Netball Victoria CEO, Rosie King was last night awarded the (joint) Victorian Sport Administrator of the Year – Eunice Gill Award, at the VicSport Awards.
A fitting tribute to Gill, a Netball Victoria Life Member, King’s nomination came for her advocacy for the redevelopment of the State Netball & Hockey Centre, establishing an upgraded home of netball for the future.
A Director of the Australian Paralympic Committee, King’s drive for social change is one of her greatest passions and is evident in the work she does with the Change Our Game initiative.
“I am incredibly humbled to receive this award, and to share this honour with Karen Pearce (Basketball Victoria) is something really special; how lucky we are to be recognised for something I genuinely love doing,” said King.
“Sport connects with communities in a truly authentic way and gives us the chance to champion social change and shine a light on issues that have been on the outside for too long – gender equality, multicultural groups and those with a disability, just to name a few.
“Take for example Dylan Alcott and Kurt Fearnley – two amazing athletes who are mainstreaming disability through their good grace and efforts in sport.
“To say I’m proud of the largest ever investment in female sport in the nation’s history – the redevelopment of the State Netball & Hockey Centre – would be an understatement. It is such a monumental venture and with the collaboration of many stakeholders including the state government, we look forward to opening the new State Home of Netball, providing upgraded facilities for players to continue to enjoy the game we love.
“I’d like to thank VicSport for this honour, and to the Netball Victoria family for their passion and commitment to netball to help maintain its position as the number one team sport for women in Australia.”
Along with Rosie was the Victorian Senior Aboriginal Football and Netball Carnival (VACSAL) which took out the Community Sporting Event of the Year.
Finalists included Victorian Bench Official, Brian Hurley (Victorian Official of the Year), the Victorian 19 & Under team (Young Team of the Year) who won their third consecutive National Netball Championship, Netball Victoria’s ‘social way to play’, Rock Up Netball (Victorian Outdoor/Active and Recreation Initiative of the Year) which had also been recognised with the Promoting Health through Physical Activity and Sport Award at the VicHealth awards and Walking Netball (Victorian Sport Development Initiative of the Year).
