KELLIE BRADSHAW
The Gold Coast Dolphins secretary is only a recent addition to the club’s committee, having joined the club in 2020 when her son transferred over from Palm Beach.Bradshaw oversees multiple projects, including helping out with the club operations, finances, registrations and serving as first point of contact for inquiries.Bradshaw’s push for more women on the club’s board has now seen five appointed, a number she hopes will continue to grow.KAREN DENNY
The matriarch of the Tugun Seahawks rugby league club, Denny has been a fixture on the sidelines of the Rugby League Gold Coast club since day one in 1978.The daughter of one of Tugun’s founding fathers, her formal role since 2004 has been the club’s secretary, problem solving for players and acting on the board of directors for the Leagues Club.She is Tugun’s Ms Fix-It.TAHNEE NORRIS
One of Australia’s greatest international players in her heyday, Norris remains a pioneer of women’s football on the Gold Coast and Queensland through her coaching.Norris has helped transform the Burleigh women’s team into a force on the Queensland state scene.Her success made her the obvious candidate to take over the Maroons women earlier in 2021.She has joined the foundation Titans NRLW team as assistant coach to Jamie Feeney.LINDA SAUNDERS
Rugby League Gold Coast’s league and club co-ordinator is a key player in determining and enforcing policies and procedures as well as the season draw.For the last two years Saunders has also served as co-ordinator for the SEQ women’s competition which spans Brisbane, Ipswich and the Gold Coast.“I have a real passion in that space so it’s been really good to watch that competition grow form strength to strength,” she said.“I think a girls competition on the Gold Coast is a real goal for building strength in SEQ.“The stronger each region gets we hope they will branch out and run their own local club competition too which will be great.”KRISTY SMITH
Smith’s outstanding contribution to Gold Coast rugby union were recognised in 2019 when the Palm Beach Currumbin volunteer became the first woman to join the district’s board, alongside Vanessa Reweti. Smith manages the senior competition, determining scheduling and liaising with club presidents to solve issues as they arise.CAROL DIAMOND
Diamond has been a sideline figure at Runaway Bay Rugby League Club for close to 40 years, with 30 of those as a member of the club’s board.She has served as club secretary of both the junior and senior programs as well the Runaway Bay Leagues Club.Diamond’s association began when her sons played and has outlasted their playing careers, with her grandchildren now following in their footsteps.Club president Graham Gleeson said Diamond was the driver that kept the club functioning, handling all correspondence with the league.JENNY PECK
Peck is a veteran of rugby league administration on the Coast with roles stretching back 18 years.The former RLGC secretary and Currumbin Eagles chairman is now leading the charge for the district’s formation of a stand-alone women’s competition as chair of the women’s participation committee. “Gold Coast females from 14 and up play in the SEQ competition which is across Brisbane Ipswich and the Gold Coast at the moment,” Peck said.“We’re working towards basing a competition on the Gold Coast. “What we do is put out expression of interest for clubs to become female approved.“The key it has to remain sustainable. From there we’ll make decision in next few months about whether we’re ready to bring in a Gold Coast age group.”GEORGIA REDMAYNE
Influential and inspirational. The willow-wielding Gold Coast doctor is a hero on both fronts.The carrot of playing alongside an international of her class has drawn plenty of talent towards the Gold Coast Dolphins over the years.Her impact is felt at the club even beyond the oval with a seat on the board.MILLIE BOYLE
Boyle’s incredible success in the NRLW and Jillaroos in rugby league and the Wallaroos in rugby union mark her a clear standout among the Gold Coast’s most influential athletes.
She was a finalist for the region’s athlete of the year in 2020.KATE ANSON
The newly appointed secretary of the Gold Coast Stingrays gridiron club has a mammoth task at hand to return the club to it’s glory days of the 90s and early 2000s.Anson oversees the entire management structure of the club to ensure compliance with Queensland Gridiron rules.“I do all the paperwork except the financial stuff,” Anson said.“I handle the running of the day-to-day operations at the club and make sure everything is going in the right direction, that meetings being held, sponsorships are sorted.”Anson’s experience is drawn from her time as a rugby league mum.“I always helped and volunteered at my son’s rugby league club,” she said.“I did a lot of fundraising stuff there so it was good to bring over that knowledge from rugby league to the Stingrays.” REBECCA FRIZELLE
The Gold Coast automotive magnate helped save the Gold Coast Titans from extinction in 2017 by forming a consortium with Darryl Kelly to purchase the club.The Titans long-awaited move into the NRLW competition was driven by Frizelle’s passion for rugby league and she continues to be the city’s most powerful woman in both sport and business, leading the way in two male-dominated industries. KATIE PAGE
FROM the time this larger-than-life pair opened their first Harvey Norman store on the Gold Coast in the 1980s (in response to Page’s GC-based sisters’ demands to be able to go shopping), they have made the city their second home. Their Magic Millions racing carnival and horse sale has become a permanent fixture in January and it continues to grow each year. Page continues to be a force for advancing the cause of women in rugby league, racing, business and this year her company was the naming rights sponsor for the inaugural Gold Coast Women of the Year.GLYNIS NUNN
A trailblazer like few others. Nunn won the inaugural heptathlon gold medal in the events first Olympic appearance in Los Angeles in 1984 and has since gone on to mentor Gold Coast’s brightest young athletes. Nunn runs the Gold Coast Academy of Sport, helping operate around 20 sporting programs for young athletes in the city.She is one of the hardest working figures in sport on the Gold Coast and already has built a legacy that will make her one of our most cherished influencers for years to come.DAPHNIE PIRIE
One of the most accomplished sporting figures Gold Coast has. Pirie’s list of achievements runs deep, with Gold Coast Sporting Hall of Fame chair a former international hockey player for Australia who also found success on the athletics track.Pirie is one of the most revered identities in Gold Coast sport, has the Spirit of Sport Medal named in her honour at the Gold Coast Sport Awards and is still looked to for elite advice on all things sport and event planning by the city’s biggest figures. FIONA SESSARAGO
FIONA Sessarago is the Suns Head of Women’s Football and leads the club’s brainstrust on all things AFLW.She got her first taste of AFL in her final year of university, helping out a friend by acting as a sports trainer for just a few games.From there she caught the bug. Sessarago started out as a player before moving into coaching and finally into administrative roles, helping nurture women’s AFL.Now she spends her days trying to deliver a premiership to the Gold Coast Suns while nuturing the top female talents coming through the club’s academy. KIM SEYMOUR
A woman who has been involved with the Hinterland & Districts Netball Assocation for 10 years and president for the last two. Prior to that Seymour spent time as the umpire coordinator for the association.Seymour, now 49, started playing netball at the age of eight at Southport and went on to play for the under-17 Queensland team under renowned international coach Vicki Wilson. The HDNA has been on a growth trajectory of 20 per cent year-on-year since Seymour’s involvement and she has spent recent times bringing the association into the 21st century.Seymour has helped launch a new website for the association’s 2700 members (hdna.net.au), has started a monthly newletter and has improve the corporate structure, business practices and has re-written it’s strategic plan for the next five years. She overseas the 18 affiliated clubs and over 200 teams that play at the association.SAM RILEY
A two-time Olympian and current Gold Coast Suns boardmember, Riley not only knows how to succeed despite all the challenges an athlete faces but is also a successful business woman with multiple swim schools.The Burleigh resident is a mother of three young boys and has a big presence in the Gold Coast community.Riley is part of the player development and welfare subcommittee at the Suns. LESCHEN SMALLER
A financial expert who is also part of the Gold Coast Suns board.Smaller joined Gold Coast in 2019 as part of a complete board refresh. Smaller is the foundation director of Element Business & Accounting Solutions, working closely with clients in transport, hospitality, retail, health, professional services and property development.SANDRA WALSH
The treasurer of the North Gold Coast Netball Association has been a fixture of the organistion for decades. Walsh has coached at club and representative level and is one of the most dedicated volunteers in Gold Coast sport.She coaches at Coomera Anglican College, does the draws for the NGCNA and gives up her Monday, Friday and Saturday nights through the season be at the courts in order to help in any capacity at a club that has over 1200 players. ANNE CORNISH
The woman at the helm of one of the most successfully sports clubs on the Gold Coast. Anne Cornish is the president of the Palm Beach Currumbin Australian Rules Football club and a respected figure who gets things done.Cornish has been in the top job since 2017, taking over from Glenn Spencer after spending 2010 to 2016 in the secretary role. She is a previous winner of the AFLQ’s volunteer of the year award, has acted as a director on the Palm Beach Currumbin sports club board and treats all the players as if they were her own children.Cornish has hosted a lot of interstate players at her own home to get them a start in Queensland, including some from the Solomon Islands who were on the Gold Coast for six months as part of an AFL program.KARINA BROWN
Brown brings a wealth of experience to the Titans inaugural NRLW team, having been a key part of the Australian Jillaroos since 2013. Off the field, Brown assisted in building the two women’s rugby league clubs in Queensland – Burleigh Bears and Easts Tigers.
Brown was announced as a marquee signing for the Titans in July. The winger/fullback is one of the most capped players in the game, having captained Queensland and lifted two World Cup trophies.
DELISSA KIMMINCE
A former Australian cricketer who featured in 16 one day internationals and 44 T20 internationals.
The right-arm medium pace bowler and batter paved the way for what has become a breeding ground of highly talented players coming through the Gold Coast cricket system.
Kimmince played for the Gold Coast Dolphins, helping mentor the next generation of stars, but is taking a season off after spending a long time on ovals across the world.
HELEN PAGE
Another member of the Gold Coast Turf Club’s Hall of Fame, Page has had enormous success in racing.
Page moved to the Gold Coast permanently with her late husband John in 1997 from Sydney and has spent the past two decades training in the city.
She won the Gold Coast trainers premiership in 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2016-17 and trained Melbourne Cup runner Magnolia Hall who finished third in the 1991 Melbourne Cup.
Page has mentored some of the brightest jockeys to come through Gold Coast’s ranks, including Dan Griffin.
GILLIAN HEINRICH
The newest member of the Gold Coast Turf Club’s Hall of Fame, Heinrich is considered to be horse training royalty on the Glitter Strip.
Heinrich, 63, has been training on the Gold Coast since she was 28.
Heinrich has had a host of memorable moments throughout a glittering career in racing.
She won the 2010 Magic Millions 2YO Classic with Military Rose, and also the trainers’ premiership at the Gold Coast in the 2006-07 season with 44 wins in what was an equal record alongside other winners Gerald Ryan and Alan Bailey.
Heinrich was the first female trainer in 155 years to win an Ipswich trainers’ premiership, while she has also been granted the Order of the Gold Coast.
Among the other star horses to come through her stable is All Bar One, a high-quality sprinter who won races in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, including the Group 2 Sir Byrne Hart Stakes at Eagle Farm.
RENEE GRACIE
A controversial former Supercars driver who has plans to spend around $1m to make a comeback to the sport.
Gracie retired from driving in the Supercars series at the end of 2017 due to a lack of funding,
She previously raced alongside former Indy Car driver Simona de Silvestro at Bathurst in 2015 and 2016.
The all-female pair finished 21st in 2015 and 14th on their second attempt.
Gracie quit racing after a season in the Super2 series, ending her six-year career as a professional race car driver.
Gracie left the sport to pursue a career in the adult entertainment but has publically said she wants to buy a team that can race in next year’s Bathurst 1000.
