This week – as a part of National Volunteer Week – we are celebrating the hard work and dedication of just a few of all the fantastic volunteers within our Victorian netball community, who give up their time simply to help make our sport great.
Simon Grimes – President of the Lillydale and Yarra Valley Netball Association (LYVNA) – is just one of these. And upon reading his impressive resume below, it's no wonder that Simon was a finalist in the 2019 Netball Victoria Community Awards for the Volunteer of the Year Award, presented by Origin.
Always gracious with his time, following a two-year stint on the SPJ Netball Club Committee, Simon joined the LYVNA Committee in 2010. After being elected onto the LYVNA Committee in October of 2010, Simon spent four years as a General Committee Member, and one year in the role of Vice President, before being elected as President in 2015. His original goal and personal driver when taking on the Presidency was to lead an accessible, friendly, open Committee and Association, where everyone felt welcome and valued. It is safe to say that in his four-and-a-half years in the role thus far, he has achieved that and so much more!
During his tenancy as Vice President, Simon assisted with LYVNA’s move from its initial site at McDermott Ave in Mooroolbark, to Pinks Reserve in Kilsyth. Throughout this period, Simon was the technical liaison with Council, drawing on his construction background. Simon ensured LYVNA’s needs were met, and that the outcome of the move was in the best interest of the Association.
One of the first projects Simon then set himself in the role of President, was to get court covers for two of LYVNA’s outside courts at Pinks Reserve, a project he managed from its conception in 2015, to its completion in 2019. This was a pilot court development in Victoria and is currently being used as a benchmark for indoor/outdoor alternative to traditional court offerings. Innovation of this kind has been identified as an alternative to indoor venues with restricted sites.
Simon has since also successfully lobbied the State Government to fund four additional court covers, which are due to be completed in the summer of 2020-21.
Helped along by this facilities upgrade, Simon oversaw the successful bid and running of the State Titles at Pinks Reserve in 2019, hosted by LYVNA. The 2019 State Titles saw 59 teams representing 18 out of 19 regions and over 600 players take to the courts at Pinks Reserve in Kilsyth, for two days of back-to-back netball action.
Simon’s efforts do not just centre around construction projects however; they are wide and varied! During his Presidency, Simon - among other things - has implemented a new grading system, registration spreadsheets and rep selection spreadsheets for the Association, started the digital media presence of LYVNA in the form of a website and Facebook page (which he continues to manage today), has headed up various sponsorship conversations for the Association (to assist with providing extra seating around the courts), and also put together a successful grant application for the ‘Pick My Project’ funding, resulting in an additional $200,000 for LYVNA.
Simon was also the brains behind the concept and instigation of 11/U Association round robins at Pinks Reserve in Kilsyth. Run four times a year for the past few seasons, these round robins provide 11/U rep teams to have the opportunity to play full games, instead of just tournaments.
Finally, Simon was also responsible for reinstating a night competition at LYVNA, as well as assisting in its operational implementation. As of 2019, the competition had 21 mixed teams playing every week.
As a volunteer, Simon gives up a lot of his personal time for the Association, using both his technical expertise and business nous to ensure the continual growth of LYVNA, as well as its sustainability long into the future.
