Netball in Victoria is built on passionate people like Raeleen Darcy who recently notched up 20 years of employment at Frankston District Netball Association (FDNA).
One to shy away from the spotlight (she will no doubt squirm reading this article), Darcy’s commitment to supporting players, colleagues, umpires, coaches, parents, and carers associated with FDNA deserves public praise.
Technically their umpire coordinator, Darcy has been involved with every facet of the association at some level over her time as an employee, and before that an umpire, at FDNA.
She started when the association had 125 teams in its Saturday grassroots competition played on two indoor and 14 outdoor courts.
Already impressive numbers, both participation and facilities at FDNA have steadily increased over the past 20 years thanks to Darcy and FDNA’s staff. In 2005 they had six employees — now there are 30.
Darcy was there in 2008 when FDNA became the licence holder for the Peninsula Waves to play in the Victorian Netball League (VNL) — a huge milestone in the development of the Mornington Peninsula’s netball pathway. Darcy has been involved in the VNL club’s operations over the years as a development coach and umpire coordinator.
“If we've got umpires that are in the Netball Victoria pathway that might be umpiring VNL games, she'll go along and support them, mentor them, give them feedback, encourage them. She tries to follow them — she treats them all like her babies,” said FDNA general manager Miranda Castles, who has worked alongside Darcy for 17 years.
FDNA now hosts competitions seven days a week providing competitive and social opportunities for women’s, mixed, walking, representative, and male teams, plus a Woolworth NetSetGo program.
Castles said Darcy’s supportive nature has been integral to developing the association’s inclusive culture that supports members to thrive.
“She really relates to young people well, which I'm so impressed by, and I don't entirely understand it,” said Castles of Darcy.
“She doesn't come in and tell people what to do in a directional, or overly loud, or certainly not an overbearing manner. She's very quiet and just goes about things…
“She's very knowledgeable, and I think people figure out very quickly that this lady knows what she's talking about.”
Castles added, “For someone of her life experience, Rae is also very progressive. She understands people's differences. She supports and respects those with a different skill set or different physical ability… she just includes and respects and celebrates everybody.”
Day to day, Darcy provides umpires for more than 150 matches per week and ensures officials’ ongoing development.
“She currently has around 200 umpires on her ‘list’”, said Castles. “I could estimate that she has worked with more than 2000 umpires over the last 20 years.”
Darcy has also made an impact on the wider Netball Victoria pathway as an umpire course presenter, tester, and current umpire assistant coach of the Central East Talent Academy.
Through the umpire pathway and FDNA, she has been involved in the progression of numerous talented players, umpires, coaches, and administrators. To name a few, “Mwai Kumwenda was spotted by Waves former coach Maxine Wauchope and was supported to move to Australia and play with Waves. Mwai worked her way through the netball pathway, to the SSN peak and was always connected to Waves,” said Castles.
"[Netball Queensland head of elite netball] Roselee Jencke was a local and coached with Waves for a number of years after playing. Roselee left Waves in 2005 to coach with the Australian Institute of Sport and returned to Waves in 2022.”
Other FDNA alumni at the national level are Firebirds Futures head coach Jess Whitfort, West Coast Fever goaler Olivia Wilkinson, and Queensland Firebirds defender Ashlee Barnett.
Around 3000 players and officials participate at FDNA weekly, with competitions now hosted at Jubilee Park Stadium comprising 13 outdoor courts and six indoor courts including a 1000-seat show court.
The reputation of the association and its ongoing success is a credit to its longest serving current staffer, Darcy.
“She's approachable, she problem solves… she's got a customer focus — her professional jobs before FDNA we're in customer service areas — so she understands.”
“She knows that we need to look after our members and keep them happy and enjoying their netball… She genuinely also believes in netball and sport and the benefits that sport and netball give to people, and that kind of just comes through in conversations that you have with her,” said Castles.
“Rae doesn't think that she's doing anything special — she's just going about her business doing her job.”
