#NVW2022 - Water Polo Australia celebrates unsung volunteer heroes who make us ‘better together’

Yesterday marked the beginning of National Volunteer Week, with Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteering this year focused on the role of volunteers in building and strengthening Australian communities, according to the theme ‘better together’.

In joining the celebrations, Water Polo Australia continues to recognise the outstanding contribution of its volunteers from grassroots local competitions to national events, and acknowledge their crucial role in supporting the activity of water polo clubs across Australia.

In honour of National Volunteers Week, and as part of the Water Polo Australia Awards celebrations, we’ll be unveiling each of the Volunteer of the Year finalists, before awarding the winner.

First up…Natalie Beddoes - President of Albury’s Northside Stingrays Water Polo Club.

“Volunteers are the backbone and the unsung heroes of our clubs,” said Beddoes.

Since taking on the role of president in a club that was struggling to field teams in the local competition, Beddoes has been the catalyst for an amazing turnaround, rallying her local community and driving the resurgence of the Stingrays and other clubs in the region. But Beddoes is keen to highlight that she could not have achieved such outstanding results without the volunteers around her. 

“You can’t do anything on your own. It’s a team environment and in fact, a whole community. [At Northside Stingrays] we are really lucky to have an amazing committee that empowered and enabled me to do the things I really love,” she said.

Love of the sport and passion about supporting the community are often cited as some of the main reasons why more than three million Australians every year decide to give up their time and volunteer. It was no different for Beddoes, who started volunteering to follow her kid’s passion for water polo and continued for the rewarding outcomes she was able to produce in the community. 

“My youngest son started playing water polo when he was about 12, but for the first couple of seasons I just sat back and watched - I didn’t even know the rules of sport,” Beddoes confessed.

“I could see that the club was struggling to get good people involved, so I offered to be a team manager.”

Over the years, Beddoes got more and more involved with the club, serving a number of roles from Secretary to Delegate, to Vice-President, finally becoming its president.

“It all started with my family and my kids, really, but I always do things that bring you joy,” she said.

“To me, seeing kids thrive and empowering people - that brings me joy.”

Beddoes led the club as it addressed a huge gender equity gap, working hard to get women’s team programs back up and running. She admitted that to now see pride restored in the club’s members and the community at large means a lot to her.

“That’s really why I do it, it’s about making people happy,” she said.

“It’s about people being the best version of themselves, and that’s also what sport really should be, supporting people through the good times and the bad.”

Having lived through the entire trajectory of sport volunteering, from not knowing the rules of the sport to leading a club through a period of profound renovation, Beddoes is also in a unique position to share some wisdom with those who are keen to get involved with the sport, but might see volunteering as a daunting commitment. Her advice is simple - you’re not in it alone, so give it a go. 

“I think it’s all about playing to your strengths,” Beddoes said. “You don’t have to know everything and you can always rely on your network and the friends you make along the way.

“Sometimes it is hard, but overall it’s just a positive experience. Plus when things are hard and you actually achieve your goals, it just means a little bit more.”

Beddoes was humbled to be nominated for the Water Polo Australia Volunteer of the Year award and grateful to be acknowledged for the work she does. Still, her motivation lies elsewhere.

“You don’t get involved for the awards, of course.

“You get involved because you’re passionate about your community and you want to help people succeed,” she said.

National Volunteer Week is a chance for all of us to celebrate and recognise the vital work of our amazing volunteers and to say thank you for their contribution.