A Whipp hand at footy

by LES EVERETT

ONE of the mysteries in most sporting clubs is how things just happen. The change rooms get cleaned; new dunny rolls appear; ovals get marked; tables and chairs are put out; equipment is purchased and functions are organised.

Stanley Whipp. Winner of the 2003 Dale Kickett Award. Photo by Les Everett

Spend some time at Gil Fraser reserve and you'll see one of the reasons why the North Fremantle amateur football club is thriving.

Stanley Whipp, groundsman for the Maggies, gained particular pleasure from North's A-grade premiership victory last month - partly because he remembers the previous one so well. The Maggies, under captain coach Bill James, went through the 1960 A-grade season undefeated and the club looked to be on the verge of a successful era. However some subtle changes to the WAFL competition drew local players away from the amateurs and things became difficult.

Regular B-grade flags provided some joy but the Maggies soon found themselves in a cycle of promotion and relegation and the club was unable to establish itself as a fixture in A-grade ranks.

"Every time you're dropped to B-grade you lose two or three of your best players because they want to play A-grade," Stanley explained. He believes credit for North's rise to prominence should at least in part go to Glenn Hurst, who was appointed coach in 1989 and not only aimed to get a team into A-grade ranks but to stay there, and to Baden Pratt who has worked diligently with the colts.

Stanley wasn't born into a football family - "my dad was a pom" - but growing up in Swan Street North Fremantle he was soon immersed in Australian Rules culture. Then in 1960 he really dived in at the deep end when he married Gloria Kent.

The Kents were, according to Stanley, "a mad footy family". Gloria's parents Arthur and Elsie were both made life members of the NFAFC.

"Arthur died in 1956 and one of my biggest regrets is that I never had a chance to talk footy to him," Stanley told the Herald, "Elsie is the only female life member of the club... I think we've tended to ignore the work done by women."

Stanley's task as groundsman is supposed to be a 15 hour a week job but usually stretches to 30 during the footy season. With the help of his "off-sider" Tupp and willing workers from the community group Interchange, Stanley not only keeps the footy club ticking but helps out the local primary school and the volunteer fire brigade as well as keeping in contact with the council.

"Every day there are phone calls to make about what's going on and who's responsible for what," he said, "the council is pretty good, they don't worry us, they send us bills and we pay them."

Stanley's latest project is the restoration of a gate at the reserve honouring former North Fremantle mayor, teacher and footballer Les Charlton: "He deserves the honour, we have sponsorship and hopefully the gates will be up by Christmas."

The clubroom at the oval, built as an affiliated club project in 1957 and upgraded often since, has truly become a community hall and showing people the facilities and club memorabilia is something Stanley loves to do.

"I'm here Monday, Wednesday and Friday," he said, "It gives me something to do and I'm meeting people all the time which is what makes it attractive."

Stanley Whipp is the winner of the 2003 Herald Newspapers Dale Kickett Award for services to football.

The award was introduced for the 2002 season to be presented to a member of Fremantle football community who exhibits some of attributes of the 1995 and 1997 Herald Docker Award winner Dale Kickett including courage, resilience, humility and dedication.

The inaugural winner was Daniel White.

From the Fremantle Herald.

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