Hawthorn Football Club is determined to spread its wings, and engage with the Tasmanian community in multiple ways off the field.
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Hawthorn Football Club state operations manager David Cox entered his role last year.
Since then, he said he’d frequently been questioned by locals about how the club worked with Tasmanians off the field throughout the year – not just on Aurora Stadium game days.
The Hawks sought to answer this question through a collection of actions and initiatives off the field.
"Last year when I joined Hawthorn, I recognised the enormous brand equity that Hawthorn has in this state and the extraordinary following we have in Tasmania," Mr Cox said.
"I wanted to see how we could translate that loyalty and that connection outside of the arena," he said.
"Last year [there] was really an understanding that we wanted to broaden our reach again to be more relevant to more people."
New arts based initiatives aim to assist and attract a different Tasmanian demographic.
The programs include partnerships with Design Tasmania and Breath of Fresh Air film festival, and the youth-focused Hawks Heroes program.
The Hawks sponsor the Design Tasmania Awards category ‘Furnishing our Future’.
The inaugural winner last year was a conical lamp by Geoff Marshall.
“[The sponsorship] is a real expression of support for the arts community and the design community," Mr Cox said.
Mr Cox said the Hawks were seeking to gather a collection of Tasmanian art that the club would own.
"That will be almost like a physical manifestation of the partnership between Hawthorn and Tasmania," Mr Cox said.
"If you can imagine this beautiful collection of innovative design pieces, such as the conical lamp...that shows the partnership with Tasmania, in a really creative, innovative way."
The Hawks have also partnered with the BOFA film festival.
The partnership will facilitate football clubs around the state exploring their heritage on screen.
The short competition is being rolled out through each of the junior football leagues and associations statewide, and any club is eligible to apply through the BOFA website.
"The challenge is to create a three minute vignette...that talks about the culture of the club or the history of their club, or some unique story or angle," Mr Cox said.
The best films will be shown at BOFA, and the winning club will receive $4000 to put toward their expenses.
Mr Cox said the initiative would not only expose footy players to the art of film.
"Exposing short film festival attendees to the football culture which is a really important part of the fabric and history of Tasmania [is also important]," Mr Cox said.
We really want to make football three dimensional, and expose kids to things other than football.
- Hawthorn Football Club state operations manager David Cox
The Hawks Heroes program will specifically target the Hawks’ younger fans, and encourage them to tackle community issues and give back.
"It's importantly not just open to footballers, but open to any young Tasmanians," Mr Cox said.
The initiative’s philosophy was inspired by the best and fairest award, with the competition hoping to inspire Tasmanians to bring the best and fairest attitude into their communities.
"The Hawks Heroes awards seeks to encourage kids to undertake some kind of community service or activity or initiative throughout the season in their local communities,” Mr Cox said.
“[They can do so] in a way that kind of reflects Hawthorn's values of perseverance and innovation and community support."
Mr Cox said he’s already received heart-warming submissions from young Hawks supporters.
One young Tasmanian planned to go out into her local community with her dad and their trailer, and offer to help elderly people remove excess foliage from their gardens.
Mr Cox said he was touched by the ingenuity and thoughtfulness underpinning the “beautiful” plan.
He said the competition was "a really lovely way to bring to life that message that we support the community".
The Hawks Heroes winner will be flown to Melbourne with a parent or guardian.
Mr Cox said they’ll be rewarded a “money can’t buy” behind-the-scenes Hawks experience at Waverly Park.
Mr Cox said the initiatives encapsulated the club’s conscious effort to expand.
"Those three things in particular are a real attempt by Hawthorn to have much more skin in the game, to be much more relevant and diverse with how we communicate with Tasmania,” Mr Cox said.
“It really acknowledges that the Tasmanian community, with which we want to engage, is diverse," he said.
Mr Cox said that although the players were very busy throughout the season maintaining condition, Launceston held a special place in their hearts.
“Obviously the players are always on being the best they can on the field,” Mr Cox said.
“But the organisation, the players would be the first people to acknowledge the club is a collection of people striving towards excellence in every aspect of the business."
Mr Cox said the players “loved” their five trips a year to play in Launceston, which formed an integral part of the club’s identity.
“Hawthorn's been here ten years or so in a formal, contractual capacity,” Mr Cox said.
“For most players, they don't know anything but the partnership with Tasmania,” he said.