St John support on-site for Kensington kids

Nigel Moggach, left, and Aaron Spence, right, were big players in getting the St John EMT on board at Kensington Park on Saturday mornings. Photo/Andrew Johnsen

A new medical initiative at Kensington Park on Saturday mornings will add a sense of security for supportive parents and grandparents.

A St John emergency medical technician (EMT) is now on site during the winter sport seasons to improve the time it takes to get injured kids help.

Nigel Moggach, who kick-started the initiative, said it was an incident he was part of last season that spurred the movement.

"Right at full time, which was around 12pm, one of the kids on my eldest son's team suffered a serious ankle injury," he said.

"Within 10-15 minutes the field was deserted. There was no one around to help or anything. It ended up taking nearly an hour for an ambulance to arrive.

"That was the catalyst. There were enough of us small business owners that could fund and support it."

Moggach then found support from Jacqui Edwards, who runs Coalies Sports Bar and Grill. They came on board straight away.

"We went and presented this idea to the sports trust. It's a great idea to have someone at the grounds on Saturday," she said.

"There's peace of mind having someone there and hopefully it'll free up places like White Cross. There's nothing worse than waiting for four hours in White Cross with your kid."

Still, they needed the backing of a major sports trust and that's what they found with the Northland Sports Coalition (NSC) and the Northland Badminton Association.

Led by Aaron Spence, a major player in both organisations, lodged an application to the Pegasus Sports Funding Trust who gave them the green light.

Despite being involved with badminton, who won't benefit from the initiative, Spence said it was a simple decision to get behind the idea.

"I thought it was important for the kids. Being on the Northland Sports Coalition was helpful. But this was solely for the kids," he said.

"It doesn't impact badminton at all but it helps the kids which is the most important thing.

"I chair the NSC, which is an umbrella group which looks after the 45 regional sports organisations in Northland and we were asked to facilitate it and make sure the funding happened.

"We are wanting this to be continually funded. We hope to get more ambulance officers on the ground. Getting one to start with was a big deal but we want to get more going forward. Hopefully we don't need them but it's good to have them there."

The EMT was on site this past Saturday and will be on hand for the next 11 weeks when the winter season draws to a close.

Moggach said having the medical expertise on-site provides not only peace of mind but an opportunity for the adults that turn up on Saturday mornings.

"The opportunity is there to educate more people," he said.

"We've got the funding so we can get more coaches and parents to learn first aid."