The Sunshine Coast Lightning netball club and Unitywater have started their fourth year of community partnership, launching their 2025 program in Redcliffe. The program focuses on supporting local netball and encouraging people to ‘Drink Tap’ for health and hydration.
Partnership Kick-off
The 2025 partnership between the water utility and the professional netball team was launched recently at a community event at The Breakfast Club Redcliffe. Unitywater Executive Manager Strategic Engagement, Joshua Zugajev, stated that both organisations strongly commit to helping build healthy and active communities.
He noted that Unitywater was proud to continue as the club’s Community Partner into 2025. Mr Zugajev emphasised that community and people are central to Unitywater’s operations, as their staff live and work within the same local areas.
Community Support Initiatives
The partnership aims to make a positive difference throughout the year across the Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast, and Noosa regions. A key focus will be supporting grassroots netball clubs and associations in these areas. Sunshine Coast Lightning Head Coach Belinda Reynolds expressed enthusiasm for continuing the strong relationship with Unitywater and highlighted their shared goal of supporting local netball organisations.
This will also see the annual Unitywater Lightning Cup expansion for schools, extending the event to two days to meet the strong interest from across the region.
Promoting Sustainability
Another important part of the collaboration is encouraging the community to drink tap water and reduce reliance on single-use plastic bottles. Mr Zugajev confirmed that the partnership will continue promoting fresh and safe tap water. Ms Reynolds noted that Unitywater’s ‘Drink Tap’ van is familiar at Lightning home games at UniSC Arena, providing free water refills.
She added that fans are encouraged to follow the team’s example by bringing reusable bottles to games to stay hydrated. Unitywater stainless steel bottles will be available from local netball associations for a gold coin donation for those without a bottle.
Published Date 02-April-2025
