Congratulations to AFL NSW/ACT’s 2024 Volunteers of the Year
AFL NSW/ACT is delighted to present the NSW/ACT winners in the Toyota AFL National Volunteer Awards for 2024.
The NSW/ACT footy community has come together to recognise the outstanding efforts and advocacy of this year’s award recipients. Nominated by their peers, these individuals have excelled in enhancing the game at their respective clubs, Auskick centres, schools, and communities.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to the more than 160 people who submitted nominations for the 2024 awards. The nominees have demonstrated exceptional dedication and impact across various facets of footy throughout the state and territory.
The winners from NSW/ACT now have the exciting opportunity to compete for national recognition. National winners will be rewarded with a trip to Melbourne for the 2024 Toyota AFL Grand Final, including flights and accommodation. Additionally, two fortunate National Volunteers of the Year will drive away in brand new cars, courtesy of Toyota.
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Below are the nominations for each state winner in 2024. Congratulations to all NSW/ACT Volunteers of the Year. Thank you for your service to football.
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Toyota AFL Community Volunteer of the Year – Mark Wilson
President, Cronulla Sharks | AFL Sydney Juniors
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Mark has taken on the role of President in 2024 and is demonstrating strong leadership in his first year. Mark also coaches two teams in the club: U12 Division 1 and Under 9 Youth Girls.
Mark originally didn’t nominate an U9 girls team for the club but at the very last minute, decided to nominate a team so that the club continued to build their female pathway (as well as provide his daughter and friends with the opportunity to play). Within several days of nominating a team, Mark had recruited enough girls to consolidate the team and also decided to coach the team. The team has good numbers now and is having a great season.
Mark has worked well with other clubs across the junior network, dealt with issues appropriately and efficiently and also helped to facilitate a testing program for concussion through the Sydney Headache and Migraine Centre to assist the young players in the club.
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Toyota AFL Community Club of the Year – Bathurst Giants
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In 2024, Bathurst Giants drove Indigenous Round celebrations for the fifth consecutive year, engaging local school Indigenous Dance Groups, former/current players to design commemorative guernseys, and auctioning these off with proceeds going to a local Indigenous charity and into a club fund for Indigenous engagement.
The club purchased guernseys for local schools’ Paul Kelly Cup and Schools Cup teams, and volunteered players/coaches to these schools to support coaching of teams. This is particularly significant for the schools which haven’t participated in carnivals before.
It also held its annual International Women’s Day event incorporating a come and try AFL session and a club dinner to link and support all girls and women players in the Club as well as committee, sponsors and supporters.
There is positive club culture and community-driven ethos, which has supported strong retention.
The club also developed a junior umpire recruitment and mentoring program to develop a team of junior umpires including field and boundary umpires.
It has implemented a parent volunteer program including relevant training (most parents are new to Australian football and therefore require training in goal umpiring, scoreboard and timekeeping), linked to volunteer recognition program. The inclusion of parents in volunteering has led to new parents on the committee, in coaching and team manager roles and a complete ownership of the junior football program.
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Toyota AFL Community Coach of the Year (man) – Simon MacGregor
Coaching Director, Lower Clarence Suns | AFL North Coast
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Simon has supported the growth of AFL in a rugby dominated small NSW town of Yamba (6,000 people) and the Clarence Valley Suns now have U10 and U12 mixed teams.
He has been instrumental and has gone out of this way to ensure all kids participate in the club including local Indigenous families and children with special needs are also included in the club by providing one on one support to families to ensure they feel supported. He has also supported the young girls in the community to play to ensure the genders are equal in the teams.
He is patient and supportive and love for the game is real. He has empowered other parents to become coaches and the local games are becoming such a much needed sport in the local town.
Simon also organised Carlton players, Tom de Koning and Brodie Kemp, were was in town to come for the bye round to speak to the kids at training.
The town is now abuzz with AFL and the lunch time footy kicks at the local primary school has happened also because they now have AFL goals in the ground thanks to Simon.
A true ambassador for the game.
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Toyota AFL Community Coach of the Year (woman) – Hayley Kirk
Junior Coach, Maroubra Saints | AFL Sydney Juniors
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Hayley has to be the most considered, passionate, driven, volunteer coach I have experienced across a multitude of sports. Hayley puts her heart and soul into coaching my son’s team ensuring both the team grow together while considering and planning for every individual in the team’s growth.
Not only does Hayley support my son’s team but she is involved in coaching other teams and providing coaching support to an array of other coaches.
Hayley spends her every weekend supporting the community through volunteering to ground manage at our local grounds. Hayley not only does this on the days her children are playing but also supports the grounds for the juniors on other days ensuring they have an opportunity to play. This is amongst supporting other club activity such at jumpers, trophies, social events, the canteen, you name it.
I couldn’t be more grateful for all Hayley does for my son, our team, the club.
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NAB AFL Auskick Volunteer of the Year – Leah Whytes
Auskick Coordinator, Hay Lions | Golden Rivers Football League
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Leah as the Hay Lions Auskick Coordinator, along with the abundance of support and passion from others at the Hay Lions club as a whole, has driven an extremely strong culture which has resulted in the incredible increase of their Auskick registrations by almost 400 per cent.
Hay Lions is a highly engaged organisation that are always looking for ways to improve the experience of grassroots football, which is proven by their registration increase across all areas and the success of their senior football sides.
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Toyota AFL Young Leader of the Year – Nikki O’Neill
Inaugural U9 girls Head Coach, North West Lightning | AFL Sydney Juniors
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Nikki has dived head on into coaching the new U9 girls’ teams (we have two teams and they train as a squad) this year.
Nikki is a player herself in the U17YGs and as such the young U9 girls look up and admire her greatly.
Nikki has been exceptionally generous with her time, especially given her own playing/training/school commitments.
Nikki holds herself in such a manner, well beyond her years. She is patient with the girls, a natural coach and incredibly passionate. Additionally, Nikki has help guide and support one of our other first year female coaches who is working with the U9 girls.
In short, Nikki’s leadership in her role of coach has been nothing short of impressive for someone of her age.
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AFL Community Umpiring Service Award – Theresa Shortt
Female Liaison Office and Umpiring Experience | AFL Sydney
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Theresa has been the pioneer of the Umpire Welfare officer program in the North West Sydney region, which has seen the AFL take notice and invest further in this space. Theresa’s knowledge and warming character have been pivotal in the retention of umpires in this region and there ongoing commitment to the game.
Theresa also voluntarily provides junior umpires with themed nights, e.g. Burgers nights and her world famous Pasta Nights which are loved by many. Theresa will often send a container of with baked goodies with her son (junior umpires’ coach & senior umpire), for the entire umpire panel to share on match days.
Theresa has been acknowledged for her commitment and dedication to umpiring by winning the Rob Phillis (AFL Sydney Junior league award) and Barbara McSweeney – Outstanding Support of Umpiring Award, an award she has now won back to back (2022 & 2023).
Theresa is what we call a super volunteer, and without her support we would not have the safe and inclusive environment she is working to achieve both on and off the field.
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Community Disability Inclusion Ambassador of the Year – Skye Rose
Kickability Coordinator and Club Secretary, Pittwater Tigers | AFL Sydney Juniors
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Skye has made a significant impact in providing opportunities to children living with a disability through the new Pittwater Tiger Kickability centre.
Skye has worked closely with the AFL to start this centre and took initiative to source a grant to be able to fund the program and enhance the experience for participants. This program has over 20 participants registered which exceeded our expectations for year one of the program.
Skye actively engages with AFL staff and is now collaborating with other Kickability Coordinators of our programs across the state and this collaboration is fostering growth across each centre which is fantastic for the children participating and future participants of the program.
Skye has also been able to engage the Junior Club players to act as ‘buddies’ for her Kickability participants and this is providing the kids with a greater sense of connection to the club.
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AFL Diversity Ambassador of the Year – Western Magic
AFL Sydney
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The Western Magic AFC have shown their continued dedication to various activations throughout Sir Doug Nicholls Round and NAIDOC Week to showcase and continue to recognise Indigenous culture within the community.
In 2024 specifically, Western Magic held a fantastic Indigenous Round event whereby they engaged a local elder to attend their Indigenous Round match during SDNR to conduct a smoking ceremony for both teams as they entered the ground, which was then accompanied by a Welcome to Country before the first bounce.
In addition to this, Western Magic had new Indigenous guernseys created which were worn by all of their teams during this round and they sourced a local artist from Ngandabaa Aboriginal Art who designed this guernsey. The club was also able to source a sponsor, Aus Eco Solutions, specifically for their Indigenous guernsey which showcases the connections that the club are building in the local community. This guernsey was also worn during NAIDOC Week.
This great work is being done in a highly Indigenous community and will continue to attract to attract people to their club as a result of their dedication to showcasing diversity.
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AFL Community Photography Award – Melissa Beattie
Photographer, Switched On Sports | AFL Riverina
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Melissa Beattie is an amateur photographer who regularly attends football games in the Albury region to take photos to share with our local sporting communities. So far in 2024, Melissa has voluntarily attended four North Albury Junior Football Club games to take photos of players in the club’s three age groups, from under 12s to under 16s, as well as their competitors. She then spends many hours editing the images and uploading them to her public social media pages, known as “Switched on Sports”, on Facebook and Instagram.
Over the past three years, Melissa has regularly attended North Albury Junior Football Club games to share her spectacular action shots with our young players and their families.
In addition to North Albury junior footy, Melissa has attended games in Albury, Wodonga and Wangaratta over the past 15 years to snap photos of local football leagues including Ovens and Murray, Albury Wodonga Junior Football, and AFL North East Border Female Football (comprising teams from Albury) in NSW, and Ovens and King, Tallangatta District and Wangaratta District Junior Football in Victoria, as we live in a Border community.
Melissa is passionate about photography and football and enjoys sharing her work with the players and their supporters, while promoting the great game of footy to the world.
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AFL Community Football Media Award – Meghann McCloud
Social Media Support, Dubbo Demons | AFL Central West
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Meg has totally transformed our clubs social media this season, especially on game day.
She has been an asset for events such at Indigenous round, pride round and club weekend which we hosted.
Her social photos and planned posts have frequently been of such high calibre they been shared by AFL Central West and also AFL NSW/ACT social accounts. This has been a terrific asset to our club getting our name, our support for pride and indigenous rounds and our club goals out to the public.
Meg has continued to create engaging posts to increase our supporter base provide publicity for both our club and our sponsors. This is very evident by the increased engagement we are getting at the club and comments on online.
Meg completes all this work for us in her spare time and prior to games, events which she is also involved in as a player, often impacting her own warm-up of match day presentation to help and support the club.
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AFL Teacher of the Year – Natasha Monger
Teacher, Monash Primary School | Monash ACT
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Natasha has been a valuable asset to our school in introducing and advocating for AFL to our student body and wider community.
She applied for and won a grant in 2023 to provide the school with high quality equipment. Natasha has arranged two clinics for the whole junior school this year which have received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
She has shared unit planning and resources on a whole school level and advertised a wide array of opportunities to our staff to seek out their own AFL clinics for their year groups.
Furthermore, Natasha has worked directly with AFL Canberra to help them start up an after school clinic with a vast number of our very own Monash Primary School students.
All of this is done with confidence, passion, and with advocacy for AFL Canberra as a club and AFL as a sport.
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