Comments from our President           

It only seems like yesterday I was wishing everyone good luck for the start of the season, and fast forward to today and our winter seasons are now all done and dusted for 2022. COVID-19 certainly presented us with some challenges in terms of coach and player availability, as well as with regular fixture changes, but I am pleased to say that as a Club we handled ourselves commendably.

Our teams performed very well across both junior and senior competitions. Several junior teams managed only a couple or no losses all season which is a fantastic achievement, and our men’s first team went on a great run in the latter half of the season to push toward the top of their division, ultimately finishing a very commendable 4th on the ladder. Extra special kudos however goes to our women’s team who had a stellar year and finished top of the table in their division. Well done ladies and hopefully we can leverage this fantastic result as we try to bring together an all-girls junior team in 2023.

As mentioned in previous correspondence, our number of registered juniors increased significantly in 2022, and we are looking to build on this as we head into 2023. Recent discussions within our Committee have helped lay the foundations for a junior development strategy for the next few years, and with numerous new registration queries already received over recent months, the future is looking even brighter for our juniors. Further details are provided in the following sections about registrations for and junior participation in 2023.

The Club has also been active on the social front and continues to consider opportunities to bring our members and supporters together across the football season. Our annual Quiz Night was held on Friday 15th July and again proved to be a great event with our clubrooms at near capacity for a night of food, fun and some crazy answers. Thanks to all our sponsors who provided a vast array of prizes for our winners and raffles, and of course to our hard-working Committee who put in a lot of work to ensure the evening ran smoothly. These efforts saw near-on $5,000 raised from this event which have been put back into the Club to support both our junior and senior teams with uniforms and equipment.

Friday 22nd July then saw members from our junior teams participate in a pre-game club parade around the hallowed Optus Stadium turf ahead of the international friendly between EPL stalwarts Crystal Palace and Leeds that was played in Perth. Just shy of 60 children decked out in their Ballajura AFC gear participated in this event which I’m sure will be a moment they will remember for some time to come. A huge shout out to our Registrar Christina Earley for her organisational skills in pulling this group together – we hope she only aged a little following her efforts in making this event happen!!

Whilst your Committee has worked tirelessly this year to ensure your Club and player experience ran as smoothly as possible, Committees don’t always get everything right, and so we welcome any feedback and suggestions from our members to help move the Club forward. In this connection, I’d also like to take this
opportunity to give notice of and invite anyone who is interested to our Club AGM on Sunday 27 November 2022 (1:00-2:00pm) at our clubrooms – we hope to have a few more members join us on the day for our discussions and formal voting activities.

Finally, don’t forget that we are also more active on our social media platforms these days, so please remember to like us and view us on Facebook for regular updates and information about upcoming activities, events and games, and be sure to keep an eye on our New Website too.

Best Regards

David Shephard (President)