17 February 2026

Weipa netball's recipe for small town sport sustainability

| By Chisa Hasegawa
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Weipa Social Netball Club 2026 committee

Weipa Social Netball Club 2026 executive committee Kini Rokosoi, Kelly Watters, Craig Whiting, Chantelle Mazzocato and Chelsea Bratt. Photo: Supplied.

A family-friendly atmosphere, sharing the load, and not taking themselves too seriously seem to be the secrets behind Weipa Social Netball Club’s thriving committee.

As a new season for hundreds of local netballers approaches, the leading faces on the committee remain largely unchanged — a feat not to go unnoticed as locals juggle full-time jobs and kids with their volunteer work.

Following continuous growth since the club was established in 2010, the 2026 season will be supported by a team of 21 committee members.

Treasurer Chelsea Bratt, who is the newest member of the executive committee in her third year, said the core group had never wavered since she joined.

“We’re like a little family. It’s a kind group, everybody’s very approachable, and everybody who joins is very comfortable,” she said.

“We do have some new faces as well, but most of them have joined because their kids played last year, and they were involved anyway.

“This year, they’ve just called themselves members, rather than helping out for the sake of helping out.”

In 2025, the club recorded 288 registrations, of which 120 were junior players.

Last season, 30 juniors, accompanied by four committee members and a number of parents, travelled to Townsville for a netball carnival — the result of year-round fundraising efforts by committee members.

Despite the heavy workload, Ms Bratt said there was never too much on one person’s shoulders, which helped keep the same volunteers returning each year.

“Having a bigger committee, you don’t have to commit to being there every single week; we’re able to give people a rotating roster to come and help,” she said.

“Every single Friday night for the entire year, unless it’s a fishing competition or something like that, somebody’s at the Alby selling raffle tickets.

“Because we’re all such good friends, it’s normally a few of us at a time, and we’ll have dinner and have a bit of a laugh, so it never feels like a chore for us.”

2026 Weipa Social Netball Club Committee:

President: Kelly Watters

Vice President: Craig Whiting

Treasurer: Chelsea Bratt

Secretary: Kini Rokosoi

Junior Co-ordinator: Chantelle Mazzocato

Umpire Co-Ordinator: Amy Williscroft

Junior committee: Gemma Candow, Mikaela Goodwin, Judey Haeulser, Silvie Hynes, Elissa Nash, Rhianne Pilcher, Talei Rokosoi, Paris Saunders, Annabelle Slingo and Emily Watters

General committee: Adam Bratt, Isaac Campbell, Jeff Neil, Lacey Remedio and Katelin Watters

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