To kick off Female Football Week, we thought it would be fitting to begin with one of the most committed volunteers in the Association, Roselands Raptors’ Maria Gissing.
What began as an occasional volunteering gig soon turned into a labour of love for Maria who has happily committed over a quarter of a century to supporting her club, Roselands Raptors.
In the early days, Maria and her husband, Jeff, spared their time on the weekends and weeknights to help out their kids as they progressed through the ranks at Bennett Park.
However, the ad-hoc volunteering soon progressed as Maria became to grow a stronger affiliation with a club that she holds so dear.
She believes that her Raptors’ family offer something special.
“Our club is a melting pot of cultures playing proudly for the values that Roselands Raptors instill.”
Image: Maria with her daughter Catherine at CDSFA’s 2019 Awards Dinner. Credit: MMS Sports Photography
The diversity that Maria touched on is one of the main reasons as to why she remains involved with the club to this day.
Throughout her time she has been able to foster something special which she’d like to maintain.
“Because it’s a little bit unique, I wouldn’t like to lose that. Things have been tough for us recruitment wise but I don’t want it to fail,” she said.
“That’s probably why I have hung along longer than I would have done.
I think you need to be able to provide different sorts of clubs for different sorts of people looking for different sorts of things.”
This theory that clubs should cater for their members ties in well with Maria’s take on the current state of women’s football.
“There are a number of different levels. Obviously, you have women who are competitive who want to play in a strong competition, it’s important that you can provide that for them.”
“But a lot of the players are there because they want to play in a social atmosphere. If they’re over 30, they want to play with other mums or they may want to be with their uni friends or people they went to school with.”
“It’s a matter of being to provide a broad spectrum of experiences.”
She added: “It’s about getting that balance between strong competition and making it a fun experience where you can get fit.
“Once you recruit girls and women, it’s about how you keep them playing.”
As a passionate advocate for women’s football, this is just one of many issues that Maria holds close to her heart.
Photo: Maria and the Roselands’ committee members at CDSFA’s 2018 Awards Dinner. Credit: MMS Sports Photography
Her commitment to the cause does not stop there with Roselands’ number one volunteer also currently sitting on the CDSFA board.
She believes that her career outside of football has provided her with some invaluable lessons which she has been able to translate into the boardroom.
“I feel quite privileged to be on the board. My background is as a food technologist, it’s a lot more complicated than people realise. As I progressed through my career I was in a managerial position and I had exposure to a lot of people and processes which I feel that I contribute to the board.”
“I feel like I can bring a little bit of a commercial business background to the board.
Ethics are also important in a board position; I don’t think a lot of people realise how important it is to have an ethical position on the board. You try to have an open mind to look at both sides of a situation and try and come up with a solution that is good for the majority rather than the minority.”
“That’s what I hope that I bring to the board.”
If the COVID-19 pandemic never happened, she admits that she would have been traveling the world at this time and acknowledges that her time with Roselands may not last for much longer.
“I’ve retired from work; I’m doing another uni degree part time at the moment. If COVID hadn’t happened I’d be in Europe as we speak.”
“Part of the retirement plan was to travel more. I’d still like to do that when the opportunity arises.
I’m happy to guide my successor, I’m there to offer advice but would I like to be down at the park every weekend? No, not so much.”
By CDSFA Communications Officer – Samuel Greco Schwartz
