PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

HOLY SPIRIT NETBALL CLUB INC.

PRESIDENTS REPORT OCTOBER 2024-25.

AGM.

It is with great pride that I present the President’s Report for the 2024–2025 year.

Holy Spirit Netball Club continues to thrive, fielding 22 teams across age groups from 6 years to 45+. This includes:

5 × Under 9s (including 2 new teams added in the Spring 2025 season)
3 × Under 11s
4 × Under 13s
2 × Under 15s
3 × Under 17s
5 × Opens

Junior Committee

A highlight of the year was the creation of our Junior Committee, with representatives from our U/15s through to Opens teams. Thank you to members Jess, Tori, Lily, Molly, Milly, Sadie, and Penny, supported by Club Committee members Kate Dand Emma.

One of my favourite initiatives this year was the Mother’s Day and Father’s Day training sessions, led by the Junior Committee. These evenings were filled with fun, laughter, family spirit—and a few very competitive games of netball!

The Junior Committee also coordinated raffles and are already planning more social events and community initiatives for the coming year. Stay tuned! The Junior committee has also been tasked to select our new hoodie design and style, which will launch soon. This group has been a wonderful way to bring age groups together, have a direct voice from our playing group and strengthen the camaraderie that makes Holy Spirit so special.

Grants, Sponsors and Supporters

We are very grateful for the support we’ve received this year through grants from the Federal Government, facilitated by Michael Sukkar MP/ Matt Greg MP, and from the Bendigo Bank – East Ringwood Branch, which supported our umpire mentoring and equipment.

A big thank you also to the Warranwood General Store for generously providing milkshake vouchers for our U/9s. Please support those who support our club — and if you or your business would like to contribute, whether financially or in-kind, we would love to hear from you.

Umpires

A special thank you to Daniela, our Umpires Coordinator, for her outstanding work in managing umpire rosters and mentors each week — no small feat with 22 games to cover and many umpires also playing!

Congratulations to Molly (C Grade Badge) and Erin (B Grade Badge) on their umpiring achievements. Earning a badge is a true testament to your skill, dedication, and commitment.

Thank you to our mentor umpires — Jo, Amanda, Daniela, and Erin — for guiding and developing our umpires, and welcome to our five new trainees: Beth, Zoe, Lexie, Amelie, and Scarlett. We look forward to watching your progress.

As always, we recognize that without umpires, there is no game, so our appreciation extends to all our club umpires who make match days possible.

Coaches

To all our coaches and assistant coaches — T H A N K Y O U!

You give your time and energy each week at training, on game day, and in preparing sessions and strategies. You are incredible role models for our players — teaching skills, fostering teamwork, building confidence, and nurturing a love of the game. Your dedication makes a lifelong impact, and we are truly grateful for all that you do.

Thank you also to our Grading Committee — Jess, Amanda, and Karen (Life Members), alongside Sandra and Daniela — for your giving your time and expertise to form our teams. Many clubs outsource grading, but we are fortunate to have such dedicated people who know our players and club so well. Thank you to Amelia and Lexie who do an incredible job for grading night to get all our players on court. Thank you!

While Holy Spirit is a graded club, we continue to prioritize connection and community, which is why all teams train together on the same night at HE Parker.

Team Managers

Thank you to our parents who put their hands up to be team managers to support the coaches and help with getting the teams on court. This Spring season has seen the introduction of live scoring, and we have appreciated your support and assistance.

Committee and Club Operations

A big thank you to Mark, our Coaches Coordinator, for the guidance and support provided to coaches throughout the year.

Thank you also to Fiona, who manages our equipment and uniforms — from training kits to match balls (and even storing gear over summer!). Your work in distributing coaches’ polos (twice!) has been much appreciated. We’re excited to launch some new merchandise options in 2026.

Our Child Safe Officers, Ang and Emma, continue to ensure we uphold the Child Safe Standards, creating a safe and supportive environment for all players and junior umpires — thank you for your commitment.

To Beck, our dedicated Club Registrar, thank you for your exceptional work managing registrations and team allocations for such a large club — your attention to detail keeps everything running smoothly.

We also acknowledge Sandra for representing Holy Spirit on the MENA Standing Committee, and also as a Holy Spirit General Committee Member, together with Kate N.

During the year Beck Y concluded her time with the committee and we pass on our thanks and gratitude for her contribution to the club.

We’re always keen to welcome new committee members, especially from our U/9 and U/11 age groups — so please reach out if you’d like to get involved in 2025–26!

Closing Thanks

Finally, my heartfelt thanks to our Executive Team — Amanda (Treasurer), Emma (Vice President), and Kate (Secretary). Behind the scenes, there’s an enormous amount of work, planning, and communication — along with some delicate discussions and plenty of good humour along the way.

As a volunteer-run organisation, Holy Spirit Netball Club simply wouldn’t exist without the time, energy, and commitment of our Executive, Committee, Coaches, Umpires, and Volunteers. I would also like to thank our Holy Spirit Netball Club families, for your support of your players and helping them take to the court each week.

I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved this year and look forward to the year ahead — continuing to build a strong, supportive, inclusive and vibrant club community within the Melbourne East Netball Association.

Danie McNeil
President, Holy Spirit Netball Club