THE entire South West Football League will be endorsing the message of road safety this week with round six representing Belt Up weekend.
All five league games in round six will reserve a short ceremony for the cause prior to games while game balls will be awarded to winning sides.
Players will also wear yellow arm bands in honour of the Belt Up message.
At the South Bunbury game at Hands Oval, a St John Ambulance representative will carry out the coin toss after a short announcement over the PA system.
South Bunbury general manager Larry Gleeson said the message was relevant in modern football.
“It’s a really good audience to reach,” he said.
“Players are encouraged to get together for a beer after games and Friday night training sessions so it’s a good message for them.”
Gleeson said South Bunbury along with other clubs in the league had strict rules about drink driving.
“We have a strict code of conduct at our club and I’m sure the same goes for other squads,” he said.
“We put a lot of pressure on the leadership group to be role models for everyone here and they do an exceptional job of setting an example.”
Gleeson said the South Bunbury bar staff had rules to stop people driving home intoxicated.
“It’s a hard thing to police, but we definitely reserve the right to cut people off after a few too many or ask if they’re driving home,” he said.
“A lot of people use a skipper but the general message is to just be sensible about it – we don’t treat players like babies,
“If a player were to drive home after too many drinks we would offer counselling and some guidance from the leadership group.”
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