Anne George recognised for her contribution to netball in Victoria

When it comes to notable names in the Victorian netball fraternity it’s hard to go past Anne George who was recognised on the weekend with the Anne Henderson Award.

The Anne Henderson Award is given to members in the netball community as recognition for paid and voluntary administrators that have supported netball in our great state. To be eligible for the Award, nominees must have made a significant contribution to netball, had many achievements, and have widespread recognition in the sport – all of which Anne George encompassed.

An avid netballer, Anne paved the way for future generations both on and off the court by establishing the Eastern Victoria Netball Competition in 1962. But that was just the beginning. Her love and involvement began back in 1953 as the Secretary of St Joseph’s Younger Set which entailed organising sporting events and trips.

By 1958 Anne was engrained in netball, coaching a range of divisions from under 7s to open age right across Gippsland while she also lectured and tested umpires in the area. She later achieved her “A Grade” umpiring badge before becoming a Victorian umpire tester, highlighting her impressive knowledge and talent.  

Anne went on to initiate the first Victorian Schoolgirls Netball Championships in 1969 and most famously invested a wealth of time and dedication into establishing a netball home at Waverley. Her advocacy for the improvement of facilities didn’t go unnoticed, lobbying the Waverley City Council to update the control box and to add an extra eight courts to ensure netball continued to flourish.

From 1971-2005 Anne was the convenor of the Victorian Netball Association (VNA), Eastern Zone and was the chairperson of the Caretaker Committee for close to 15 years, as she continued to encourage the growth of netball within the region.

In 1979 Anne was awarded the Victorian Netball Association Life Membership for her amazing contribution to the sport, but the accolades didn’t stop there, later presented with the Victorian Government Achievement Award. Anne spent countless hours striving to make netball as accessible and safe for all participants. This came to fruition throughout her tenure as VNA Treasurer initiating the Victorian Netball State Registration System which provided athletes with an insurance program and assisted with budget income to help Netball Victoria to continue to flourish in an economic sense.

Her infectious passion for netball and willingness to appeal to all demographics became increasingly evident as Anne initiated the first ever school holiday coaching clinic which saw over 500 youngsters hit the court.

In 1987, Anne was awarded the Waverley Night Netball Association Life Membership for her contribution and later created the Country Victorian Netball Team. She established the mixed social netball at Royal Park in 1989 and was a member of the Organising Committee for the World Netball Championships highlighting her impressive netball knowledge.

She worked incredibly hard to create pathways for aspiring umpires, but it’s fair to say that one of her crowning glories is the continued success of Waverley Netball Centre home of the Waverley Night Netball Association. The Centre was the first to obtain national accreditation for a single sport stadium in Australia and hosted the Qantas National Netball Championships. Through her hard work and commitment, the Centre hosts underage, open and mixed competitions throughout the week, ensuring that the love of netball is passed down to many generations to come.   

Anne George embodied everything that was netball and her contribution to the sport was invaluable. We are ever thankful for the work that Anne did throughout her lifetime to give netball presence out in the regional areas and to create an environment to foster the next generation of stars.

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