An amazing 30+ Years of Dedication to Building Community Football in NSFA
Edwina’s passion for sport came through her involvement in netball which she played through to her late 50s. Edwina became involved in football when her eldest sone Matthew started playing for Hornsby Heights Football Club in 1992. From 1993 until 1999, Edwina held many positions at Hornsby Heights including Secretary, Recorder, Manager, Newsletter Co-Ordinator and Soccer News distributor.
Whilst Secretary at Hornsby Heights FC, Edwina started hosting NSFA Gala Day in 1997 which was club-run and a significant undertaking. Edwina continued her interest in football at Hornsby Heights when her husband Peter continue to play for the club.
Edwina’s involvement in football switched to Clarke Road Football Club when her youngest son Ned started playing for the club in 2000 (her eldest son Matthew had already joined Clarke Road in 1998). Edwina soon became involved in football administration and held various positions at the club including Secretary, Registration, Coach and Manager between 2000 and 2005.
Since her sons moved over the Old Barker Football Club in 2006 after leaving school, Edwina has become one of Old Barker’s biggest supporters. Since then, Edwina has shared the benefit of her experience in football administration with the Old Barker FC Committee including supporting Peter Gregory who has been Club President for 13 years.
Edwina became involved in introducing Summer Football to the NSFA by assisting Michael Vandervelde with the introduction of 6-a-side competition in 1998/99 and continued her involvement through to the 2001/02 season. As well as helping to run these competitions, Edwina performed the Registrar and Ground Controller roles. From these humble beginnings, NSFA Summer Football in 2023 has grown significantly to include 417 teams in 2023.
Edwina sat on the Junior Football Committee of the NSFA from 200 to 2005. Whilst on this Committee, the association trialled interchange in some Junior Competition age groups. Interchange is now available in all levels of football except for Premier League.
In 2004, Edwina joined the Protests, Disputes and Disciplinary Committee (PD&DC) and to this day is still a member of this committee. Edwina’s has also performed the role of minute taker on the PD&DC and occasionally Chaired meetings when the Chairman has been unavailable.
Since 2021, Edwina has worked diligently on the NSFA to document its history which has included archiving and digitising the associations history, a task which has involved the scanning and labelling of photos and documents. Since the start of 2023, Edwina has helped with the fortnightly publishing of Life Member articles including numerous meetings and discussions researching Life Members.
Edwina received the President’s Award in 2004 for her services to Hornsby Heights FC, Clarke Road FC and the NSFA as well as an award in 2013 recognising her role as a member of the PD&DC. Edwina was inducted as a Life Member of the NSFA in 2022.
(Pictured Left: Edwina in the center)
In addition to the above, Edwina has always been a willing helper and participant at events including the Skellern Cup, Club Days and Female Football activities. Edwina truly embodies the values of the NSFA and has helped to nurture and grow the game over her 30+ years of involvement in on-field and off-field volunteer roles. We thank Edwina for her fabulous contribution to the NSFA and for helping to grow the game in our association.