Message From the President

Continuing to Communicate

At the start of the year, the WAFC Board committed to ensuring that there would be more regular, transparent and honest communication with all members. As part of that journey, a members’ forum was held at the Club on Tuesday 20^th August. Whilst some results of the forum were seen immediately, such as the request to hold at-home celebrations after away games, others needed further investigation to ensure a full answer could be provided:

 Follow-up Questions:

• Club performance against the Strategic KPIs: A member asked how the Board was performing against the specific KPIs to this point. Though the Board will use these measures to provide a full assessment of performance for the year as part of the report for the AGM, we can provide the following specific performance metrics.

• • Football: Specifically, the Strategic plan calls for the Club to perform to a standard that sees finals performance across all divisions 5-7 times over a ten year period (2024-2034) and that the senior squads predominately draw on our junior talent. Our new football director, Mr Paul Patterson, provided some details regarding our progress towards achieving this at the meeting. The key message was that the club is tracking upwards in performance across a range of measurable metrics, including points against, injury management and junior talent development.
  • Financial Sustainability and Growth Initiatives: The club continues to experience financial challenges as we work with many stakeholders to develop better facilities and practices. Mr Andrew Tickle reported against our ability to meet obligations and a detailed analysis will be included in our audit as part of the AGM. The Board accepts that we have not consistently meet our financial aims outlined in the Strategic Plan, such as positive cashflow each month, however we continue to develop new opportunities that will ensure the long-term sustainability of the Club. Of note, a key achievement in this area has been the formation of a specialist committee to oversee and coordinate sustainable, responsible growth and explore ‘out-of-the-box’ opportunities.
  • Great people and Culture: This is a key area of achievement and growth for WAFC in 2024. Our focus on families, leadership and long-term loyalty have been at the forefront of the Boards focus. The formation of the new Community Engagement Committee, incorporating both the historical legacies and the future generations, has been a massive step forward and we took on board some feedback at the forum that working with Parents would be well received.
  • Redevelopment: The Club continues to work closely with the West Torrens City Council and SANFL, to ensure that Hisense Stadium can be our home for generations to come. We appreciate that many members are frustrated, we thank everyone for their ongoing patience. This is a slow process that we have committed to getting absolutely correct.

• Volunteers:This topic was covered by a wide range of questions, with members specifically requesting the Board address rumours surrounding volunteers. We confirm that as part of our commitment to raising governance standards and ensuring compliance, there has been a requirement for volunteers to be officially registered and meet certain requirements. The Board does not apologise for these expected standards as they are a crucial part of making our home safe and secure for all within our community. The Community Engagement committee will work with all current, and future prospective, volunteers to support our club activities and events. We encourage everyone who wants to get involved to make contact.

• Working with the Council:A member posed the question of how the relationship between council and club is going and we confirm that regular meetings do occur with council – whether these be specifically about finances, governance or the greater redevelopment. Additionally, the Board is committed to ensuring we share all information possible as soon as we can – noting that there are commercial in confidence elements.

The Members forum covered a wide range of topics and we as a Board, took many things on notice – it is our intent to provide these forums as constant two-way fixture at our Club.

In this modern era we are all aware that our facilities need to improve so that we can continue to grow and develop – so it is with excitement that we announce the investment of a fully fitted transportable burger bar, which will be find its new home at the ovals edge. This new addition will not only enhance our game day experiences, but will allow us to cater for a wide range of other events; offering a broader selection of food and drinks, ensuring compliance with health regulations, and providing a more comfortable space for our volunteers.

A sincere thanks to Mr Richard Sykes who transported the 20ft container from Kilkenny to Hisense Stadium. For those who have already spotted the bright green container in the car park, you’ll be excited to know that it will be painted in our club colours during the off-season. We’re also in the process of identifying the perfect location for it, so it’s ready to serve you in 2025.

Change is not a single event, but rather a journey and we thank you all for your support so-far in 2024, without it we wouldn’t be able to continue to take the steps to see our great Club set up for success long-term. We thank those who participated in the Forum and look forwards to sharing more updates with you all in the future.

From the Board and CEO