When the Goulburn Swans take to the field next Saturday against the Googong Hoggs, they will not only be aiming for the win, but to further the fight against ovarian cancer.
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The clash will take place during the Swans' annual Ovarian Cancer Awareness Round, with the goal of raising funds for Ovarian Cancer Australia.
It is the third such event to be held by the club, after its inception in 2018 following the passing of Patricia Clark, the mother of Swans player Andrew Clark, from the disease earlier that year.
The ongoing support from the club, Andrew said, is "incredibly touching".
"It's as touching now as it was three years ago when we did the first game," he said.
"Without my knowledge, it was the club that put the first game together. Just that in itself speaks volumes about how the whole club and community got around us and helped us through the toughest time of our lives."
In past years, the event has raised over $1,000 for Ovarian Cancer Australia. This year, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the club has shifted its focus to online fundraising.
"This year we have a fundraising page on the Ovarian Cancer Australia website, which we haven't had in previous years," Andrew said.
"Due to COVID, we probably won't get as big a crowd as we have previously at the games, so we're hoping this online fundraising page will help us raise a bit more money from people who won't be able to get to the game.
"At the moment, that online target is set to $1,000, so to get anywhere near that would be brilliant and any more than that would be outstanding."
On the day, the Swans will hold a sausage sizzle and a bake sale to aid their fundraising efforts.
According to statistics from the Ovarian Cancer Australia website, roughly 1,500 Australian women are diagnosed and just over 1,000 die from the disease annually.
With a five-year survival rate of 46 per cent and recurrence of 75 per cent, ovarian cancer is a disease which needs more public awareness, Andrew said.
"It just doesn't have the exposure it should have," he said.
"Ovarian Cancer Australia does a tremendous job promoting it, and anyone else that can get behind this cause is a great help to anyone affected by it, families included."
Though he will not be on the field himself, due to some head knocks in earlier rounds, Andrew will spend the day cheering from the sidelines and working to raise money.
The Swans' fundraising page for next weekend's Ovarian Cancer Awareness Round can be found here.
The match between the Goulburn Swans and Googong Hogs will take place on Saturday, July 24, from noon at Goodhew Park.
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