One of Cam Burns’ fondest memories of playing in the Reclink Community Cup was in 2023, when a man living in social housing became involved.

“I guess he is the type of person that Reclink is there to support,” Cam told CD.

He spoke to CD ahead of this year’s charity event, which will run at Alan Ray Oval in Ainslie on 14 September.

The annual family-friendly, dog-friendly showdown pits the Limestones (musicians) against the Noise (media) in the important fundraiser for Reclink ACT.

Reclink Australia supports people who live with a disability and people with mental health challenges or who are at risk of poor mental health, particularly young people.

Everyone involved in the day, including the players, are volunteers all working together to raise money for the cause.

“You can tell from the training just how much fun people have and how involved everyone gets,” Cam said.

Cam had never played Aussie Rules before joining the Limestones in 2017 — he was in a band that played at the match that year.

His fondest memory comes from the match played in Sydney in 2023. He was the captain that year. With not enough players to play in the nation’s capital, the Canberra team organised to play a combined Sydney team.

“From that, we had a group of us just sort of get together on the weekend to kick the ball around just to keep the fun up, particularly in the COVID years,” Cam said.

“There were a fair few of us who got together at Downer and just kept kicking (the ball) in the hope that there’ll be another game at some stage.”

While waiting for the bus at Dickson, the group came across a resident from Ainslie Village and Lodge.

Cam said that when the man attended the match, he made sure to include him by ensuring he received a jersey.

They were in the change room when Cam asked the man, “Are you alright?”

“And he said, ‘Yeah, thank you. Nobody ever looks out for me,’” Cam recalled.

It’s this camaraderie that 2025 Noise co-captain Mick Weaver enjoys. He also captained the side in 2024.

Mick joined the cup in 2019 when a colleague of his said, ‘Come play footy.’

“I used to play footy in Batemans Bay, so it was a no-brainer,” he told CD.

“But as soon as I realised how good it was to be around a game with amazing community spirit and other people who hadn’t played footy before, there was a real communal feel to it. Although on the day it is Noise vs Limestones and there’s very much a strong rivalry, which is wonderful.

“I love this all-in-training aspect. I love that people who have never played footy before, who are learning the game for the first time, are out there having a go and it’s so inclusive.

“It’s wonderful what it does for Reclink. I can’t speak highly enough of the thrill it gives to pull on the boots each year for this game and I’ll happily do it as long as I’m able.”

Reclink ACT program manager Mark Ransome said it was fantastic to receive the financial support through the match.

“Our funding is primarily to keep me and my team on the ground to support high and complex needs residents,” he told CD.

“It’s fantastic because it gives the ACT community at large a better idea about the programs we’ve been running here for the last 15 years so we can showcase our successes and bring a better understanding of just how tough some ACT residents do it.”

Reclink will be involved on match day.

Tickets to the 14 September match can be purchased at communitycup.com.au/canberra or at the gate on the day. You can donate to Reclink at fundraise.reclink.org.

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