Written by Amelia Barnes
The funding and attention paid to women’s sport has increased significantly since the 1990s — just ask Professor Carol McKinstry.
Now the board chair of the Bendigo Football Netball League (BFNL), McKinstry recalls watching local netball games (after the league introduced netball in 1991) played on a working road marked with lines.
“There was a road going through that they would close off for Saturday. It was on a slope, when it rained you could see the oil on the road, and then there was a gutter not very far away… During the week yeah you would have buses and cars driving up there,” said McKinstry.
“That story has stuck with me for a long time just in terms of netballers and the facilities they've had to put up with.”
It was experiences like this that motivated McKinstry to make a difference. She joined the BFNL board in 2010, and was appointed board chair in 2015, becoming the first woman in the role in the league’s 140-year history.
Outside of this volunteer position, McKinstry balances multiple health roles as a professor of occupational therapy and deputy dean at the La Trobe University Rural Health School, chair of La Trobe University Academic Board, board director of Occupational Therapy Australia, and on the board of directors for Bendigo Health.
Her professional interest in health carries over into her BFNL duties, where McKinstry has worked to raise awareness around the severity of head injuries and prevent their occurrence.
“I think our clubs have developed and the culture is a lot better now too. We’ve largely stamped out a lot of what I'd call violence — that’s gone.”
McKinstry sits across both football and netball on the board, but she has made a concerted effort to boost the profile of netball in the league.
The competition is one of Victoria’s premier netball leagues, where players including former Melbourne Vixen Ruby Barkmeyer, and current training partner Charlotte Sexton, have got their start.
The league is especially appealing following the formation of the affiliated Bendigo Strikers team playing in the Victorian Netball League (VNL). There are currently 32 BFNL aligned netballers who hold spots in a VNL or Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) side, again reflecting the quality of the league as one of country Victoria’s best talent pools.
McKinstry said BFNL clubs that have embraced their netball program are now the most sought after by athletes.
“The clubs that had an early recognition of the value of netball and the need to see it as equal — they're the clubs that we call the destination clubs. They’ve got a good culture, they retain both netball and footballers, and have a really good volunteer base.”
These clubs also play an important social role in the regional community, boosting mental and physical health outcomes.
McKinstry said, “On Saturday, you can go to the football and the netball and mix with other people in an informal environment, and that's actually a really really big part I think of preventing mental ill health…
“It's not just about the competition; it's about bringing everyone together and having that social outlet for people to talk so they don't get isolated.”
As BFNL board chair, McKinstry is concerned with the governance and strategy of the league, ensuring its competitions are financially sound and sustainable now and into the future.
It can be a challenging role, but it’s supported McKinstry’s personal and professional development, giving her confidence to lead large meetings and manage competing interests. “I actually think the skills that I've gained from this role have really helped me in my day job,” she said.
Most significantly, McKinstry is proud to be delivering positive change in the city she calls home.
“I feel it is like it's a great honour and privilege but it's also an opportunity to influence things in a way that I'm pretty passionate about.”
