Last Thursday night, a small group of Lorne locals gathered at Stribling Reserve to see the new lights on the oval turned on for the first time. After years of inadequate lighting and a frustrating delay of nearly twelve months because of weather, the event did not disappoint.
As the contractors progressively switched on the lights and the oval surface lit up, memories of a light pole behind the Police station leaning at a very awkward angle and firing its lights skyward and another “temporary”
light tower behind the school, powered by a generator and lighting an area of about twenty five square metres, became very distant.
The attached photographs highlight the difference between the lighting now and at a training night in May, 2019.
On that Thursday night, the contractors adjusted the orientation of each light on the four poles under the direction of a lighting consultant to ensure two things; even lighting across the surface of the ground and minimal light “spill” beyond the boundaries of the oval.
The “brightness” of the lights can be adjusted to suit circumstances. Last Thursday, the lights were at their brightest because of the need to adjust each light. The lights have three levels of brightness; 50, 100 & 200 Lux (the measure of brightness). The guidelines issued by AFL indicate that 50 Lux will be suitable in most cases for night training and 100 Lux for Club competitions at night. The maximum brightness of 200 Lux is only likely to be used for activities such as regional competition, night cricket etc. We are yet to determine what is the most appropriate level of brightness necessary for safe landing and take-off of helicopters during a medical evacuation – a regular occurrence at Stribling Reserve.
On Thursday night, March 5, Lorne will play a twilight practice match against Torquay. On this night for the first time, our new lights and electronic scoreboard will be in operation. For the 2020 season, the new scoreboard is controlled by a team of operators ably led by Tony Elder, from within the old Kambouris Family scoreboard. The interior of this old scoreboard has had a makeover with the able assistance of Len Tank and Richard Davies and teams to ensure it has a level of comfort on the cold days and nights and that it has the power, lighting and data connections to the new scoreboard to make the whole thing tick.
Come along on Thursday evening to see these exciting improvements at Stribling Reserve. Reserve will commence play at 6pm, followed by the Seniors game.
The concept design for the new football pavilion includes at special room to accommodate scorer and timekeeper with a clear view of the ground. On the subject of pavilion development, tenders have now closed for the new Netball and Football pavilions. The Project Control Group, which includes members of the Stribling Reserve Committee, representatives of the School and of the Lorne Football & Netball Club and Surf Coast Shire will be meeting soon as we plan to complete the netball pavilion this year and the football pavilion before the end of 2021.
Exciting times!!
Stribling Reserve Committee of Management
