Click here to view the photo gallery from the Community Camp
CARLTON travelled to Seymour on Tuesday for its 2009 Telstra AFL Community Camp and got a first-hand look at the devastation caused by the Victorian bushfire tragedy and the resilience of just one of the many communities that had been under threat.
The town with a population of approximately 7,000 people lies about an hour and a half north of Melbourne by car and remained on a precautionary alert as fires continued to burn in the neighbouring Yea and Murrindindi areas.
The camp went ahead after CFA reports confirmed the safety of the trip with the Blues conducting clinics at several local schools, including Seymour Primary, where principal Steve Pink spoke of his delight at hosting the AFL club.
"It's been a welcome distraction," Pink said.
"The kids were really looking forward to it and it keeps them focused on something beside the fires.
"The fires haven't affected many of our families, but we know a lot of people who have been affected and we've got a few staff members who have felt the impact of the fires.
"Our kids live and breathe footy and to see AFL footballers here will probably stick in their minds for a long, long time."
The team travelled by bus up the Hume Highway through a large area of burnt out bush land interrupted by the occasional ruin of a family home which, in at least one case, sat cruelly next door to another home that had escaped completely unscathed.
The playing group arrived in the town at midday and split into several smaller groups to visit schools and outlying communities before conducting a super clinic at Kings Park Reserve - the home of the highly successful Seymour Lions footy club.
Strong winds on Tuesday had cleared the blanket of smoke that had previously engulfed the town, but a thick pall of smoke remained in the direction of Yea to the east with the smell still lingering in the gym where Kade Simpson, Shaun Grigg, David Ellard and Dennis Armfield introduced themselves to the kids at Seymour Primary.
The players were struck by the sheer scale and destructive force of what they witnessed on the trip north and Armfield was happy to help provide a small distraction for the local children.
"It's great to get out here especially when it's a bit of a tough time for some of these kids," Armfield said.
"It's important for us to get out to areas like this and give some time to these kids who probably don't get as many opportunities as kids in the city. They're having a blast and they're picking up the skills really well which is great.
"It's been great to see how these communities have bonded together."
The team gradually converged on Kings Park Reserve throughout the afternoon for lunch and a team meeting before kicking off the super clinic attended by several hundred locals.
A noisy reminder of the ongoing events in the area arrived in the form of the Victoria Police helicopter which had been gathering photographic evidence of the status of the fires in the region.
It cleared the kids from the oval as it set down to send off its photographic payload before rising again to continue its vital work.
That was soon forgotten, however, as the Blues broke from their meeting to conduct the super clinic gleefully attended by children who seemed delighted to run around and think of nothing more than the simple thrill of chasing a football.
