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WONGA PARK NETBALL CLUB INC. Wonga Park Netball Club Inc. was founded in 1979 by local resident Carmel Black. At that time, Carmel played netball and umpired games herself and thought it would be a good idea to start up a club in the local area that particularly catered for young girls. Being the Crossing Supervisor for the Yarra Road Primary School, Carmel was able to gauge the level of support for the idea of establishing a Netball Club. With the help of Ros Frame, the two ladies set to work gaining interest from the local community and were pleased with the response that was received, with 90% of girls from Yarra Road Primary School and the remainder from Wonga Park Primary School. The players were all asked to vote on a name for their new club and the result was the Yarra Road Netball Club. The new teams were entered at M.E.N.A which was located at Heathmont Reserve. This association covered the areas of Ringwood, Doncaster, Lilydale and Montrose. Due to a lack of court space, the home and away games were played at three different venues - Heathmont, Doncaster and Lilydale. The club had to supply umpires for every game and Carmel Black, Marg Beale and Ros Frame duly offered their services. Yarra Road Netball Club had no practice courts to call their own and so practice was held on a very old court at Yarra Road Primary School. This court was cracked with weeds growing up between the cracks. There were no lines marked on the court so each week lines were marked out using chalk or dry clay. There was only one goal ring so one team would practice on the court whilst the other three teams practiced on the cricket pitch. The teachers at the school all banded together one weekend and painted lines on the court and put up a new ring for the girls. The end of year Presentation barbeque was held at the Yarra Road School and all players received a trophy. Parents and families were very committed at the beginning of the club. In the early days, coaches had to umpire their own teams. It was a normal occurrence for a parent to drive their child from Wonga Park at 8.30am to Heathmont to coach, then on to Doncaster to play, coach and umpire, then in the afternoon drive to Lilydale and do the same thing again. The club succeeded in finals with the Under 10 team finishing as Premiers and the Under 14 team ending the season as semi finalists. The club had teams entered in four age groups. The club succeeded in finals with the Under 10 team finishing as Premiers and the Under 14 team ending the season as semi finalists. Word soon spread and at the end of 1979 the club was approached by the Wonga Park Residents Association, who were prepared to assist the club in obtaining practice courts. This help was conditional on a change of name to Wonga Park Netball Club. An Annual General Meeting was held at the Wonga Park Community Cottage resulting in the formation of a committee and the Wonga Park Netball Club was formed. In 1980 L.Y.V.N.A. commenced and the club transferred across to the Mooroolbark complex, where all the home and away games are still played. From there the club has gone from strength to strength, being very successful and well respected within the district. In 1981 the current practice courts were built in Launders Avenue and in 1990, lights were installed for evening practice. As the club has grown substantially over the years and so have the people involved in it. Some examples of their degree involvement are : ? players becoming coaches
? parents becoming umpires
? players becoming both umpires and coaches
? players and umpires from Wonga Park representing Association teams ? players becoming State League player
? players and their entire families getting involved at all levels throughout the club, such as the Cormack family, whom we all know and appreciate for their tireless efforts over the years.
Due to the many dedicated parents and players over the years the Wonga Park Netball Club continues to be successful. In 1998 the club had 13 teams playing as well as qualified coaches and badged umpires. The Wonga Park Community as a whole and all those people involved with the club throughout the years can look back and view the successes of the Wonga Park Netball Club with pride. Some of the coaches then were: - Under 10, coached by Joanne Hardstaff (12 players) - Under 12, coached by Carmel Black (12 players) - Under 14, coached by Marg Beale (10 players) - Under 16, coached by Ros Frame (9 players)
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