Edgar Adams' Editorial

This month we have highlighted the achievements of our athletes and the Central Coast Academy of Sport.
In the space of only three years Ian Robilliard and his team at the CCAS have created a highly respected organisation that is the envy of many regions in NSW.
Sport is often not seen as a business but in reality it is very much a business and one that generates and promotes our Region. The number of people employed through sport is difficult to measure but think about the number of retailers of sporting goods, equipment and clothing and the golf clubs, bowling clubs, cricket clubs, football clubs and more and you soon get the picture.
But it goes further than that. Sport attracts a lot of visitors to our Region. We regularly hear of regional, state and national championships being held on the Coast. This month more than 800 athletes, 100 coaches, managers and officials, together with approximately 1000 family members will take part in the third ClubsNSW Sports Academy Games here on the Coast.
In February next year the 2008 Laser World Championships will be sailed off Terrigal with Gosford Sailing Club hosting the event. Sixty countries from around the world will be represented and the Laser sailing boats for the event are being built right here on the Coast. A lot of accommodation for the crews, their team support and families will be needed.
And look at the Central Coast Mariners and how their success is promoting our Region. While most of the sporting facilities we have on the Coast have been provided by government it is business that keeps sport viable through sponsorship and other support. Apart from the club industry business puts a lot of money into sport in our Region. While our sportsmen and women get a lot of benefits from this we all benefit – economically. 

A.C.S. Integrated Services Provider, the Erina based company that supplies security and cleaning services to many town centres on here on the Coast as well as to shopping centres and other businesses, has been successful in winning another substantial contract with the Westfield Group. A.C.S. never stops growing and now has a staff of 850 people. Not all on the Central Coast, as their services extend into Sydney and elsewhere in the State. But Warren Hughes is proud to tell you that a lot of his people who work outside the Coast live here.
An interesting fact that we often forget to acknowledge is that many Central Coast businesses have grown by exporting their services to Sydney and elsewhere in Australia. Ace Corporate Wear that has just expanded into new premises at Erina has clients all over Australia. Display Power is another company whose growth comes from customers outside the Region. The point of this is that we often forget that many of the smaller businesses that are based here on the Coast are locally owned and doing more than their bit for the local economy.

Edgar Adams
Editor

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