From handmade skirts to 50 years of netball in Young

When Nancy McGregor looks back to the beginnings of organised netball in Young, she remembers a time when the opportunities for girls in local sport were very different. “Back in 1976, the boys had team sports - football, cricket - and the girls didn’t have a team sport,” she said. That year, a meeting was held at Young Public School to form a local netball association, chaired by the school’s sportsmaster Don Smith. The first committee included Carmel Salmon as president, Carol Baiton as secretary, Kay Waugh as treasurer and Nancy McGregor as ground and umpire convenor. At the Young & District Netball Association’s first dinner: Kay Waugh, Carmel Salmon, Carol Galvin, Nancy McGregor, Carol Baiton, Ann Chapman, Iris Finnigan and Daph Krebs. Sister Eulia was the timekeeper, with Nancy remembering her courtside “with her school bell”. Councillor Don McGregor, attended on behalf of council and told the group they could share the Miro Street oval with soccer. Nancy was among those involved from the beginning, taking on the role of ground and umpire convenor. Fifty years later, the association they helped establish is preparing to celebrate a milestone that Nancy says is as much about the generations who kept it going as those who started it. “We came from nothing,” she said. Young’s first netball home was at Miro Street, where the grounds were shared with soccer. There was no clubhouse and very little infrastructure specifically for netball. Goal posts had to be carried onto the courts before games and removed afterwards, while the courts themselves had to be marked out before play. Lollies and drinks were sold from boxes and card tables, and much of what was needed simply came from the homes, hands and time of the people involved. “It was a lot of work,” Nancy said. “But we loved it. We thought it was great for the town and great for the kids.” Families worked barbecues to help pay for buses when representative teams travelled, keeping the cost as low as possible so children could take part. In 1979, the Young & District Netball Association became affiliated with the NSW Netball Association, opening another chapter for the young organisation. Nancy remembers first secretary Carol Baiton, her husband Alan and Carol’s mother Joyce Knight as important figures in helping the association establish itself. Alma and Joan Farraway also played their part, getting out their sewing machines to make green wraparound skirts for the players. Those skirts were worn when Young began travelling further afield, including to Sydney, where one early trip provided a sharp introduction to representative netball at a much bigger level. It rained heavily throughout the trip and the Young contingent had no tent or proper wet-weather gear. “One mother went out and bought us some green garbage bags for the girls to wear,” Nancy said. Bus driver John Scott parked as close to the courts as he could so the players could shelter on the bus between games. But the weather was not the only thing Young noticed. The Sydney teams arrived in pleated uniforms and were polished in the traditional march past. “What a shock we got,” Nancy said. It wasn't long before Young responded. The handmade wraparound skirts were eventually replaced with green pleated skirts with red trim, a large cherry flag was made for the team to march behind, and coaches and managers wore green skirts with red blazers. Within only a few years, the small country association had made its mark. In 1982, Young won the march past. The following year, that victory earned the association the honour of leading more than 50 netball associations in the event. For Nancy, it remains an example of what a small association could achieve when people worked together. The association continued to grow, building its own identity and producing generations of players, coaches, umpires and volunteers. Nancy was made a life member in 1982, alongside Carol Baiton, following Kay Waugh, who became the association’s first life member in 1981. Current Young & District Netball Association president Rachel Douglas is also a life member, providing a link between the people who helped establish the association and those carrying it forward today. As the association grew, so did its facilities. When the PCYC complex was built in Lachlan Street in 2003, Young Shire Council negotiated for netball to move there. For an association that began by carrying posts on and off shared grounds, the move to sealed courts and access to indoor courts represented a significant change. But Rachel said the heart of the sport remains much the same. Today, children can begin through NetSetGO before moving through local competition and representative pathways, and this year Young sent its first boys team to state competition. Rachel said the boys improved noticeably during the tournament and, more importantly, embraced the experience. For her, keeping those early experiences positive is critical. “That’s how you keep them involved - keep it happy,” Rachel said. “As they get older, they’re going to be competitive - there is no joy in losing - but keeping it fun keeps them coming back.” That sense of belonging is something both women return to when talking about what netball has brought to Young. Rachel said some of the most rewarding moments had little to do with trophies. “It’s in the moments you see them enjoying themselves,” she said. “You meet amazing people. It’s the connections, being a part of it, and your child growing up around it.” Young’s representative carnival remains a strong fixture on the regional netball calendar in March, while this year’s anniversary weekend will also mark 45 years of the Cherry Festival carnival. Some visiting associations and supporters have been returning for decades. Keeping all of that running, however, still depends on volunteers. Rachel said attracting people to committees and other roles was one of the ongoing challenges for community sport. Nancy remembers a time when families simply took on whatever needed to be done - whether that meant working a barbecue, sewing uniforms, marking courts or helping teams get away. “Everybody just did a little bit,” she said. It is that collective contribution the association will recognise when past and present members come together next month. One of the people returning will be first secretary Carol Baiton, who now lives in Sydney and will attend the anniversary dinner. Nancy described Carol as one of the driving forces behind the association in its formative years. “She was the strength that started it,” she said. For Nancy, seeing the organisation still providing opportunities for young people 50 years after that first meeting brings enormous pride. “Sport is a great thing for the young ones,” she said. “And it’s great for Young.” The Young & District Netball Association will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a carnival on November 7 and 8, with an anniversary dinner in the Flamingo Room on the evening of November 7. See page 2 for details of the event. For an association that began with shared grounds, card tables, handmade skirts and volunteers willing to do whatever was needed, the weekend will celebrate not only 50 years of netball, but the generations who built it and those still carrying it forward. Young Netball’s Open team at the 1982 NSW State Netball Championships, the year Young won the march past. Back: Nancy McGregor (manager), Sandy Brown, Helen McGregor, Karen Slater, Carla Keogh, Janelle Hopwood and Barry Salmon (coach). Front: Ann Rule, Annette Major, Karen Croker, Robyn Martin and Patricia McGregor.