Winter is the peak season for team sports and our sportsgrounds take a beating during the cooler months as thousands of pairs of feet run, jump and slide across them each Saturday and Sunday.

Council owns or manages most of the sportsgrounds across the City, so is largely responsible for their upkeep. Clubs and associations also make valuable contributions through fundraising.

Council adopted a five-year Sports Facility Strategy in 2015 to help identify and prioritise sporting needs and ensure a systematic approach to the way we upgrade fields and create new facilities.

Council has or is undertaking more than $5 million in upgrades this financial year to sporting facilities across the City.

Projects include a new sports field, car park and lights at Allen Davis Field at Gateshead, as well as new lighting at Wangi Wangi netball courts, Cardiff No. 1 and No. 2 ovals, and two fields at Barton Field, Belmont.

Parbury Park, in Swansea, will have a new amenities building and car park, while irrigation systems have been upgraded at Gibson Field at Morisset, Ulinga Oval at Cardiff South, Finnan Oval  at Blackalls Park and Lisle Carr Oval at Whitebridge.

Improvements have been made to the playing surfaces at Fishburn Field at Rathmines, Liles Oval at Redhead, Les Wakeman Field at West Wallsend, Waterboard Oval at Blackalls Park and Finnan Oval, also at Blackalls Park.

Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee that any of those upgrades will give your team a winning edge, but they should improve the playing experience for all users.

We celebrate Anzac Day next week and there are many locations across our City where residents can come together as a community and say thank you to the men and women who have, and continue, to safeguard our country and way of life.

I will be spending  Anzac Day at the dawn service at Speers Point Cenotaph, followed by the morning service at Anzac Park, Teralba, then the Toronto march and service at Goffet Park.

For further Anzac Day services in Lake Macquarie, go to lakemac.com.au