Even as a five-year-old, Helene Goadsby loved cricket. Growing up in the New England town of Wallabadah, about 55 km south of Tamworth, Helene was the eldest of three sisters, born to grazier parents.
“My mother tells me I used to listen to cricket scores on the radio, to tell them to dad when he came home for lunch,” she said.
And thus started her lifelong love of the game, even though she’s never played it herself. Helene has dedicated over 30 years to the Greater Hunter Cricket region, beginning in 1990 when her oldest son Aaron started playing Under 10s in Singleton, where she lived with her partner Robert.
She is one of the inaugural recipients of the Cricket NSW Community Distinguished Service Award, which honours volunteers who have contributed more than 25 years to cricket in their local communities.
Helene can’t remember too big an involvement with cricket in primary school, but says she started taking an interest in the game around the age of 19 when she started dating Robert, who played cricket.
When the oldest of her two boys started playing, she took on the role of scorer for a couple of years before assuming the role of Secretary for the Singleton District Junior Cricket Association three years later and has continued in various positions within Singleton Cricket to this day.
In 1990, Helene joined the Hunter Valley Junior Cricket Council (HVJCC) Executive Committee and became Secretary two years later. Her tenure has seen her in various roles, including Treasurer, Recorder, and Cricket Carnival Convener. She remains an active member of the HVJCC Executive Committee.
In 2011, Helene joined the Hunter Valley Cricket Council (HVCC) and took on the role of Treasurer, a position she still holds. Additionally, she has served as the Assistant Secretary since 2017 (as required). Helene has also been a delegate for the HVCC and HVJCC to the Central North Zone.
She says that in all these years, she has never felt the need to not volunteer. “I enjoy it,” she puts it simply. There were a few challenging moments as well, she would go with the team every year to junior cricket carnivals across the country, to Newcastle, Maitland, Scone and other towns, and would also have to manage her role in senior cricket alongside that. At the end of every season, she has a whirlwind of a few weeks with submitting final tallies, organising awards, and congratulating everyone on a cricket season well spent.
She loved going to watch Test matches years ago, but in recent times, her and her partner’s health have seen a few challenges, and she mostly watches cricket at home these days, she says. Her current favourite cricketer is Josh Hazlewood, because he has the Tamworth connection.
Helene's commitment to cricket is unwavering, even though her sons no longer play. Her leadership, dedication, and direction have made a significant impact on the game in the Hunter Valley region. She is highly respected as a volunteer and administrator, continuing to contribute passionately to the sport she loves.
Says Helene: “I continue to volunteer because I am needed there at the moment. It is hard to get people involved these days, and sport needs volunteers. I don’t do it because I have to do it, I do it because I want to.”