A moment on from being knocked again in her quest to secured the Netball Australia board, Liz Ellis has in any case discovered a seat on the desk.
The previous Diamonds captain (2004-2011) has been appointed as a director and says she believes now’s the fitting presen to effort and affect alternate.
Ellis spent 15 years representing her nation on the manage, showing at 4 International Cups and 3 Commonwealth Video games as she made her strategy to transform our maximum capped participant ever (122).
The Diamonds annual MVP award is known as in her celebrate.
Off the court docket, Ellis studied legislation at Macquarie College and served at the forums of the Australian Sports activities Fee, NSW Institute of Game, Sydney Olympic Ground Authority and Gamers Resonance.
She has additionally cast an notable media profession, prior to now commentating the Tremendous Netball league for Channel 9 and 10, writing columns for the Sydney Morning Usher in, showing incessantly as a panellist on The Mission, and successful truth TV display I’m a Superstar Get Me Out of Right here in 2023.
Ellis were given a excellent glance in the back of the curtain of her liked game when she led a Circumstance of the Sport Assessment in 2020 that assessed the place netball used to be at ahead of making numerous suggestions to aid preserve its situation as Australia’s primary game for girls and women.
Total, many would argue there’s no identify extra synonymous with netball on this nation – possibly even international – so the scoop that Ellis’s experience were solid apart via Netball Australia to rather reappoint a few of its current administrators utmost moment for sure raised eyebrows.
Talking of her appointment, Ellis instructed ABC Game now felt like the fitting presen for her to tackle a governance place, 3 seasons since she utmost commentated a sport and pivoted to another segment of the media trade.
“Look, I’m really excited and I think it’s the right time for me to be doing it,” Ellis mentioned.
“I used to think I couldn’t do it while I was commentating, simply because it’s a bit of a conflict of interest, but I feel far away from those duties now to take it on.
“I’ve sat out of doors the organisation and had an opinion for quite a lot of years however now’s the presen for me to get in and give a contribution in my gardens of information and experience.
“You should never waste a crisis and the sport has seen a series of crisis over the past 12 months, but it’s actually created an opportunity for some meaningful conversations to happen.”
Ellis has been vital of the game’s path in earlier years, calling out its “callous disregard” for participant welfare all over utmost moment’s pay dispute, specifically for its determination to handover Diamonds avid gamers with a letter blackmail prison motion relating to their attendance on the Australian Netball Awards.
She used to be additionally a part of an unsuccessful bid via businessman Matt Berriman to shop for the Tremendous Netball league and believes privatisation will have to for sure be thought to be shifting ahead.
This dialog comes at an noteceable presen, with talks taking place between Australia and Unutilized Zealand about the possibility of linking up in a netball league once more past 2026, when the stream Fox Netball broadcast do business in expires – specifically ocular as not one of the Tremendous Netball groups these days flip a benefit and growth is top at the game’s precedence record.
As Ellis issues out too, the moment 2027 can also be pivotal because the moment Sydney hosts the then International Cup, a event that can mark the centenary of netball.
“I still feel strongly that we should have a really good look at privatisation for Super Netball or some other kind of investment,” Ellis mentioned.
“If then, after a proper look, it’s decided that it’s not the right thing to do, then you can explain to the system why and what your alternative plans are.
“There’s a few years left to run at the broadcast do business in with some excellent sponsors in playground, so there’s some alternative forward of the International Cup in 2027, the place we can proclaim the centenary of the game, to look what’s very best for it shifting ahead.
“Obviously it’s like planting a tree, the best time to fix some of these things was 20 years ago, but the next best time to look at is today.
“I believe my greatest problem will likely be not to be impatient, as a result of I simply need the most efficient for the game.”
Asked what her other focuses will be in her new position, Ellis said she thought it was definitely worth looking back at the recommendations made in the State of the Game Review.
“I believe there’s some in point of fact urgent problems like ensuring the relationships with out of doors stakeholders, like sponsors and broadcasters and govt are in point of fact solidified, bedding the ones indisposed and ocular how we will upload price to them and provides them what they want,” Ellis mentioned.
“Alternative issues too like making sure the virtual soil of the game is perfect, whether or not it wishes 3rd celebration funding, talking with all of the member organisations and ensuring that everybody’s wishes are being met, so we will place the game to transform an actual expression for girls in Australia.
“The State of the Game review certainly doesn’t have all the answers, but it’s a pretty good place to start from, so hopefully coming in as a new board member with that sort of knowledge under my belt will help and it won’t take me too long to get up to speed.”
