2023 Annual Report & Summary of the Year

November 14th, 2023

The Altona Hockey Club is proud to present the 2022-2023 Annual Report:

President’s Year in Review

2023 is our 91st anniversary as a club, and last year I wrote of an historic year with our 90th anniversary and return to the pitch post-Covid. I didn’t expect 2023 to be quite so significant but reflecting on the year there have been a number of historic achievements;

• We have introduced a new uniform for the first time in 12 years. It looks great – and apart from a new look, it also really walks the walk with our inclusivity goals, meaning the whole club will be wearing a uniform that looks the same for the first time, and allowing players the freedom to choose which items they want to wear.  This was led by Kerrie Myyrylainen and Andrew Scanlon
• We have been included in the Hobsons Bay Council Budget for the redevelopment of our facility, which will be the most major works to the pavilion since the extension was added in 1977, 46 years ago. This project is being led by Andrew Meiers and David Burns.
• We celebrated our Inaugural Indigenous Round, and I’m positive work that every member who attended one of the events or interacted with the educational messages, will have learnt something and be richer for the experience. This was led by Bronte Kerley, Naish McDonald and the social & inclusion committee.
• After a long and great partnership with Burbank of 12 years, we welcomed Werribee Steel as our Premier Partner, our first major sponsor change since 2011, and it’s great to have Werribee Steel’s support.
• The amount of Australian representation we have had this year is unprecedented, from the Mens & Womens Development Squad, to the U21 Burras, Indoor, Masters & Hockey 5’s, it is a fantastic achievement for both the individuals and the club.
• On the pitch, the Premier League competition went through an unprecedented relegation of four teams. Which resulted in heightened stakes and tension in many areas of hockey this year, both on and off the pitch. Including the re-introduction of the League Entry Criteria, which we successfully met this year.
• We returned to having a boys and girls team in every junior age group from Under 10’s to Under 16’s with the addition of the U14 Girls team this year.

So while it was maybe not quite as historic as our 90th year, the pace of change continued and we were able to achieve some great things as a club this year.

That is all in addition to the on-field exploits, which included our junior section continuing to grow and a nail biting Grand Final for the U16 Girls,  two Senior Premierships – the Monday Night Open team led for many years by Justin Burgess, and the Women’s Pennant D team take out a thriller of a Grand Final and secure promotion – and many other memorable moments across the age groups and grades.

As a Board this year, we were entering the third year of our Strategic Plan, we had a focus this year on increasing our volunteer base and the sustainability of running our club, in addition to delivering key projects – many listed above in the achievements. It was certainly not without challenges, and both Kieran Symons (I would like to thank Kieran for his efforts as Treasurer and also Josh Coote, a huge effort in stepping in as interim Treasurer for the end of financial year) and Pete Wroblewski stepped down during the year – and each year the demands on community sporting clubs is growing, with key volunteers shouldering large burdens. This is a critical area that we will need to continue to address as we move forward and grow as club.

Personally, I am stepping down as the President after four years in the role, two as Vice-President and 10 years on the Board. On reflection it has been very rewarding and I am happy to leave the club in a strong place, and proud of what we have been able to achieve. Leading through a rather tumultuous period of Covid was challenging, as have the past two seasons post-Covid been equally as challenging. I encourage all club members, particularly leaders, to consider how you can help the AHC – as they say, many hands make light work – but it is all roles that need leadership to really continue to take our club to the heights that it can reach.

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered their time to help during my tenure – there are many tireless hours spent by many volunteers at the club, from the Board, through to all levels – and the club would not function without this commitment from many people, which often goes unrecognised. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the A’s.

Alex Tyrrell, President, Altona Hockey Club

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