About Cronulla RSL Netball Club

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Cronulla RSL Netball Club began with 4 teams in 1964.  Lin Smith a long serving Youth Club President hosted meetings at his home to help establish the Cronulla RSL Netball Club, although what we now know as "Netball" was then called "Basketball".  The inaugural President was Hilda Pavitt with Joan Harwood taking on the tasks of Secretary and Treasurer. With the Club accepted into the Sutherland Shire Basketball Association Shirley Hennessy took over the role as Treasurer. The four coaches were Roslyn Antal, Megan Targett, Shirley Barker and future president Gwen Smith. The club had immediate success with the 13's coached by Megan Targett winning the competition. The 15's made the Semi-Finals and the 11's were runners-up, a very successful start.

The establishment of any new activity (or the running of an existing one) is bound to have the occasional hiccup. With RSL it involved the delivery of the uniforms arriving just in time for day 1 at Seymour Shaw. At the time rules were very strict - tunics had to be exactly 9 inches above the knee. When the girls put their tunic on they found the length of the uniform closer to that of a ball gown than a netball uniform. Given the situation, comments from officials that the hems needed to be raised were not well received. When it was necessary to find yellow polo shirts a simple and effective solution was found - they bought white shirts and dyed them yellow in committee members washing machines.

In the early years growth was rapid. In 1968 Cronulla RSL Netball boasted 27 teams. Of interest was the visit of the Jamaican Netball team that played an RSL team at Bellingara.
 

Over the years many girls have graduated from RSL to play representative netball. Noteworthy was the A1 team of 1983 in which every player had represented Sutherland except for Vicky Cleveland who had played for Randwick and NSW. Vicky Kerr who started with Cronulla RSL Physical Culture joined RSL Netball and went on to captain NSW. Vicky also coached the NSW Under 21 team for 9 years winning 7 championships. Another former Cronulla RSL player Lenore Furze, represented NSW, also coached NSW teams. Another Cronulla RSL player Maxine Bruce is a National A-badged umpire and assists with NSW umpiring programs.
 

Cronulla RSL has had some fine teams, however one stands out. The Voice newspaper on August 25, 1983 reported that the Cronulla RSL A1 Netball team won the A1 competition. What made this remarkable is that it was the fifteenth consecutive grand final and RSL's tenth premiership. Two players - Vicki Kerr and Kim Crompton had been in each of the fifteen grand final sides. The 1983 success was the fourth in succession beating the three in a row in 1971- 1973. The 17A team also won their grand final emphasising the depth of RSL Netball over this period.
 

In 1980 the strength of RSL Netball was highlighted when they won the Genevieve Shield, a competition to find the strongest club side in NSW. While it is difficult to compare teams from different eras it is hard to imagine a better side ever playing in the Sutherland Association.

Over the years Netball has changed and with it so has Cronulla RSL. In order to make Netball more accessible to younger players a modified rules form of Netball was introduced. Nursery Netball, aimed at 6-8 year olds, has proven to be a successful initiative to encourage girls to try Netball. Such innovations are welcome and thanks to many hard working committee members RSL Netball has been able to continue to evolve.

In 2022 our club redesigned our netball uniform and introduced a club umpires uniform. With thanks to Cronulla RSL Club, we were able to offer existing players a subsidised new uniform to make the transition affordable. 

Leading the way, our new uniform which incorporates the history and colours of our netball club, was specifically designed around inclusivity, practicality, price and comfortability. We were one of the first SSNA affiliated club to officially introduce shorts and offer multi-uniform options that aim to suit the diversity of our players. Each player can choose the uniform piece/s that suits their style of play. Options include a dress, a skirt and shirt, or shorts and shirt.

Cronulla RSL Netball Club remains a strong and respected SSNA affiliated club. We are one of the oldest surviving clubs in the whole SSNA competition, which is the largest netball competition within NSW. We field both social and competitive teams. In 2023 we fielded two mixed Monday night teams in the inaugural Monday night competition.

Our club will continue to flourish, thanks to the assistance of many people, players, parents, partners, family members, supporters.  We are a friendly, diverse and inclusive club that encourages our members, their parents and family members to keep us in the game and to actively help shape the future of our netball club. 

Cronulla RSL netball has an excellent troupe of life members who in their time devoted much of their time and/or expertise to the creation and development of our great club. These women and men, in no particular order, are (as at January 2010):
Nancy Pullen (deceased)
Pat Wilcox
Sue Cameron
Dot Smithers
Lisa Scott
Norm McManus (deceased)
Val McManus
Joan Smee
Gwen Smith (deceased)
Hazel Gunn (deceased)
Joan Gorrick
Lyn Edgar
Bert Peachey (deceased)
Alison Peachey (still playing, coaching and umpiring and on committee)
Cindy Bannon (deceased)
Julie Webb
Vicki Johnston
Kristine Butler
Ruth Brown
Kim Crompton
Denise Clancy
Lynn Lapham (2009) (on committee)
Kim Kogias (2009) 

There are many ways to be involved in Cronulla RSL Netball Club however right now, we have a few committee positions that urgently need filling. We all have busy lives, families and working commitments, but without volunteers, Cronulla RSL Netball Club cannot continue to operate. We desperately need your help. Our club committee is an inclusive group of friendly people working together as a team, helping each other out with their roles. By giving a few hours of your time, you can ensure the ongoing success of your club. The following committee positions are currently available: 

• Secretary
• Umpires Convenor
• SSNA Delegate
• Coaches
• Umpires
• Registrar