00:02Sport is the heartbeat of rural life in winter.
00:06But this season the price of fuel has thrown a curveball.
00:10This year I reckon it would be over $1500 of fuel for the year,
00:15whereas on a normal year it's going to be more likely under $800.
00:21The dramatic increase in fuel costs has led some regional families
00:25to question playing this season.
00:27On average, with our juniors this year,
00:29we're travelling around 4,600km for the year for the season.
00:36The Wirrala Sporting Club decided to buy a minibus
00:38to help families get to games.
00:41I probably wasn't going to be able to afford to take the girls out
00:46to play netball every weekend,
00:47especially when we have to travel to places like Penang,
00:50which is a four-hour round trip.
00:51Some of them wouldn't have been able to commit to playing this year
00:55if the club hadn't decided to purchase a bus.
01:00Other regional clubs and communities are also supporting their players
01:03to keep up with games and training commitments.
01:05But there's hope the fuel price pressure will ease.
01:08I guess if it continues to go on,
01:11we might have people that are getting a bit worried about it.
01:14But, yeah, so now we keep pushing on.
01:18It's the fabric of this part of the world,
01:22and to have to really think about whether you can attend
01:27is a bit heartbreaking, really.
01:29Communities that aren't ready to throw in the towel yet.
01:32They don't want them to talk for years.
01:32Yeah.
01:32So the question for...
01:34...
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