Gary Pascoe, Netball ACT Life Member 2019
Kim Clarke, Netball ACT Life Member 2019
Netball ACT and the Board of Netball ACT are delighted to announce that our 2019 Life Member nominations Kim Clarke and Gary Pascoe have been conferred at this evenings Board Meeting, Friday 21st of June 2019.
Our vision at Netball ACT is to enrich and connect our community, it is our people that make this possible through the work that they undertake with their involvement with netball. It is the commitment to furthering our sport and making a significant and sustainable impact on Netball in the ACT region that really highlights the worthiness of this Life Membership to both Kim and Gary.
Kim Clarke has a rich history of involvement with netball in the ACT. Her passion and love for the sport came at a young age, playing for St Brigid’s Primary School followed by teams with her high school friends. She decided at sixteen years of age to start her own netball team perhaps a foreshadow of a bigger impact on the sport in Canberra. In the thirty years of volunteer roles with Belconnen Netball Association, which started when the eldest of her three daughters started playing netball, Kim has covered the gamut of positions that enable the smooth and successful operation of any club- President, Junior and Senior Representative Selector, Coach and perhaps most importantly Mentor. Beyond her direct association ties, Kim has been involved in some of the key transitional moments for Netball ACT in her twenty years of direct volunteer work with our organization. Tirelessly committed to furthering netball, she has served on numerous delegations and working groups from the ACTNA Council to Netball Australia. Kim has always seen the power of collaboration, discussion and inclusion in our sport. Kim’s passion is for all children to have the opportunity to play netball in a safe and nurturing environment.
Kim was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000.
When you first meet Gary you cannot help but be inspired by his enthusiasm for our sport. He gets emotional as he talks about the sport, the people involved and how we all can continue to build and evolve the sport. Netball means family to Gary, and family is important.
Gary’s netball involvement began when men’s participation was not the norm. As a member of some of the first mixed competitions in 1987 he was drawn to the athleticism, competitiveness and inclusion of the game. From there his involvement has evolved and transcended into many facets of the operational and coaching side of the game, most significantly with Canberra Netball Association as President and Vice-President Operations for many years. He remains a selector, state league coach and advocate for growth for CNA and Netball ACT.
For Gary, using our differences, treating people with respect and introducing improvements will benefit everyone in the sport and help keep netball as one of Australia’s leading sports. During his four year period as a Netball ACT Director, Gary worked with the Board, districts associations and stakeholders to introduce more of a business focus to netball operations. He sees this as key to delivering improvements for facilities at all districts, invigorating the state league competition and creating a better pathway and extended development opportunities for the ACT’s senior umpires.
Gary cites the changes at the grassroots as his key personal achievements. His commitment to growing the sport across all of the ACT and his ability to bring people together has helped him be a key driver in the formation of the North Canberra Netball Competition, a unique collaboration between the Canberra and Belconnen District Associations; an initiative that both he and Kim Clarke were collectively instrumental in delivering – for the betterment of both districts and their members.
For Gary he sees Life Membership not as a celebration of a career past but as a milestone in his life with Netball – he is always asking himself “What’s next?”, how can he continue to evolve and support the Canberra Netball Association and netball in the ACT.
We look forward to honoring both of our amazing Life Members at the 2019 Netball ACT Presentation evening in November and will continue to share both inspiring Life Members stories with our community.
