Volunteers are the lifeblood of netball in Queensland—the passion and generosity they bring to netball is one of the things that makes our sport so great—and our regional and rural netball associations are no exception.
On the recent Glencore Overlanders Way Festival of Sport, supported by funding from Glencore, Local Government Authorities along the Overlanders Way and the North Queensland Sports Foundation, Netball Queensland Community Development Officers met one such volunteer.
Her name is Jo Dighton, and in 2021 she was both the Secretary and the Junior Coordinator at Hughenden Netball Association, a regional town about four and a half hours west of Townsville, though she has had a variety of roles over her 15 years of service.
While Deighton has many happy memories from her time volunteering at Hughenden Netball Association, one memory stands out.
‘We had asked for permission to take our very first twelve-year-old team to attend State Age Championships in Townsville,’ Deighton said. ‘In those days, you had to have attended three carnivals throughout the year to qualify.’
‘We wrote to Netball Queensland saying we’re a small association in Hughenden, and that we’d love to attend State Age just for the experience, and they said yes.
‘We went to Townsville with one plastic box of uniforms, one esky, two-fold-out chairs, 10 kids, one coach, and about six mothers, and we were astounded with the size.
‘We were like kids seeing Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.’
While there are plenty of fond memories, Deighton admits Hughenden Netball Association faces its own fair share of challenges.
‘The sheer distance to travel anywhere makes it difficult for our juniors to play games,” Deighton said.
The distance does not stop them from annually attending carnivals in Townsville and Charters Towers, and the junior teams and their parents love the experience.
Despite the challenges of running a netball association in regional Queensland, Deighton did not hesitate to explain why she comes back even after 15 years of service.
‘To keep the club going,’ she said. ‘I do it for the kids. The best thing about netball here is that my daughters actually got to play with me.
‘There’s nothing better than playing in a team when your kids get to play with you. It’s wonderful to have them on your team.’
The rich history of Hughenden Netball Association decorates the walls of their storage room in what Deighton calls the ‘Hughenden Netball Hall of Fame’.
Posters with team photos and magazine letter cut-out headings glued on coloured cardstock cover the walls, going all the way back to 2004.
Deighton showed these posters off with pride and had stories to tell about each and every team pictured.
It is obvious to everyone involved that Deighton is an asset to Hughenden Netball Association, and Netball Queensland would like to thank her for all her efforts over the last 15 years.
