THIS weekend the Ramco Netball Club will celebrate its ‘Over 70 years Reunion’ with an afternoon event at the Ramco Football and Netball Club clubrooms.
Organising committee member and current Ramco netballer Kelly Chamberlain said it had been difficult to establish the exact start date of the club, but after talking to locals and doing some investigation organisers had an approximate timeline of the mid to late 1940s.
“We have been trawling the archives of old editions of the River News and other resources for articles about the club,” Ms Chamberlain said.
“We have also spoken to locals who played in the early years to establish exactly when the club was first formed but no concrete date has been found.”
Long-term Ramco resident and founding Ramco Basketball Club secretary/treasurer Evelyn Wilson spoke to the club about her recollections of the club’s beginnings and recalled a letter she wrote at the start of 1946 to netball association stalwart Stan Hermann of Blanchetown about starting a netball team at Ramco.
Mrs Wilson said it was some time after their discussions they formed the team, and she recalls playing the first game as a scratch match against Morgan.
“Originally we called the game ‘women’s basketball’ and we did bounce the ball,” she said.
“It was then changed to netball in the 1970s with no bouncing, and I played in the position of wing attack.
“My husband, Les, was a Ramco Football Club Mail Medal winner back in the day, heavily involved in the club. He and other Ramco footballers helped clear the ground for our first grass netball court, while my father, Otto Modistach, a fisherman, made the nets and poles for the netball rings.
“We fundraised to purchase our bibs and netballs. Our first uniform was an olive-green tunic and we trained on Sundays against the footballers.
“The original team consisted of Dulcie Perry (founding Ramco netball president), Marg Webber, Edna Ziegler, Bernice Nutchey, Beryl Lewis, Laurel ‘Honey’ Zimmermann, Val Blenkiron, Gwen Platten, Grace Nottman, and me.
“We followed the Ramco football fixtures on game day and travelled on the back of Linke’s truck.”
Mrs Wilson played netball for Ramco for seven years before starting her family and for decades carted many young Ramco netballers to games throughout the region, including her own daughters.
The event on Saturday will see an extensive photo collection, newspaper articles and a showcase of club uniforms from throughout the years.
Former and current players and supporters of the Ramco Netball club are all welcome to attend the reunion. The event starts with the current A grade Ramco netballers playing against visitors Blanchetown-Swan Reach at 12.30pm, followed by refreshments at the clubrooms.