Without the tireless work of volunteers across South Australia, netball at all levels would simply not be possible.
In SA, our volunteers play a vital role in facilitating the growth of the sport and its players from grassroots through to the elite level.
After an extensive review of each nominee for the 2024 HCF Volunteer Achievement Award, Lee-Anne Petherick was named the winner of the Metro category and Susan Fox won the Country category.
Lee-Anne Petherick has been an integral part of the Contax Netball Club and its Management Committee for almost 30 years. She has been the club’s president for the last 17 years, in which time she has been a driving force for the club’s growth and success.
As a volunteer, Lee-Anne has worked tirelessly to provide an environment for the club’s players to thrive both on and off the court.
Additionally, she has served on the State League Sub-Committee before the elevation of the State Premier League Netball Competition and remains a member of the Netball SA Advisory Group Committee.
Lee-Anne has left a lasting legacy on the Contax Netball Club and the broader netball community, having been a passionate advocate for inclusion in sport.
Adding to her long list of achievements, she played an integral part in establishing the Contax Men’s Super League team, has been a key contributor to growing the club’s Indigenous netball initiatives and brought the pilot program of Woolworths NetSetGO to the club in conjunction with Netball Australia.
Susan Fox took home the Volunteer Achievement Award for the Country division for her 52 years of service to the Barmera Netball Club.
She first started out as an A Grade netballer for Barmera where she went on to win the Club’s Best & Fairest Award in 1973 before starting her coaching career in 1988.
Susan has coached teams from A1 to C1 and has given a lot of her time to developing junior grades in hopes to give younger netballers better development opportunities.
In 1992, Susan coached an U13 team at the U15 Riverland Association competition which opened doors for future development at the club.
This year, Susan took on the role of Skills Development Coach for junior players and coaches, all whilst coaching two senior teams.
During her time in netball, she has been involved as a player, coach, umpire and development officer. She has consistently held roles on the committee and was named a life member of the club in 2005.
Susan has been awarded the 2024 HCF Volunteer Achievement Award Country for offering kindness to everyone she meets and for being an enthusiastic member of the netball community.
Both Susan and Lee-Anne were presented with their awards at the Netball SA Awards Gala on Friday, October 4th.
