In conjunction with RugbyWA, the Insurance Commission of Western Australia will provide ‘Belt Up’ branded footballs to all local rugby clubs in the state to help promote wearing a seatbelt.
Over 2,300 footballs will be put in the hands of community rugby players across all 36 clubs.Every year, dozens of people are killed or seriously injured in crashes in Western Australia who were not wearing a seat belt.
The campaign aims to reduce these numbers by making sure everyone knows the risks of not wearing a seat belt.
The Belt Up branded rugby balls and other funded rugby equipment will assist players in their rugby training and serve as a reminder to Belt Up at all times, reducing the risk of rugby participants in WA being affected by careless driving.
RugbyWA CEO Bob Hunter was ecstatic with the continuation of the partnership and expressed the importance of having the ‘Belt Up’ message within WA community rugby.
“From a RugbyWA community perspective, this is a fabulous partnership that provides clubs with key equipment and literally puts the Belt up message in the hands of all our players across the state.
“The partnership expansion into our rural and colts program also helps target a key cohort of players that travel a long way to attend training and games.
“We look forward to continuing to engage the rugby community on the Belt Up message.”
Kane Blackman, Commission Secretary from the Insurance Commission, said that the Belt Up message was an important road safety message for the rugby community.
“People are still killed and seriously injured on the road while not wearing a seatbelt.
Despite fewer deaths and injuries in recent years, the Belt up message remains required.
Young people continue to be over-represented in crash statistics and you are more likely to end up with more serious injuries or killed in a crash if you don’t have a seatbelt to stop you being propelled forward in a crash.”
“The Belt Up message aims to educate rugby players and supporters about how to sustain fewer and less serious injuries when involved in motor vehicle crashes, leading to fewer insurance claims incurring lower costs,” he said.
“In the last six years, we have placed the Belt Up message directly into the hands of tens of thousands of Western Australian rugby players, by providing over XX,000 branded rugby balls.”
Hard Hitting Message
As a part of the partnership both RugbyWA and the Insurance Commission of Western Australia encourage all clubs and players to promote the Belt Up message by:
• Post photos via social media of your players with the Belt Up rugby balls.
Tag @RugbyWACommunity and @InsuranceCommissionofWA on Facebook, @RWA_Community and @ICWA_insurance on Twitter and hashtag #BeltUp.
• Share your story with us. Maybe you have a player who’s been involved in a road crash or your community has been affected. The more stories we share, the more the Belt Up message is promoted.
• Host a Belt Up Round.
• Acknowledge the support of the Insurance Commission and the Belt Up campaign at your Club Awards Night.
Belt Up Partners
The Insurance Commission has supported and funded the Belt up campaign since 1997. The campaign’s other sporting partners are West Australian Country Football League, Netball WA, Football West, and the WACA.
