The camaraderie of the footballing community was on display in Campbells Creek this weekend, with volunteers braving ice-cold water in the name of motor neurone disease research.
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The MND Up the Creek event follows the success of the Big Freeze at the G, which earlier this month saw sporting celebrities Lleyton Hewitt, Alisa Camplin and Steve Hooker dunked into an ice bath.
“It's about country footy showing Neale Daniher he has some support out in the bush,” organiser Steve Adamson said.
“When the chips are down, we come together, us country people.”
Mr Daniher is living with the incurable illness.
Among the two dozen who took part in the icy dive were the loved ones of people who had already succumbed to MND.
“It's affecting a lot of people and I'm sure they (the participants) feel good about themselves and think about their loved ones,” Mr Adamson said.
Campbells Creek A-grade netball coach Sharni Simpson was among those to take the plunge into freezing water on Sunday,
She and a friend raised more than $2000 for disease research, a figure they reached by rattling tins around their workplaces and appealing to friends on Facebook.
She said netballers were less acquainted with ice baths than those who played football, so the cold came as a shock.
“It was freezing to begin with, but then the adrenaline sort of kicked in,” Ms Simpson said.
She enjoyed being part of a club that raised money for an organisation other than itself.
Divers from 15 clubs took part in the 2017 event, 10 more than last year.
Once donations were counted, Mr Adamson expected the fundraiser’s two-year total would top $40,000.
MND attacks the cells that control the muscles required to move, speak, breathe and swallow.
Two Australians die every day from the disease, and another two are newly diagnosed every 24 hours.
There is not yet a known cure or effective treatment.