Netball Victoria would like to sincerely thank Kirrily Zimmerman who retired from the organisation’s board last week following 14 years of service, including the last 12 months as president.
Zimmerman was first elected to the Netball Victoria board in 2008 based on her expertise as an accountant and experience as a committee co-founder and treasurer of Boroondara Netball Association.
A self-described “netball nut,” Zimmerman never planned on becoming the Netball Victoria president, but relished the opportunity to be involved in every facet of the organisation. Her experience, guidance, and leadership allowed newer board members to learn the ropes of the organisation, including Carol Cathcart who was elected president on May 2 following Zimmerman’s retirement.
Zimmerman’s proudest achievements at Netball Victoria include seeing the organisation through its most challenging period in decades and helping numerous clubs and affiliates over the years to receive funding for facilities.
In the face of multiple lockdowns affecting community netball and operations, as well as a difficult Suncorp Super Netball Season for the Melbourne Vixens, Zimmerman helped lead the head office move back to the newly-redeveloped Melbourne Sports Centre – Parkville (the State Netball & Hockey Centre), which has been transformative for the sport.
“The high-performance facilities are amazing — it’s fantastic. It’s game changing for Netball Victoria to have everything under the same roof and to connect the participation side of things with the admin side,” she said.
As president, Zimmerman was heavily involved in securing funding for two bronze netball statues, following a Netball Victoria proposal to the state government. With 29 male sporting statues already across Melbourne, Zimmerman and Netball Victoria felt passionate that the future aspirations and history of female sporting legends should also be represented.
The proposal was resoundingly successful, with the state government allocating funding to two netball statues, including one of Sharelle McMahon: former Australian Diamonds captain, Melbourne Vixens captain, and Melbourne Vixens assistant coach. McMahon will be just the fifth woman — and the first Victorian-born — to receive this sporting honour.
“We had the pleasure of announcing it to Sharelle McMahon at a surprise party for her. It was a really special moment to present to her,” Zimmerman said.
Plenty has changed in netball over Zimmerman’s time on the Netball Victoria board. She’s proud to see the sport’s female elite athletes now almost fully professional, and netball remain the leading team sport for women and girls in Victoria.
Zimmerman said Netball Victoria has also become a more “mature” and increasingly ambitious organisation in recent years. “In 2008, we would never have considered asking the government to fund statues,” she said. “There’s a lot of great community work we never would have considered. Netball we can do with our eyes shut, but it’s all these other things that make a massive difference.”
Post Netball Victoria, Zimmerman will continue to work as an accountant, Boroondara Netball Association committee member, and bench official for Suncorp Super Netball and Victorian Netball League. Her previous credentials include officiating as a timer at the 2015 Netball World Cup, and scoring at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Zimmerman looks forward to watching Netball Victoria continuing on an upwards trajectory to keep achieving goals for the netball community.
“Who would have thought that when I started playing netball when I was 7 that at 46 I would be president of Netball Victoria. I’ve met some truly amazing people, and it’s all because of my involvement with netball.”
