Sport
13 November, 2024
Mount Isa netball chasing new executive ahead of AGM
No nominations have been received for the MIANA leadership positions ahead of Monday's AGM.
The Mount Isa Amateur Netball Association needs a new crop of administrative leaders to put their hands up at the upcoming annual general meeting if the sport is to continue its growth in the city.
All of the executive have stood down from their roles and MIANA has yet to receive a nomination for any of the vacant positions heading into Monday’s AGM.
President Zara Kuskopf said she notified the association earlier this year that 2024 would be her last season at the helm of MIANA.
“I’m not walking away ... I will still be umpiring, I will be there every night and I’ll be there to hold the hand of the next person to take on the role – it’s just after four and a half years I’d like to put more focus into other things,” she said.
Ms Kuskopf said whoever came on board to fill the leadership void would be walking into a strong organisation.
“The level of work that myself, but also my team, have put in over the past four years to modernise the association in terms of bringing it up to standard with policy and procedure, having correct record keeping and other things ... they would be taking over with MIANA in great shape,” she said.
“When I took over I was basically finding my feet as I went and I don’t want anyone to experience what I had to go through.
“We get financially audited every year, so it’s not just our opinion that we’re good, we actually are compliant.
“We purposely made enough of a profit so that going into next year there is some buffer room (for the next executive) as well as what’s already in the reserves.”
The president conceded that the uncertainty at Mount Isa Mines could be having an impact on those potentially interested in taking on a key role.
“Volunteering is incredibly difficult and I think Mount Isa is also in a unique situation ... I have heard from a number of people who have said, ‘I would consider stepping up, but I might leave next year, depending on what’s happening with the mine’. I think there’s been a lot of conversations about what the impact of the underground copper smelter closure is going to have on the community,” Ms Kuskopf said.
“People haven’t had a chance to turn their mind to how it will impact those really important social fabrics like sport.
“Less people in town means less bodies, it means less members and it means less volunteers. But without sport, how do you create that connection? That connection is what has kept me in Mount Isa.”
Nominations for executive positions will be taken from the floor at Monday’s MIANA AGM, which will be held at The Buffs Club at 6pm on November 18.
“You need to be a member to join the executive but we’ll be happy to sign up new members if required,” Ms Kuskopf said.