2017 YEAR BOOK SOUTHERN DISTRICTS NETBALL ASSOCIATION INC. 2017 YEAR BOOK 1st – 31st January New security screen fitted to both double doors in front of clubrooms and double doors to umpires Room, and windows to first aid room. 1st – 28th February New steel security gates fitted to entrance of breeze way. Coach nets a scholarship Southern River Stars and Crusaders Netball Club coach Blair Pasco is one of five winners of the inaugural Bette Allison coaching scholarships. 1 4th March 2017 The phone call that changed Australian Diamond Courtney Bruce’s life. This is Courtney Bruce’s story… Courtney Bruce tells me she doesn’t like phone calls all that much. As a stand-alone claim, this would be unremarkable, except for the fact we’re on the phone together when she tells me. I laugh, and point it out. Okay, she concedes, in the past she hasn’t liked them, but she’s getting better. And there’s probably a good reason why that is. At 23, Bruce is recognized as one of those cliched ‘up-and- comers’ on our Australian netball scene; a spotlight rests on her progress, expectations grow with every game she plays for Perth’s West Coast Fever. And she’s receiving call after call from selectors telling her good news. The first of these call-ups came from Australian Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander last year. She wanted Bruce on the Diamond’s national training camp in Canberra. “I hate talking on the phone,” Bruce reiterates. “It’s especially daunting talking to my Diamonds coach because I never know if it’ll be good or bad news.” It would be one of the most important phone calls the then 22-year-old would receive, a dream offer for any young netballer across the country. And it was one she didn’t want to pick up. “It was exciting, it was something I had wanted for a long time. I don’t remember much of the conversation, I just remember saying yes, yes, yes 100 times and thank you 100 times.” Bruce was born in Perth and has played netball “for as long as she can remember”. From the age of about six, her parents threw her and her two younger sisters into the game. It would come to be a very clever move. The gun defender’s break-out season came in 2016 when she managed to rattle some of the competition’s strongest goalies, earning her a spot in the Diamonds squad by the end of the year. But it was running out with the girls in Round One of the re-branded Suncorp Super League that was especially memorable for the 23-year-old. “It was a really good feeling,” she says, recalling those first few moments running onto the court. “It felt like a long time coming. There’s a lot of WA girls in the team and there was this big sense of pride, playing for our home state was so good.” 2 And she’s not wrong. The league has been a long time coming, as has the exposure it has inevitably brought. Channel Nine have jumped on board, and some of our nation’s best athletes are getting the kind of attention they’ve always deserved. And although women’s sport seems to be having a moment, it hasn’t always been the way “There’s been so much more exposure for us since Channel Nine came on board and since the league has been broadcast on free-to-air. The media has been more interested and that’s been huge.” In comparison to most women’s sport, netball has never been short of talent. And despite the poor pay and the poor exposure the sport has received in the past, young netballers have never been short of a role model growing up. “There were always some phenomenal athletes to look up to, so growing up and wanting to be a netballer was never a problem. “But for sure, it’s easier for young girls now, they know they can actually have a career in the sport, especially if it keeps going the way it is now.” It’s great, and indeed we are talking more and more about women’s sport, but the fact I have to ask Bruce how she juggles completing university playing sport for your country is telling. She’s currently trying to get through a psychology degree while trying to crack into the national team for one of the most popular sports in our country. Her answer is simple: there’s never been another option. “We’ve always been taught we have had to balance it all, even at the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport), because there’s no other option. I like having more on my plate, though. I don’t like having time to kill. “Since my time at the AIS, we always had sessions on time management teaching us how to balance these things. Obviously, netball has come a long way, but we’re still nowhere near where the men are at, so we’ve always had to balance doing more than one thing.” So now that so many more young girls will grow up believing they can play sport, what advice would she give them? “To have fun and enjoy it,” she says. “I play my best when I’m loving it.” Belinda Hare our UDO at Southern Districts along with Dean Probert were asked to umpire one of the West Coast Fever training session at the State Netball Centre. 3 1st – 31st March 7th of March registrations for Winter Competition recorded 204 teams. 28th of March - AGM EXECUTIVE President Jenny Maras Vice President Jayne Lill Competitions Sue Neal Development Liaison Officer Tania Walters Members Representative Jennifer Thompson Game Day Supervisor Kerry Dallimore Finance Mary Cash Grading Cassie McGann Property & Uniform Officer Caroline Southam APPOINTMENTS Development Officer Bev Gallager Umpires Development Officer Belinda Hares Administrator Nicole Prothero Cleaner/Office Assistant Lesley Staines 4 GRADING Grading Convenor Cassie McGann Committee Mary Cash - Crusaders Bev Jones - Harlequins Jacki Fair - Canning Vale Firebirds Julie How - Huntingdale Megan Logue - Zodiacs Carrie Harris - Bletchley Park Gavin Domjahn- Jetz COMPETITIONS Competitions Convenor Sue Neal Committee Senior Convenor - Kris Richardson Junior Convenor - Sian Jenkins-Bragg NSG Convenor - Marjion Vagg Fast 5 Convenor - Helen Robinson FINANCE Nicole Prothero, Mary Cash, Kim Prescott-Brown GAME DAY SUPERVISOR Supervisor Convenor Kerry Dallimore Committee Cindy Wells Shana Fitzgerald Kim Prescott-Brown - Resigned Carrie Harris Kylie Giles Jen Thompson UMPIRES COACHING Umpires Development Officer Belinda Hares Committee Natalie Robertson, Amy Harvey, Dean Probert MEMBERS REP Committee Cultural Liaison Officer Valerie Maxwell PROTEST & DISPUTES Helen Robinson – Chairperson Kim Prescott-Brown - Resigned Julie Pisani Bev Jones Irene McKay Helen Robinson 5 IRIS JAMES AWARD WINNER Nil LIFE MEMBERS Nil APPOINTMENT OF AUDITOR AND PATRONESS Auditors John A Osborne Patronesses Helen Robinson and Helen Prince Squad Umpires - UDO Belinda Lloyd-Hares, Umpires Natalie Robertson, Lisa McDowell, Amy Harvey, Belinda Lloyd-Hares, Dean Probert, Kristen Lee Hosking, Lauren McLean, Meg McFetridge, Georgie Baxter, Tahlia Bennett. (Photo: See disk) Green Shirt Program Dean Probert Supervisors Dean Probert, Natalie Robertson, Lisa McDowell, Belinda Lloyd-Hares, Meg McFetridge, Hannah Boucher. 1ST – 30th April 1st April – Nicky Prothero receives Life Membership from Netball WA. 2017 Netball WA Life Member Nicole Prothero 7th April – Security alarm battery replaced at Sdna. 11th April - Our very own Courtney Bruce along with 5 other players from the West Coast Fever gave up their time to hold a netball clinic at Southern Districts. All funds were donated to our Regional Development Office – Julie How who’s, son Dylan is fighting a rare type of cancer (Ewing Sarcoma). The night was a huge success and thank you to all that donated. All the participants from ages 10 to 15 years had a great time. 6 29th April - was the commencement of games at Sdna for the winter season. Our Net Set Go Newcomers commenced their program for the winter season. New trolley bought. Sessions at 9am had 50 participants and the Session at 10am had 50 participants. Newcomers were kindly sponsored by Daniel & Katie Nancarrow of Royalty Plumbing. Southern Districts Netball Association introduced a new logo to commence the 2017 season. Winter 2017 Clubs Blazers - Leah Hosken Jetz - Cassie McGann Bletchley Park - Sian Jenkins-Bragg Manaaki - Bonnie Tamatea Bosco Saints - Anna Queiros Orana - Vanessa Chen Canning Vale Firebirds- Jacki Fair Piara Waters - Laura Carter Classics - Peta Paice Ringa Maui - Dawn Wiki Crusaders - Mary Cash Royals - Natalie Swinbourne Excelsior - Sandra Entwistle Scorchers - Karen Migas Forest Crescent - Shana Fitzgerald SJ Thunder - Bill Denholm Good Shepherd - Rachel Cutri Southern River Stars - Blair Pasco Harlequins - Amanda Lovercio Sparks - Jody Ross Hearts - Valerie Maxwell Thornlie Christian Collage- Vikki Winchester Huntingdale - Kylie Giles Zodiacs - Megan Logue Iwi Ora - Terri Joseph 1st – 31st May 2nd May – First Aid course held by Syd from Fitness & Health with 8 people attending, some Sdna members did the course. (Photo: See disk) 4th & 11th May – Mental Health course held at Sdna with 11 people attending. All gained Certificate. Also flood light timer controlling courts 11 & 14 was replaced, first time since being installed. 4th May – Duncan Nissan donated 2 vehicles to Sdna with sign writing on them for Nicky Prothero and Bev Gallager to drive to promote Sdna. The brick wall on court 7 was painted black with partnership from Duncan Nissan. (Photo: See disk) Kindly Donated by Duncan Nissan 7 All Associations were given a cheque for $5000.00 for sponsorship, and the 9 News each week selected a team from one of the Association clubs to be shown on the new feed as team of the week.