Netball NSW is delighted to announce the appointment of Sallianne Faulkner and Martha Lourey-Bird to the organisation’s Board of Directors.
The pair, who will serve three-year terms, were elected at NNSW’s Annual General Meeting on Saturday, while incumbent President Louise Sullivan was also re-elected to the Board for another three-year term.
On Tuesday night the Board further elected Sullivan as President (and Chairperson) of Netball NSW for a further two-year term under Constitutional changes adopted by the Council last year. Claire Tynan (Sutherland Shire Netball Association) was elected as Deputy Chairperson for a one-year term until the conclusion of her current elected tenure.
Sullivan (Sutherland Shire Netball Association), who has life-long connections to netball, joined the Board in 2015 and was first elected President by the membership for her first three-year term in 2018.
With strong qualifications in law, governance, risk and military leadership Sullivan works professionally as an Executive Director and Company Secretary of a large resources and construction business with broad strategic and operational responsibility leading a substantial team.
She thanked the membership and the Board for the opportunity: “It will continue to be my upmost privilege to serve the game I love as President, and I sincerely thank the membership and my fellow Board Directors for the trust shown in me to lead netball through its exciting next chapter.
“Netball has an enviable position with our strong community and volunteer base but as the state-governing body we must continue to deliver on our broad-ranging strategic priorities to grow and support our grassroots while working towards realising untapped commercial value in our game’s assets.
“The positive advancement that women’s sport has shown across other codes in recent years does place more competition in-market for participants, and for commercial dollars. This in turn challenges netball to think differently, to be more welcoming and inclusive, so we continue to attract young players and investment into the sport.
“With our new CEO Tain Drinkwater to start with Netball NSW shortly, the Board looks forward to working with the Management team and our broad stakeholders for netball to reach its potential.
“A key priority is to maximise all revenue streams and leverage off our new home for our NSW Swifts and GIANTS Netball at Ken Rosewall Arena make our Suncorp Super Netball Clubs self-sustaining and progressively shift the funding model away from our community membership.”
A former President of Ramsgate Netball Club, new Board Member Faulkner also served as Vice President of the St George District Cricket Club and is the current President of the Ramsgate RSL Memorial Club as well as the General Manager of the Bayside Women’s Shelter, a local charity responding to women in crisis in South East Sydney.
“With a lifelong voluntary involvement in the grassroots of netball in NSW, I bring a mix of knowledge of our sport, and its structures in the community in hand with extensive current governance experience,” Faulkner says.
“Along with this, I bring my integrity which is of the utmost importance to me and my journey.
“I love strategic thinking and strategy development, environmental scanning and identifying opportunities for businesses to innovate and think outside the square.”
Lourey-Bird (Manly Warringah Netball Association) has spent her life around sport and exercise both personally and professionally.
A former rep netballer still heavily involved in netball today, she is a Sports and Exercise Scientist by trade and has a 20-year international career as a key executive in the fields of innovation, strategic direction, leadership, governance and change management. She has held senior roles at a range of major institutions including Weight Watchers and the University of NSW.
“The reason I nominated for the Board is so that I can continue my work in the areas of participation growth and retention strategy and delivery,” she said.
“My driving purpose has always been to make sport and exercise accessible to all and I see a position on the Netball NSW Board as an incredible opportunity to help achieve this and more.
“My key objective is to support the entire netball community - from grassroots to high-performance – in delivering the vision, purpose and strategic priorities of netball in NSW.”
Saturday’s AGM saw long-serving Director and Life Member Ruth Havrlant (Ku-ring-gai Netball Association) conclude her time on the NNSW Board, having served since 2007, while Katherine Simmonds (elected in 2019) did not stand for another term.
Carol Murphy (Baulkham Hills Shire Netball Association), who was awarded Life Membership of NNSW over the weekend, will conclude her time as a Board Member shortly, having served as a Director since 2009.
Netball NSW would like to congratulate all newly elected and re-elected Members of the Board, and thank those departing for their immense contribution to the organisation and netball across NSW.
