Welcome to our first Hamlet for 2020 and wow, how things have changed since our teams were announced at the beginning of March. By now we had all hoped that our training sessions would have been in full swing and that each of our 26 teams were bonding and working together on their fitness and skills whilst being keen, excited and enthusiastic to commence the 2020 season. I know how disappointed I am that these things have not been able to proceed, so I am well aware of how you all must be feeling in this very ‘strange and confusing’ time. I am extremely proud of the efforts that you are all putting in with either your home training programs or the support that you are giving each other during these uncertain times. I love seeing the updates and posts on our social media sites, so please keep them coming. Hamersley prides itself on being a ‘family’ so if you know anyone that might need some help, motivation or just a friendly hello, please reach out. Please know, that we are all in this together and that we are here for you all. The Hamersley Committee want you to know that you our members are and always will be our number 1 priority, so please be assured that once we are given any updates or any news comes to hand from either WDNA or Netball WA, about the commencement of training or details of the season, we will immediately inform you. So, until we can all meet on the courts once again, keep up your fitness and skills, stay healthy and focused but most of all stay happy and safe surrounded by your loved ones.

On 22 March, Hamersley released its first of three online home programs to help our members keep active while improving their basic netball skills. These programs have already had a great response from many of our members with players of all ages participating in weekly sessions. If you are missing your Tuesday night training sessions and haven’t completed a session yet, then join in on the fun and start a home program today! Designed to develop technique and accuracy we have the Hamersley Shooting Hub for all our shooters to keep their eye in. This program utilizes shooting cards for you to follow and weekly tips which help improve shooting technique. Although the target for participation is the shooters in the club, I know for a fact we have a few centre courters and defenders who might enjoy completing a session or two. Grab your ball and shoot for the stars. We have the Hamersley Run Club, which is a program made of two parts, the first builds your aerobic fitness whilst the second focuses on building your speed. This twice a week program should be completed on grass and takes between 45 and 60 minutes to complete. The Run Club is a great way to be active while getting your daily dose of fresh air. Who said they miss their Hamersley training sessions? We have the perfect program for you, the Hamersley Fundamentals program. This twice a week program consists of approximately 60 minute sessions which focus on footwork and ball skills. The only equipment you will need are; a netball, 6 cones (or 6 substitutes – but don’t go borrowing your parents expensive glass vases), towel/yoga mat and mini bands. These programs are FANTASTIC, but don’t just take my word for it, hear it from your fellow players completing these sessions. If the inspiring words from your fellow players and the thought of returning to netball without putting a foot on court doesn’t motivate you to participate in the programs, then how about a little healthy competition? Hamersley have not one but TWO $200 Rebel Sport vouchers to give away. If you want to be in the running to win these vouchers, here’s how to do it. Our first competition is our Home Program Participation Competition. Simply put, if you participate then you’ll be in the race. For every time you complete a weekly session, you will be awarded an entry into the draw to win that amazing $200 Rebel Sport voucher. The more you participate, the greater your chance of winning. Even if you don’t win that $200 Rebel Sport voucher, you will still be a winner, because when we are finally unleashed on the netball court we all love so much, it will seem like we never left. The draw will take place at the end of the Home Program season. Competition number two is the Social Media Competition. All you have to do is wear your Hamersley uniform while participating in the home programs and show us your netball moves. This competition is done via Instagram, post a photo while completing your sessions and tag @hamersleynetballclub and use the hashtag #HNCHomeProgram for your chance to win that $200 Rebel Sport voucher. What are you waiting for? Use your imagination and get posting! May the best social media wizard win. The club will pick the most engaging post from over the Home Program season. Hamersley isn’t just a netball club, it is a family. Now is the time to dig deep and bring each other together through the power of social media. Get on your phones, call and text your friends and challenge them to a Hamersley Home Program. We’ve seen many self-isolation challenges across the world on social media from the 5km run, throwback photos to putting a shirt on whilst holding a handstand. Next will we see the Hamersley Home Program Challenge? Each time you complete a session, all you have to do is nominate a few of your fellow Hamersley players via social media to complete a session too. Each nomination you get represents one session – so for those lucky souls who have been at the club for a while, you may have a few sessions to complete. This challenge holds no boundaries and I look forward to updating you all on how successful this challenge was in the next issue of the Hamlet. Don’t forget to tag @hamersleynetballclub and use the hashtag #HNCHomeProgram in all your posts and nominations.

Hamersley entered into the Sportscover Clubbies Awards this year. We nominated for two categories; Best Club and Best Stalwart with Lyn Pemberton as our worthy stalwart. With over 1100 nominations entered, we were very excited that both of our nominations made it through to the final rounds! The club made it through to the last 20 and Lyn made it through to the last 12. Unfortunately we didn’t get to bring home the 2020 trophies but it was amazing to see that the judges have recognized how important Lyn is to our club by awarding her an Honorable Mention – your dedication and hard work will never go unnoticed. Thank you and congratulations Lynni. Congratulations must also be awarded to Nat Ellis who organized the nomination process. Nat wrote the excellent submission articles, and with the help from Al Kennedy they produced the accompanying videos. Finally, a huge thank you must be given to everyone who was interviewed in the videos. You represented the club fantastically and did us proud! If you haven't already seen them you can watch the videos below and read Nat's submissions.

Hamersley Netball Club, now in its 44th year, is full of members who are proud and passionate and believe in making the Club the best it can be, which happens to be the Club motto. Hamersley understands the value of belonging in the community and aims to be the club for life for its members. It encourages players to transition to coaches, parents to join the committee and subcommittee and continually strives to build and develop the culture of the club to provide members with that sense of pride and belonging.

At the heart of the club are the president Alexis Stevens, VP Mel Hunter and the Development Unit of Lyn Pemberton, Beth Harvey and Janine Birkett. It is this core group of women that generate the operation of the club and share their knowledge and expertise with all the coaches. The programs they generate and the “Hamersley way” of training and playing gives the club its reputation for excellence.

Volunteers are key to the success of Hamersley Netball Club and members demonstrate their love for the club by being generous with their time across a range of activities. In 2019 there were over 60 volunteer coaches, 37 Committee members and 24 team managers supporting the 259 playing members. This involvement makes for a truly unique family club.

What makes the club great is that it believes in player development, not just winning on the court (although the club has demonstrated excellent success) and runs many programs to assist its members to continually improve. This includes programs such as strength training off the court, programs that support mental health issues, encourage leadership development and ensure the opportunity for participation by all members of the community through its No Limits teams, designed for males and females with an intellectual disability aged 11 and over to engage with the sport of netball, meet new friends and play in a safe environment as part of a team.

Hamersley Netball Club's programs are geared towards encouraging girls and women to keep playing sport through their teenage years and for life. Suncorp's 2019 Australian Youth Confidence Report showed the age that girls stop playing organized sport is between 15 to 17 years old and 50% of females in their late teens had moved away from or stopped playing their favorite sport compared to 30% of the boys surveyed. The Club believes that playing sport and being active helps promote self-confidence, as well as health in mind and body; attributes which lead to happy, healthy community members.

Hamersley is more than just a netball club, we are a netball family. We have an excellent membership, with a large portion of members (including parent members) who give back to the club in a regular volunteering role. The Club is always striving to grow and improve and offer the best netball experience for their members.

"If you had to sum them up in one sentence what would it be?"

Hamersley Netball Club is more than a club; it's a netball family of dedicated and passionate volunteers and players who are always striving to be the best they can be.

Everyone at Hamersley Netball Club agrees that we are so lucky to have Lyn Pemberton at the club. The definition of a stalwart is someone who is marked by outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit and Lynni is this personified! She is the heart of Hamersley and the rock that players, parents, coaches and committee turn to for advice and encouragement.

Lyn Pemberton is a household name when it comes to netball in Western Australia. She is a former West Coast Fever Assistant Coach, former Perth Orioles Specialist Coach, WA State Team Coach over 11 years, State League coach and she has coached at Hamersley for 38 years, dedicating her time generously across multiple clubs and teams.

Lyn is the ultimate Grass Roots through to High Performance Coach. She truly wants to see every player reach their potential and be the best they can be, which is the club motto. She is 110% committed to the Club, involved in every facet including team selection and grading, coaching teams, mentoring the 60+ coaches and assistant coaches at the club, pushing coaches forward to improve their accreditation levels, she attends committee of Management meetings as part of her Development Unit role, is at the courts every training night, and from sun up to sun down on game days.

Lynni joined Hamersley Netball Club in 1982, 38 years ago, and is probably even more active in the club now than she was back then! The pace she keeps is incredibly fast, she always has her finger on the pulse and it’s not unusual to receive a post-midnight, early hours of the morning email! Her energy is infectious, and the club is as strong as it is today because of Lyn Pemberton.

The Origin Energy Metro League is a 9-week Association representative competition. 2020 was the second season for this competition and only 5 rounds were able to be completed due to the season being cancelled to keep all participants and spectators safe surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Congratulations to the following Hamersley representatives.

Congratulations to all Hamersley members who were selected for WANL. We have Hamersley Club members playing in a range of teams across the WANL competition. Congratulations to everyone!

Hamersley would like to acknowledge and congratulate the following members who were selected to represent WA in the 2020 National Netball Championships that were to be held from 18 April until 23 April at the Hobart Netball and Sports Centre. Unfortunately, the championships were unable to go ahead, however it is an amazing accomplishment to be selected to represent WA. Congratulations!

Congratulations to former Hamersley player Emma Johnson for being selected into Waikato Bay of Plenty (WBOP) team that competes in the Beko Netball League. This League is fundamental to strengthening Netball New Zealand's performance pathway, the development of talent, and competitiveness of Netball New Zealand's elite teams. WBOP team underpins WBOP Magic team.

The Stronger Communities program was designed to support projects that make a significant and positive impact on the community, encouraging community participation and contributing to vibrant, active and viable communities. The program supported the Australian Government’s commitment to deliver social benefits in communities across Australia by funding small capital projects in each of the 151 Federal electorates. In consultation with their community, each MP had to identify potential applicants and projects in their electorate and invite them to apply for the grant. Hamersley Netball Club was invited by the Member of Stirling Hon. Vince Connelly MP to submit an application, which was assessed against the program’s eligibility criteria through a closed non-competitive process. We are delighted to announce that our clubs application was successful! We were eligible for up to 50 per cent of our project cost. Our project for 2020 was the procurement of equipment for training and game play. The fund amount granted was $2500. This grant is amazing for the club as we will be able to get on court with new equipment once netball returns.

We would like to extend a huge congratulations to Hayley Butler and Dean (Wes) Gurney on their wedding! On 25 January 2020, Hayley and Wes tied the knot at the Sandalford Wines for a beautiful day to remember. Congratulations and we hope you have a long and happy life together.

Calling all Hamlet readers to get involved in this short survey for a component in the next installment of the Hamlet. Every Hamersley member who fills out the survey below will be awarded an entry into the Home Program Participation Competition. The prize is a $200 Rebel Sport Voucher! The draw will take place at the end of the Home Program season. (COMPETITION AND SURVEY NOW CLOSED)

If you want to leave a comment about this Hamlet, a particular story we covered or just congratulate someone then please do so in this issue's Facebook post. We'd love to hear from you!