AGM & New Club President
Our Annual General Meeting was held on
Sunday 15th September @3.00 pm
After 4 years our (outgoing) Club President, Maxine Williams completed her term and at the AGM and welcomed the newly nominated Club President, Ian Noakes.
Ian brings a wealth of experience to the club, on and off the pitch. As a well established local dairy farmer, he plays for our Masters Team, often along with his son (Steve) and looks forward to being around the club for Junior training when his grandchildren (James and Reese) this year played in our Hookin2Hockey program. With three generations of the Noakes family playing hockey at our club, , Ian is showing by example what a family club we are!
Presidents Report
For the Annual General Meeting
Sunday 15th September 2024
2024 Season Overview
Success & Achievements
The 2024 season marks only our second full year of training on the turf and with the noticeable increase in the amount of “bling” being worn today, reflects the results of these efforts!
Our primary aims this year, were to enhance player skills and team development. Thanks to the coaching guidance of Head Coach Stu Wishart and the support from Wally Zalewski, we was some significant improvements in our team’s across the age group competitions. We are fortunate to have a dedicated coaching team, including Stu Wishart, Wally Zalewski, Briony Hearn, Andy Male, Tom Gorta, Rachel Phillips, Crispin Underwood, Luke Fulton, Mick Dempsey, Laith Gregory, Dan Stocker, Jake Pawelski, Rupert Ensor, and Kade Denham.
Special thanks also go to our team managers, the wonders on WhatsApp – hosts on Heja – Vicky Harden, Clare Sieber, Jenni Boyle, Amy Penrose, Ruth More, Kate Wood, Alicia Pawelski, Teagan Simmonds, Chad Brooks, and TJ.
Membership Overview
Our membership numbers have remained steady with 169 registrations via the RevSport portal. This figure does not include our life members and social members, and we anticipate additional social memberships with the start of social summer hockey in November.
The rebranded Goldstix program, now the Hookin2Hockey program, had a slightly smaller group this year with 12 registrations. These young players remained enthusiastic (despite sometimes the dismal weather), and we look forward to seeing you return next year.
This year, we hosted our first home derby for the Yr 3-5s, thanks to Ross McKillop for negotiating with BHA – a significant achievement! In the final weeks of the season, 4 out of our 5 of our junior teams advanced to the preliminary finals. What an achievement, well done to everyone involved!
Specific Member Achievements
Congratulations to Stu Wishart, who was appointed Head Coach for the U16 Girls State Team!
Congratulations to Imelda Ensor and Abby Ralston from our Year 6-8 girls’ team for trialling for the Under 16 state team.
Earlier this year our Club Ambassador, Aran Zalewski played his 250th game for Australia. Many of us enjoyed watching his performance at the Perth Hockey Stadium and we have all followed his journey to the Paris Olympics. Thank you for sending in your selfies and support photos during the Olympic Games– they added an extra touch of excitement to our social media.
Player Development
We have worked with Hockey WA and organised an umpiring development workshop with Angela Edwards. Meanwhile Keith Olde has continued to develop hockey locally, visiting St Thomas Moore, Montessori and Margaret River Primary Schools.
During carnival season, our club was well-represented at Men's Country Week (where we reached the Div 3 Grand Final), Junior Perth Club Championships and the Bunbury Carnival (congratulations to Indi Creagh who played in the Yr 9-12’s GF). We also nominated 4 teams for the Hookin2Hockey Carnival in Busselton. (Special thanks to Alicia Pawelski for organising the teams and managing our social media presence).
Community Involvement
Throughout the year, we've actively supported our community. In March, we hosted a successful fundraising night for Vance Bycroft at The Heart. Thank you to all who attended and donated.
We also had one of our juniors, Oscar Male, attend the Zero2Hero youth leadership camp, that’s four successful junior selections over the past four years!
Grants, Fundraising, Sponsorship, and Major Club Supporters
We have received funding support through AMR Shire to access the resources for volunteers from CLUBMAP, which has been invaluable for those in committee roles.
We would also like to acknowledge the support of
our sponsors:-
· DownSouth Wholesale (Tim & Alicia Pawelski)
· Woolworths (Shan Traynor), supplier of all training event BBQ’s and breakfast sessions
· DownSouth Taxis (Craig Smith-Gander)
· Yahava Koffee (Harriet Stocker)
· Life’s Precious Training & Assessment Services (Shelly Rourke), supplier of first aid kits
and major supporters:
· Howard Park Wines (who have all supplied food & beverages at our major club events)
and kind donations:
We also appreciate the support from local businesses throughout the season, especially for Raffles for our major fundraising days – Vance Bycroft, Stronger Together and Club windup.
· Stumpy Hill Farms
· Lloyds
Also special thanks to some of our members who gave donations, Ian Noakes, The Melville Family, Andy and Sarah Male and the combined efforts of the Men’s Country Week Men’s team.
Thank you to everyone supporting our weekly fundraising training BBQ’s, chopping, flipping, and eating!
Improving Club Facilities
Our commitment to enhancing club facilities continued this year. We won a community grant for a $17K shelter last year, which we built after last season, and this has significantly improved our setup. Further additional improvements to Hockey HQ this year included four sturdy café blinds, protecting us from the wintry weather and creating a shady spot for the summer. We also added a power connection, enabling us to install a commercial lockable three-door fridge.
MRHC (Executive) Board and (Non-Executive) Committee
I’d like to thank the 2024 Non-Executive Committee – Stu Wishart, Alicia Pawelski, Tim Jones, Victoria Harden, Liz Tribe, Chad Brookes, and Errol Beere – for their hard work and dedication behind the scenes.
A special thank you to the 2024 Executive Board members – Vice President (Core Business) Aaron Ride, Club Treasurer Wally Zalewski, and Ross McKillop (Operations). I appreciate their commitment and willingness to re-nominate for the 2025 season.
A heartfelt thanks to Jenni Boyle, our club secretary, who will be stepping down after three years. Her calming influence has been instrumental in supporting us, her efficient organised approach has really helped us to stay focused, she has really defined the secretary role, which will help our future secretary and future volunteers to develop the club whilst staying efficient with their volunteer time.
Looking Ahead to the Next Season
With a strong and committed board and committee structure, I am confident in our ability to continue developing and growing our club sustainably. If we continue to share out our defined volunteer roles across the club, we can maximize enjoyment and playing time for everyone.
On behalf of the 2024 board and committee, I extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has contributed to running our community club. As I conclude my four years as Club President, I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished together.
Congratulations to all players across our three senior teams and seven junior teams for their impressive performances this season. With 5 teams making it to the preliminary finals. What a spectacular way to finish the season with, our Masters team, Year 6-8 boys, Year 6-8 girls, and Women’s teams becoming 2024 Season Premiers!
Thank you for your time and unwavering support.
Proud Past - Bright Future
Maxine
Maxine Williams
President, (Outgoing)
MRHC 2020- 2024
