Photo: Trish Robinson (Wanneroo Districts NA & West Coast Warriors NC), Graham Jones (Bunbury NA) and Beverly Buswell (Palmyra Rebels NC & Fremantle NA) with Netball WA CEO Simone Hansen after receiving their Service tio Sport Awards.
Three members of the WA netball community were recognised for their ongoing contribution to the game with Netball WA Service to Sport Awards at the 2022 Assocaition Championships over the WA Day long weekend.
Bev Buswell
Every club is made up of special volunteers. Volunteers who give up so much of their time to willingly help others in the community. Palmyra Rebels Netball Club are blessed with so many wonderful volunteers, and in 2021 they celebrated Bev Buswell’s 60th year of volunteering at the club based at Fremantle Netball Association.
The one and only Bev Buswell has been a part of Palmyra Rebels since the club began, back in 1961. She has been an outstanding volunteer for the past 60 years and is still an active committee member and coach. Bev played well over 600 games and it’s wonderful to watch her now coach her granddaughters’ teams. Bev is generous, compassionate and a quiet achiever.
She is always supporting as many Rebels teams as possibly on a Saturday – rain, hail, or shine! In 2020, Rebels created "The Bev Buswell Coaching Award" in recognition of Bev’s love of coaching and her drive in developing our junior netballers skills and understanding of the game. What Bev lacks in height, is made up with her big heart! Bev’s knowledge and passion for netball is nothing short of exceptional. Bev is a valued club member who is respected by all, and Palmyra Rebels are so lucky to have such a committed, passionate, and amazing all round 'netballer' at our club.
Graham Jones
Graham Jones started coaching netball in Kalgoorlie in 1985 at St Paul’s College, where he was a PE teacher and was asked to help coach netball, as no other adults put up their hands to do so. For the next 9 years he continued to coach netball whilst developing his umpiring skills. He relocated to Bunbury in 1996 and once in Bunbury, Graham started coordinating and coaching the Marist Netball Touring Team in 1997 whilst also coordinating the Marist Netball Club based out of the Bunbury Catholic College from 1998 to 2011.
Graham quickly became an asset to the region and was invited to umpire in the South West Netball Region, where he later became the Regional Umpiring Development Officer, Regional President and received a Regional Life Membership in 2017. He also coached the GIG WANL club, Souwest Jets for many years, across all age divisions and became an integral part for the club. Graham drove the bus to and from Perth for these athletes for a very long time, not asking or taking any payment for his time or for the hire of the bus. Through his commitment and dedication, he has allowed athletes to continue to develop and take their netball to wherever they wanted to go while allowing them to study and receive an education on the go.
Without volunteers like Graham in our community, our regional athletes struggle to make the required commitments of the sport at that level. Anyone in the South West region netball scene will tell you how instrumental GJ has been in developing and supporting pathways for coaches, athletes and umpires and he is a highly respected person within our community. After 37 years of distinguished service, Graham is now President of the Bunbury NA and he continues to work tirelessly for all members of the Association.
Trish Robinson
Trish Robinson has been involved in netball for well over 30 years. During this time, she has been an active and valuable contributor at her Club, Association, Region, GIG WANL and as a Netball WA Board Member.
Trish has been involved with Netball at WDNA since 1990 and played at Venetians NC and Prelates NC. She has been a coach, umpire and team manager over the years. She received the Best Club person award with Venetians in 1993. She served as their President in 1997-98, was made a Life Member in 1998 and became their Patron in 2016, a position she still holds.
Trish served on the WDNA Board for several years as President in 2007 and 2011 and Vice President in 2006 and 2010. In addition, she had been active on many sub committees at the Association. Trish has made many valuable contributions to the Association and was involved in several major building projects at WDNA, namely the construction of the new First Aid Building in 2010 and the construction of a new Far Court canteen also in 2010. Trish is a Life Member at WDNA and still volunteers on Saturdays. Her assistance during the last few years with COVID management has been invaluable.
Trish Robinson became President of the now dissolved West Coast Netball Region in December 2011, after being on the Committee for several years. She has been instrumental in laying solid foundations for the future of the then Region’s flagship team The West Coast Warriors and worked tirelessly to ensure that the game of netball is presented in the best possible light in the northern suburbs. She made major management changes to the Region’s structure and ensured that both the Region and the West Coast Warriors NC lead the way regarding governance and accountability.
As a volunteer, Trish has given up many hours to attend meetings with NWA, DSR and local government bodies, often to the detriment of her own business. She takes every opportunity to advocate for the Warriors, NWA and netball in general and to draw attention to what we do in the most positive light. It was during a chance conversation with Paul Miles (the then MLA for Wanneroo) at a volunteer function that she suggested extra courts were needed for the Joondalup Netball Association. The rest is history, with Paul Miles and the government of the day making this project a reality.
Trish has also been a member of the NWA WANL Working Group from August 2014 to April 2016 and a part of the NWA WANL Men’s Working Group from October 2016 to 2018. Trish has been very proactive in supporting the re-introduction of the Men's division at the WANL level and provided advice to the West Coast Men’s and Mixed Netball Association on governance and fundraising.
In 2018 Trish was part of a successful WANL License bid for the West Coast Warriors NC. As the founding President, she was instrumental in putting solid governance and accounting procedures in place which continue to stand the club in good stead. Trish stood down as President of West Coast Warriors at the end of 2020 and took up a position on the Netball WA Board. At the Warriors 2021 AGM, Trish was awarded Life Membership of the club for her dedication and service over the past 11 years.
In summary Trish is a very well regarded and highly respected member of the netball community who continuously strives to deliver excellence in everything she is involved in. She is a strong advocate for netball at all levels and her highly developed management skills and ability to think outside the box make her a valuable asset to our sport.
