TAC, Melbourne Victory get behind annual Victoria Police, Epworth ABI Cup

17 Nov 2010

Media Release: 17 November 2010

The TAC and Melbourne Victory will once again help raise awareness of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) and the ongoing effects of road trauma when Victoria Police and Epworth HealthCare kick off for the annual ABI Cup at Melbourne Victory's new home in AAMI Park on Thursday 18 November.

For the second year in a row, the ABI Cup match will be played as a curtain raiser to the A-League game between Melbourne Victory and the Central Coast Mariners.

The Epworth and Victoria Police teams play off as a fundraiser for Epworth's ABI Unit. Monies raised goes towards the purchase of critical technology and equipment for patients in the Unit.

"We are thrilled that Melbourne Victory and the TAC are once again getting behind this very worthy cause by bringing the ABI Cup match to the fans of these two great teams," said Alan Kinkade, Group Chief Executive of Epworth HealthCare.

Melbourne Victory's Chief Executive, Geoff Miles said, "Melbourne Victory is a proud supporter of the TAC and the ABI Cup and we hope we can take the message about road trauma to a far broader audience through the Epworth ABI Cup."

A fundraising breakfast will be held on Wednesday 17 November with Melbourne Victory Coach Ernie Merrick and Captain Kevin Muscat joining Central Coast Mariners Coach Graham Arnold and Captain Alex Wilkinson in an exclusive panel to preview the Epworth ABI Cup.

"We greatly appreciate the support of Central Coast Mariners through their participation in the fundraising breakfast to support the outstanding work of Epworth Health Care, TAC and Victoria Police in our community," added Mr Miles.

Head of Community Relations of the TAC Phil Reed, Deputy Commissioner of Victoria Police Ken Lay and Director of Rehabilitation at Epworth HealthCare Professor John Olver will speak at the breakfast about first-hand experiences of road trauma and its devastating impact on our community.

TAC client Joshua De Silva will share his story at the breakfast and will toss the coin prior the A-League game. The 20 year-old sustained an ABI in March this year when he fell asleep at the wheel of his car and crashed into a tree in regional Victoria.

Approximately every four days, somebody in Victoria suffers a severe brain injury in a road crash, which results in profound and irreversible changes to their lives.  There are currently over 1,200 Victorians living with an acquired brain injury from a road accident. An ABI is most likely to occur between the ages of 15 and 34 with prevalence rates higher for males than females.

Epworth CEO, Mr Kinkade said, "We believe that the ABI Cup is a good fit for Melbourne Victory given that their fan base is largely young males between the ages of 18 to 25. Sadly, it is this age group that continues to be over-represented in road trauma statistics."

The ABI Cup match starts at 4.45pm at AAMI Park on Thursday 18 November, followed by
Melbourne Victory’s match against the Central Coast Mariners at 7.30pm.
Tickets can be purchased from ticketek.com.au, phone 136 100 or at the gate.

For more information contact:
Colleen Coghlan, Epworth HealthCare, ph 9426 8816 or 0423 777 452
Nick Slade, Melbourne Victory, ph 8656 0786 or 0400 536 466
Amanda Bavin, TAC, ph 5225 6591 or 0439 567 249