General News
22 November, 2022
Netball award for Shelley
FORMER Cobden student Shelley White has been honoured with a Hans Ebeling Award for her service to netball through the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC).
FORMER Cobden student Shelley White has been honoured with a Hans Ebeling Award for her service to netball through the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC).
The prestigious award was presented to Shelley – a former student of Cobden Technical School who played junior netball with Cobden Football Netball Club and junior/senior night netball with the Cobden Assocation – during a recent presentation dinner in Melbourne.
Perpetuating the memory of one of the MCC’s greatest contributors as player and administrator, the Hans Ebeling Award was introduced in 1981 to honour those who have given outstanding service to Melbourne Cricket Club’s sporting sections.
This involves 14 different sports, including premier cricket and AFL football.
Shelley, who works at VicHealth as an Active Communities and Sport Future Healthy Group lead, is the first netball person to receive this award from the Melbourne Cricket Club.
In nominating Shelley for the award, chairperson of the MCC netball section, Beth Plunkett, said Shelley had been instrumental in the establishment and development of the club’s netball section.
She joined MCC Netball after responding to an expressions of interest notice in 2010 which called for players to represent the MCC in a multi-sport tour the following year.
At an information evening Shelley volunteered to coordinate this event and joined a working group.
This was the beginning of what has become a long and valuable contribution.
“In February 2011 Shelley played in a trophy match at the State Netball Hockey Centre and after a review of that match it was decided that MCC Netball would become a special interest group with the MCC and an official committee was established,” Ms Plunkett said.
“This group appointed Shelley as chair of the committee.”
In Spring 2011, MCC entered three teams in the Parkville netball competition – one of the leading metropolitan netball competitions in Melbourne – and today the club has doubled in size.
As chair of the club for eight years, Shelley led the netball section through key milestones including first premierships, substantial membership growth, establishment of governance processes and the recruitment of top-tier head coaches and the development of a team into Premier Division 1.
“As chair, Shelley deftly addressed teething issues which inevitably arose, and the challenges and opportunities that came with growth,” Ms Plunkett said.
“Shelley currently holds the fourth-highest games record in the netball section history with 236 games played, and has held team captaincy positions for much of her playing career.
“She undertakes all she does with pride, passion and purpose. She is an incredible ambassador for the MCC and community sport in Victoria and has never sought praise or big-noted her achievements.”