Clarke Energy is honoured to have once again sponsored the Australian Combined Emergency Services (ACES) team, comprising the best footballers from Australia’s police, fire, and ambulance services, for the fifth consecutive year.
Competing annually against the Australian Defence Force (ADF) All Stars, the prestigious ANZAC Day Challenge serves as a powerful tribute to the ANZAC spirit, with the game highlighting the dedication, sportsmanship, and camaraderie that our emergency services and defence personnel demonstrate daily.
Image credit: Jeff Wray Photography
ACES representative, Josh Byerlee, a Senior Fire Fighter with the Metropolitan Fire Service, expressed the significance of the event:
“It’s probably the purest form of footy you can get just because we’ve got so much respect for each other when we run out on the field. Everybody wants to play their hardest to honour the other team. While Anzac week is the ADF’s week, we always want to make it our day and win the game.”
Byerlee also noted the honour of sharing the Oval with their off-field allies.
The official guernsey presentation to the ACES team was attended by several Clarke Energy Australia staff, who were proud to represent a company that lends its support to such worthy community initiatives.
Greg Columbus, Clarke Energy’s Managing Director, stated:
“This is a wonderful annual event that Clarke Energy is honoured in some small way to be part of. We are aware that the ACES team has to raise its own money, through sponsorship, to make the Anzac Day Challenge possible to stage, with players paying their own way to the competing state and taking annual leave to be involved in the ACES experience. The bond and spirit that has been developed through ACES is remarkable, and we are delighted to support this group of Australian emergency workers who display selflessness and community commitment.”
This year’s Anzac Day Challenge, held at Adelaide Oval in the curtain-raiser to the Port Adelaide versus St Kilda clash, was a remarkable display of athleticism and respect; a fitting testament to the enduring spirit of the ANZACs, with the final score being 9.2 (56) to 3.3 (21) with the ADF All Stars taking the honours for the first time since 2017.
Clarke Energy looks forward to continuing our support of the ACES team and celebrating the spirit of the ANZACs through this exceptional event for many years to come.
For more information about Clarke Energy and our community initiatives, visit www.clarke-energy.com.
Image credit: Jeff Wray Photography
