NHC Life Member - Courtney Ribbons
Club Involvement
Executive Role - President - 2003 2004 2005 2009 2010
Executive Role - Vice President - 2006
Executive Role - Secretary - 1998 2001 2001
NHC Junior Coordinator - 2004
NHC Publicity Officer - 1997
NHC Umpire Coordinator - 1999
NHC Stockwell Rec Park delegate - 2005 2006 2010
Playing Years (premierships)
A Grade - 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
B Grade - 2001
Coaching (premierships)
B Grade Women - 2007
Under 14 Girls - 1997 1998
Minkey - 1996 1997
Personal Achievements
NHC Kellett Family Senior Club Person Award - 2006
NHC Danny Van der Biezen Memorial Junior Club Person Award - 1997 1998
NHC Best & Fairest - A Grade - 2004 2007
NHC Best & Fairest B Grade - 2001
BVHA Best & Fairest - B Grade - 2001
BVHA Best on Ground in Grand Final - B Grade - 2001
BVHA Team of the Year - 2013
BVHA Umpire of the Year - 1998 1999 2001 2002 2006
BVHA Life Member - 2014
Hockey SA - Most Promising Women's Umpire - 1998
Hockey SA Junior Volunteer of the Year - 2003
Hockey SA Outstanding Service to Hockey - 2014
State Umpire - Under 16 School Girls - 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
State Umpire - Under 18 Women - 2002
State Technical Judge - Under 21 Women - 2001
Senior games as at 30 September 2016 - 293
Awarded Life Membership - 2010
The Courtney Ribbons Story:
Courtney didn’t really get a choice when it comes to playing hockey. With an older brother already playing and parents heavily involved in the club, Saturdays were spent at the hockey field whether she liked it or not! Well she must have liked it because 22 years later – she is still playing.
She did take one year off to have a go at netball, but decided that since the ball was already on the ground and she couldn't drop it further, hockey was more her game.
You could say volunteering was in Courtney’s blood. With both parents on various committees both with Nuriootpa Hockey Club and the Barossa Valley Hockey Association it was only a matter of time before Courtney followed suit. Her first official role at the age of 15 was as secretary - where she was too young to be a cheque signatory.
Fast forward a few years and Courtney is one of only a few people to have held three different exec roles on the committee (President, Secretary and Vice-President). In addition to this she has also held various roles in the BVHA including President, Treasurer and Umpire Coordinator. More recently Courtney was the driving force behind the installation of the BVHA’s first artificial hockey pitch which has changed hockey as we know it in the Barossa. Courtney recently joined both her parents as recipients of BVHA Life Membership - recognition of the Stephen family dedication to hockey volunteering in the Barossa.
On the field Courtney is the holder of 8 senior premierships and numerous junior ones, as well as a respected coach and umpire. Since playing her first A Grade Women’s game at the age of 13 on the right wing and scoring two goals, Courtney has been a regular in the senior women’s side, although more commonly seen in the backlines in recent years.
Courtney also had a lot to do with NHC and Association Umpire coordination, putting in place a junior development system ensuring a pathway for keeping the younger generation involved.
Her passionate input to the umpiring committee and the need for better umpire communication was also a priority on her list of things to do, just to add to the list she had to fit in her own umpiring commitments a game of hockey and assess her juniors - she was the only one qualified that could complete this assessment.
We have had many committed Life Members come through at the Nuriootpa Hockey Club but none like this member as she is one of a kind and definitely deserves the honour of not only NHC Life Membership but also the Hockey SA - Outstanding Service to Hockey Award.
It goes to show from her list of achievements that there is definitely Hockey Spirit in her blood.
The Tenth Life Member of Nuriootpa Hockey Club - Courtney Ribbons