Dedicated patrons share club’s greatest honour

Warwick Hockey Association jointly awards two club members after decades of service.

PATRONAGE HONOUR: Sheryl Windle and Darryl Gillam selected as Warwick Hockey Associations newest patrons.

HOCKEY: Decades of dedication has been rewarded with the honour of a lifetime for Warwick Hockey Association club patrons.

Recently appointed to the role Sheryl Windle and Darryl Gillam have been involved with the sport for over 80 combined years.

It’s a role that Windle said was the culmination of her involvement with the club.

“I’ve held every committee position from juniors and the management committee,” Windle said.

“I guess we’ll be hovering around making sure everyone is doing the right thing.

“Still maintaining that respect for what has happened in previous years.

“Because it just didn’t happen overnight – the club started in 1929 and it has evolved from there and for me I think we always have to consider those in the past as well as the present.”

As the fourth and fifth patrons of the club, the responsibility has changed with time.

“The role of patron has changed a little bit now because once upon a time it was sort of more of a token but now you actually have a role to fill,” she said.

“You’re meant to promote the sport and just help boost the association.

“And support the committee – we’re not active in the committee but we’re there to support and try and promote the Warwick Hockey Association first of all, and then hockey in general.”

Having held almost every position at the club in his 44 years, Gillam said he prides himself on ensuring the club looks pristine for visitors.

“When you get to our age, you’ve done a lot of work and you sort of expire for that sort of position,” Gillam said.

“I’ve been here all that time, mainly in maintenance and mowing – making sure the place looks immaculate for visitors.”

While change is inevitable, both agree the transition from turf to astro ground was extremely significant.

“I was involved with the application for the turf the first time we got that in 1998, and I did the application on my own for this one after the flood,” Windle said.

The upgrade for the turf has had a significant history in 21 years according to Gillam.

“The first astro field, every afternoon and all weekend we were down here working on the construction of the turf,” he said.

“And the second one got washed away – I was so emotional I didn’t come back for six months.

“And then I came back and they started reforming the mounds over there and then I got back into it again “

With the club now in the hands of a new president and the addition of Windle and Gillam, the future of hockey is growing in the region.

“We’ve had two Olympians, as well as World Cup champions, Queensland and Australian representatives – from juniors through to seniors.

“We had a lull there for a while, but you can see now that there are some good kids coming through again, and that lull wasn’t just here though it was state wide.

“We place a lot of emphasis on coaching the kids here and teaching them the basic skills and making sure they do understand the safety.”

As the Tokyo 2020 Olympics approaches, Windle is hopeful that the increased exposure will continue to boost numbers.

“I think it does help – I know that our numbers boosted when we had the two Olympians over that time our profile boosted considerably and we do try to come off the back of the Olympics and get the kids interested.”

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