Written by Amelia Barnes
No one has raised the profile and development of netballers on the Mornington Peninsula like Maxine Wauchope. For 55 years, she’s been involved in the sport locally as a club founder, selector, coach, mentor, and talent scout, culminating in Life Memberships at Peninsula Waves, Mornington Peninsula Netball Association, and Two Bays.
Wauchope’s contributions have now been recognised at a state level with a Netball Victoria Life Membership.
Born in Port Augusta, South Australia, Wauchope was destined for a life in netball. She started playing on former courts in the town named after her uncle, Brandon Collins, who donated the land. “The combined Port Augusta team for quite a few years was made up of 90 per cent of my family.”
When Wauchope moved to Frankston in 1968, Mornington Peninsula netball already had a strong following – it just needed more resources and teams. “Frankston & District Netball Association started playing in a carpark, and sometimes we had to push cars off of the courts to play,” said Wauchope. “The sport was growing in the area and required more clubs.”
Wauchope founded her first local club in 1970, and took on many local umpiring, coaching, and administration roles over the next two decades including at Mornington Peninsula Netball Association (MPNA) and Frankston YCW.
Netball on the Mornington Peninsula continued to grow, but opportunities for local players to advance along the state and national pathways were limited. With this in mind, Wauchope established the Two Bays College of Coaching in 1988, in partnership with Netball Victoria, for the identification and development of elite players and coaches in the region.
The college provided players with access to high level coaches, and inspired the eventual creation of the Netball Victoria Talent Academies that operate across the state today.
“I just thought of improving the players in the area. We weren't that good at coaching ourselves at that stage, so with that funding, I brought in a lot of the top coaches in the state,” said Wauchope. “We all learnt so much just from watching what they were doing with the players.”
Wauchope remained involved in Two Bays for two decades while taking up many additional netball roles over the 1990s and 2000s. Some highlights include coaching the Victorian team to back-to-back wins in the 1994 and 1995 Country Cups; and being a state selector for the state 21/U and 19/U teams.
She was also assistant coach of the Victorian Open State Team in 1993 inclusive of players Shelley O’Donnell, Roselee Jencke, and Simone McKinnis who all represented Australia at the time.
In addition to her high performance roles, Wauchope continued championing netball on the Mornington Peninsula throughout this period. “We were doing so much work through the Two Bays College of Coaching then players were going to play everywhere else,” she said. “We needed our own venue to hang onto our own players.”
Wauchope wanted more for the region’s players, so she founded the Peninsula Waves club alongside four other members, including Shelley Haynes and Maureen Whittle. “Maureen, who's now passed away, had a lot of foresight into pushing netball to go further,” said Wauchope.
Peninsula Waves was previously known as the Peninsula State League Netball Club, and competed in the Victorian State League competition – which Wauchope was involved in as a selector and coach from 1993 – until the creation of the Victorian Netball League (VNL) in 2009.
Wauchope played a small role in preparing the club’s successful proposal for a VNL licence, which to this day ensures the development of the region’s most promising athletes. “It was so important for us to get a licence to secure the pathway going forward,” Wauchope said.
She continued her involvement in coaching at Peninsula Waves until 2016, becoming one of four Life Members at the club. The 15&U team is also named in her honour.
In addition to elevating the game locally, Wauchope has impacted netball on an international level. She was a statistician at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and was responsible for Mwai Kumwenda's move from Malawi to Australia.
Wauchope immediately recognised Kumwenda’s talent when watching her play in the Cook Islands against Australia at 2009 World Youth Cup. “She was actually beating Sharni [Norder, née Layton]… Her elevation was higher and that long arm of hers was just coming out,” said Wauchope. “I was gobsmacked.”
Wauchope recruited Kumwenda to play in the Peninsula Waves Championship VNL team, and after a complicated visa process, she arrived in Victoria in 2011. Kumwenda’s impact on Victorian netball was instant, going on to share the 2012 VNL MVP award. She was signed by the Mainland Tactix in the ANZ Championship in 2014, and of course, by the Melbourne Vixens in 2016, where she remains the starting goal shooter.
As a longtime selector and talent scout, Wauchope has contributed to the progression of many other elite players’ careers who have since played internationally, including Madi Browne, Kelsey Browne, Liz Watson, Kate Moloney, Jo Weston, Emily Mannix, and Caitlyn Nevins.
What Wauchope appreciates most about netball is the friendships she’s developed over her decades in the sport. She’s recently faced significant health issues, requiring 13 major procedures over the past two years, and the netball community has been behind her every step of the way.
Dozens donated to a fundraiser for a $5000 bed to aid her rehabilitation post-hip surgery in 2020, and many netballers took turns visiting her at home. “My sister came down from Queensland and she just couldn't believe how many people came in and helped.”
In 2022, Wauchope stepped down from MPNA after 20 years with the organisation. She remains the head A grade coach at the Mornington Football Netball club.
Wauchope says she feels very fortunate to be named a Netball Victoria Life Member alongside so many greats of the game. “The list of Life Members is a myriad of exceptional people that have dedicated their lives to netball. It is an absolute honour to join these people.”
Seeing the improvement of players, growth of coaches, and developing long lasting friendships through netball is what brings Wauchope joy. No matter what the future holds, she will always be involved in netball. “Who could ever say life is boring when we have netball in our lives?”
