A message from Club President
2023 Season Overview
The 2023 season for our club marked a significant period of development following our restructuring in 2022. This season represented our first full year of training on the turf, a crucial step in adapting to our new home.
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Wally Zalewski, Stu Wishart, and Briony Hearn for their contributions to coaching development, as well as to Ashlee Jarvis, Andy Male, Tom Gorta, Helena Williams, Aloha Fritsch, and Ross McKillop for their dedicated coaching efforts, which have greatly improved our hockey skills. Your commitment is genuinely appreciated by both players and parents.
Membership Overview
Our membership numbers remained robust, with 173 registrations via RevSport, not including our life members. The Goldstix program saw a significant increase with 16 registrations, making it our largest group yet. Our club promotes inclusivity, with players ranging from 5 to 71 years old. We now have families spanning three generations enjoying hockey on our turf.
Congratulations are in order for our Masters team and Year 6-8 girls for their commendable performances in their Grand Finals. A huge congratulations to our Year 6-8 boys winning their Grand Final!
Player Development
We made investments in player development by organising coaching clinics, including a visit from Trid Woodhouse, who also conducted a Foundation Coaching Course, inviting juniors and parents to participate.
This year, our Year 6-8 boys' coaching and management team faced the challenge of managing a large squad and creating a fair roster for all boys to participate in games. Additionally, we offered extra game time on our turf on Wednesdays for our 6-8 junior players, which was well-received. I want to express my gratitude to Alicia Pawelski and Andy Male for effectively managing this large squad.
Thank you to all our other dedicated team managers, including Dani Miller, Kellie Stanford, Kate Wood, Victoria Harden, Anna Kamppi, Kiri James, and David Doyle, especially those stepping into the role for the first time, you all did a great job.
Our events calendar has been bustling with activity. In February, due to popular demand, we organised a second round of summer hockey. March witnessed two busy events, the Stronger Together memorial match and the official turf opening, which allowed us to welcome members of our local and hockey communities to our club. In April, we successfully organised our first Easter holiday hockey skills day, which was a hit, special thanks to Stu Wishart, Tom Gorta, Oscar Male.
During carnival season, our club was well-represented at Men's Country week, Perth Club Championships (including 14 players and 2 coaches), the Bunbury Carnival, and three club teams played at the Goldstix carnival in Busselton. Special thanks go to Alicia Pawelski for managing our social media presence, keeping all our club stories and posts active.
Specific Member Achievements - On and Off the Pitch
I'd like to celebrate the achievements of some of our members both on and off the pitch. On the field, Oscar Male represented the U16's State School Sport team in Adelaide. Off the field, Angus Webster received the Lions Club of Cowaramup Young Achiever Award on Australia Day. Caitlin Young excelled in the OzCLO Linguistics Olympiad and the 2023 EP Languages World Championship, ranking 35th globally out of 1.2 million participants. Seth Wheadley emerged as the winner of the Cinesnaps Short Film Competition at CinefestOZ and and Asha Kruger was a finalist in the Craig Silvey Young Writers Award.
Community Involvement
We have continued working with our local schools in their hockey training efforts. With coaching from Stuart Wishart and Wally Zalewski the Margaret River Primary School trained about 45 of their Year 5/6 students on the turf prior to their lightning carnival (which they convincingly won!).
With assistance from Keith Old, ( Hockey WA South West regional coordinator) running school roadshows at Rapids Landing, the Independent school and the Augusta primary school, interest in our Goldstix program and Year 3-5 teams has increased.
We've also introduced a Wednesday social hockey game at 6:00 pm, providing a casual session for parents new to hockey and returning players. This initiative has helped us attract and retain members, with some now playing for our senior teams.
Throughout the year, we've given back to our community by supporting and donating to Zero2Hero, collaborating with Mindful Margaret River, and organising “Stronger Together” events to support our members when needed.
Club Development Initiatives
We've continued to work with Clubmap and plan to engage in webinar and club administrative training support in the upcoming season. Additionally, we're exploring the benefits of joining the Good Sports program and working further with the Australian Sports Foundation.
Grants, Sponsorship & Fundraising
This year the club has been successful in securing grants, including $17,834 from the Stronger Communities Programme Grant, supported by Nola Marino, and $1,500 from the Lions Club Community Grant. We've also received generous sponsorship support from Southwest Taxis, Yahava and Busselton Pharmacy 777.
Our turf sponsors: have played a crucial role in supporting the club, and we're grateful for their ongoing commitment. Thank you to: Margaret River Rotary Club, Lions Club of Margaret River, Lions Club of Cowaramup, Lions Club of Leeuwin, Fusion Electrical (Luke and Kath Altmann), Mitre 10. Middleton Advisory, Priceline and SportsPower Margaret River.
Fundraising efforts included sausage sizzles at various locations, raffles at official events, and the sale of club merchandise. Special thanks go to Kelly Fritsch for her exceptional planning and organisation of fundraising events. Thanks to our club players, parents and supporters for purchasing club merchandise, it not only helps you stay warm in teal and yellow but also contributes to club fundraising. Victoria Harden has done an outstanding job running our club shop and managing orders.
Club supporters, particularly those in the food and beverage industry, have played a vital role in our fundraising efforts. We appreciate their continued support. Special thanks to Shan and the team at Woolworths Margaret River, Nat and Simon at Leeuwin Grass Fed Beef, The Bakery, Brumby’s, Margaret River Gourmet Meats, Rocky Ridge and Howard Park.
Improving Club Facilities
Our commitment to improving club facilities continued. We secured a 5-year lease for the storage container, known as “Hockey HQ”. We now have two toilets accessible exclusively to club members, thanks to a successful grant application from our shire.
Through club fundraising and sponsorship, we purchased additional posts to enable the erection of a third protective net. Hockey HQ also saw improvements, with fitted cupboards and shelving, thanks to Ross McKillop and Rod Downing, a (past player). New sponsorship support from Pharmacy 777 (Busselton), thanks to Scotty Braddock, allowed us to order two new goals that should be at the the turf soon.,
ith the Stronger Communities federal grant, we purchased an electronic scoreboard and we anticipate the construction of the shelter next to the turf, hopefully in time for the summer social hockey competition.
MRHC (Executive) Board and (Non-Executive) Committee
I'd like to express my gratitude to the 2023 season Executive Board. Botond Erdosi’s contributions have been invaluable, from advice and support at club meetings, organising and cooking at our weekly training BBQ’s and running the "Fuel" payment system on the Masters bus.
I also appreciate the dedication of Mr. Vice President Aaran Ride, our Club Treasurer Wally Zalewski, and Club Secretary Jenni Boyle and thank for agreeing to re-nominate for 2024.
I’d like to thank the 2023 season Non-Executive Committee, Alicia Pawelski, Kelly Fritsch, Ross Mckillop, Tim Jones, Victoria Harden, and Errol Beer who have all played important roles in supporting the club. What a great team effort - we’ve achieved a lot!
Looking Ahead to the Next Season
In preparation for next year and beyond, we will continue to review our strategic and management plans.
With a strong and committed board and committee structure, I am confident in our ability to continue developing and growing our club at a sustainable pace.
I would like to express my special gratitude to Jenni Boyle, we’re lucky to have her as our Club Secretary, it’s a demanding role and she is organising our administrative processes, procedures, and manuals, all this effort behind the scenes will make it easier for future club volunteers on the board and committee.
We will collaborate closely with ClubMap, and work with the AMRShire to ensure that our facilities and needs are adequately planned for club growth.
We'll continue to distribute volunteer roles across the club to maximise the fun and playing time for everyone.
If you have ideas or suggestions and want to get more involved in your club, please don't hesitate to reach out.
On behalf of all of us on the 2023 season board and committee, I extend our heartfelt thanks to all who have contributed, big or small, to help run our community club.
Your dedication and support have made us proud of our club and the achievements we've accomplished together.
Thank you for your time and support.
Proud Past - Bright Future
Maxine
President
MRHC