The Holiday Season is upon us, and on behalf of the Board and staff of Netball NSW I would like to take this opportunity to thank our game’s community for their efforts and understanding over the course of 2021.
In the COVID-19 world it is often a case of two steps forward and one step back. We certainly saw that scenario play out over the past year. Yet, despite the lockdowns and loss of competitions, Netball NSW and the wider community pivoted and delivered.
As most of you will know, 2021 was my first year at Netball NSW. To say it was a challenging year would be an understatement, but despite the challenges presented to us, I am truly honoured and proud that our NNSW staff accepted the circumstances, adapted to new ways of working and delivered an exceptional service to our netball community. I would like to thank the Board, staff and the passionate people at all levels of the game who assisted me ensuring we negotiated it safely.
Thankfully, some things never change. Netball - as ever - stood up, was counted and didn’t shy away from its responsibility to do the right thing by the wider community.
Given the huge challenges of COVID-19 lockdowns faced by our whole netball community, it is important that we stop and reflect on all that we have to celebrate, while also acknowledging there were certainly disappointments in 2021.
The cancellation of the HART Junior State Titles for the second year in a row was a decision no-one took lightly. Having only been in the role for six weeks, it was one of my first major decisions, made even more challenging by having to see the disappointment on my 12-year-old niece’s face who had worked so hard to play with her team at her first State Titles. I know that disappointment was echoed right across the state, but it was the right call and one of many hard calls that had to be made.
Our State Teams and pathway athletes had further disappointment when the National Netball Championships once again fell foul of COVID restrictions. This was also a decision no-one at Netball Australia or its Member Organisations took lightly.
Netball NSW had to prematurely end competitions like the Origin Energy Premier League and DOOLEYS Metro League. The NSW Swifts and the GIANTS were finally able to play at their new home of Ken Rosewall Arena, but before long they were packing their bags for a whirlwind trip around the country that would end up far crazier than any of them (or us) expected. I recognize and acknowledge the significant sacrifices made by the teams, the coaches, the support staff and their families.
No part of our business was unaffected by the developments of the pandemic this year. The impact of COVID-19 on our ability to host all of our home games at Ken Rosewall Arena had significant impact on our 2021 budget resulting in the need for widespread operational cost reductions across all areas of our business. While we were unable to recover our full financial position and deliver a positive EBITDA outcome, the actions taken by the Leadership team and our staff, along with the continued support of our partners, ensured the long-term financial stability of Netball NSW and I acknowledge and thank them for this.
The netball eco-system in NSW is a wonderful thing and the collective bond it generates has seen us through the greatest upheaval the game has known since the Second World War. Across all parts our game, this sport is made of tough, determined people who are the game’s greatest asset.
I take this opportunity to acknowledge some of the momentous occasions achieved across our Netball community prior to the 2021 lockdown:
- I loved the buzz created by the Origin Energy Premier League on opening night where we launched live game broadcast and commentary via Cluch TV.
- The competition’s Indigenous Round was another wonderful occasion as was the celebration of our First Nations people at the respective NSW Swifts and GIANTS-hosted Indigenous Super Netball Rounds at Ken Rosewall Arena.
- The launch of the inaugural Indigenous All Stars program aimed at identifying, acknowledging and providing opportunity to our talented Indigenous NSW netballers.
- The community team set new records in the first half of the year with their engagement with schools through clinics, the Sporting Schools program and the Schools Cup competition. In a year which saw terms three and four almost written off altogether, Netball NSW engaged with just over 40,000 school children across the three programs in 2021. The success and growth we have seen in schools across the state illustrates that netball remains one of the top sports of choice for the next generations to come.
Other significant achievements delivered by the Netball NSW team over the course of the year include:
- After a challenging two years, Netball NSW has increased sponsorship revenue in 2021 through the identification and delivery of new Partners to our portfolio, and achieving increased revenue in our existing Partners. We thank all of our partners for their tremendous support.
- Netball NSW supported our Associations to access $5.4m in funding through the Office of Sport representing just over 10% of the available funding to assist in delivering netball related infrastructure.
- The launch of Netball NSW’s first-ever Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan. This was a historic moment for netball in the state and I would like to acknowledge the Working Group, Staff and Association Members who created it and brought it to life.
- The introduction of Inclusive Uniforms and guidelines for our Associations and Clubs on how to adopt them is a real watershed moment for us as a sport. By removing barriers to allow people to participate in netball in the manner in which they feel most comfortable we can attract more people to our game and – in some cases – keep people in it.
- Despite the cancellation of National Competitions, our Pathways Team – working closely with the QBE Swifts and GIANTS Academies – saw their athletes dominate selections for the Australian Underage squads.
- We also saw a 22% increase on foundation and development coach accreditations, and over 930 coaches and umpires joining our Connect and Learn sessions.
- Netball Central played a front-line role in the battle against COVID-19 with our venue staff working with NSW Health to transform the venue into a vaccination training centre. Over 4000 people attended training during the tenancy contributing to 371,424 vaccinations – it was wonderful to have Netball NSW play a role in such a vital community effort.
- As a testament to our strong value proposition, our Partners are continuing their support across netball in NSW through partnership renewals and extensions, with QBE extending their support across the NSW Swifts and Netball NSW, HCF extending their current agreement across the GIANTS, Swifts and Netball NSW, Woolworths getting behind NetSetGO, DOOLEYS backing Metro League and the GIANTS extending partnerships with Carol O’Dea and FDC as well as welcoming PIMCO.
- And of course, how good was it to see the NSW Swifts and GIANTS provide us with so much entertainment on the way to a first-ever all-NSW national league Grand Final, albeit it in Queensland? Congratulations to the Swifts on a record seventh Premiership.
It may not have been a regular netball season, but it was one where we all collectively focused our energies on what we could control and I think you’ll agree there were some pretty fantastic results.
The lessons of 2021 will stand us in good stead going forward and I look forward to connecting with our Netball family over the course of 2022.
Have a happy and safe Holiday Season.
Tain
Tain Drinkwater – CEO, Netball NSW
