Mr Petero Civoniceva, who plays for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League competition, was the special guest at a presentation of Telstra sponsorship to the Charles Sturt University (CSU) rugby league team and other local Bathurst sporting teams on Wednesday 8 October. Four representatives of the CSU rugby league club on the Bathurst Campus – Joel Begnell, Kurt Dickinson, Alistair Murphy and John Killey – received the sponsorship and met Mr Civoniceva at the presentation in the Rafters Bar in the Student Union. The sponsorship to the CSU rugby league team, valued at $1 500, consisted of tackle bags, kit bags, first aide kits, a water drum and water bottles. In 2008 the Telstra Assistance Fund has provided $1.25 million in equipment to 1 282 local sporting clubs involved in football (soccer), surf life saving, swimming, rugby league and Australian Rules.