A sporting legacy
The Salvation Army in Rockdale has a long history of sportsmanship.
A Salvation Army Netball Association was commenced in 1972 with Rockdale entering a senior and junior team in the competition. In the earlier years, the Salvos teams were well represented in the NSW representative teams. A cricket team was formed in 1983 and a soccer club formed in 1983.
In 2012, Hurstville Salvation Army officer Major Trevor Nicol led a mission team to the London Olympics. They provided assistance and refreshments to spectators lining the streets of London. The team also visited The Salvation Army's Edward Alsop Court Men’s Hostel and participated in sports programs, rock climbing, a trivia night, Bible studies and built relationships with the men living at the hostel. It was great getting the men involved because most of them don’t usually like to get involved in anything there, said Major Nicol. They also assisted at SAFE, a Salvation Army disability camp for teenagers and adults, by hosting a mini-Olympics.
Major Nicol, who heads up The Salvation Army’s sports ministry, has also coordinated sports mission team trips to South Africa (2010) and Brazil (2014) for the soccer World Cup, working in partnership with local Salvationists in those countries to share the Gospel through sports clinics.
He recently coordinated The Salvation Army’s national basketball carnival in Sutherland, which featured 41 teams from Australia and Papua New Guinea (pictured right.)
