” Justice said.
A key role model for the younger girls coming through is Millie Justice, who held her own in the otherwise all-male under-19 winning team.
Now 18, Millie took up floorball as a part-time option as a 15-year-old during the netball off-season.
She soon realised she loved the sport and has been fortunate enough to go on to represent Australia on two occasions.
In 2022 she competed in Prague with fellow PFC member Maddie Berry, and Poland, and recently played in Finland in the Women’s Under19 Floorball World Championships.
The Australians finished 15th; a strong result in the largely European dominated sport.
The PFC is encouraging any prospective newcomers – junior or senior – to put Thursday’s aside to come and give floorball a go.
Millie runs a Junior Development session at 4.30pm.
A six-team junior competition is then played, followed by Women’s, under 21 and seniors.
The PFC is also offering a $10 four-week “come and try” special so people can try the sport without obligation to enrol.
“It’s half way through the season and we still have a few spots left in our junior teams so we are offering half-season entry for any juniors that want to give this fantastic sport a try,” Tracy Justice said.
“You will be made to feel very welcome and guaranteed equal court time.
“What have you got to lose; come and give floorball a try and we’re sure you’ll love it.”
For more information contact the PFC at secretary.pakenhamfloorball@gmail.com or check out the club’s socials.
What is Floorball?
• Floorball is similar to ice-hockey without the skates or contact.
• It is played indoors and is fun, fast and skilful.
• It is 5-a-side plus a goalie; using a stick and lightweight plastic ball.
