Life Members recognised on day of celebration

               Top left to right, to bottom left to right - Colin Brandis, Elspeth Denning, Charles Gaudoin, Wendy Pritchard.

Hockey WA has recognised the outstanding service and commitment of four of its Members at the 2020 Hockey WA Grand Final Day.

Four individuals, who’ve collectively contributed more than 200 years’ service to hockey in the state, were honoured with Life Membership to Hockey WA in an intimate celebration, with Hockey WA president, Michael Henderson, formally inducting the members on the day.

Colin Brandis was the first inductee in the ceremony, with his efforts at high-level coaching efforts at a state level formally recognised.

Coaching over a 35 year period, Colin coached men's, women's, boy's, and girl's state level teams, having a strong commitment to developing young Hockey talent in Western Australia over an extended period.

Colin has an impressive record, coaching the Under 15 boys, Under 18 men and women, U21 men and women, the State Senior women, State Senior women indoor teams, the WA Thundersticks and the WA Diamonds.

Across 30 National Championships, Colin amassed 12 gold medals, 7 silver medals and 6 bronze medals.

Not only did Colin contribute at a state level, but his 26 year coaching career at a club level saw a return of seven premierships across seven different clubs including Surf women, South Perth women, Suburban Nedlands City men, Pirates women, Harlequin Wanneroo men, Melville City men, and most recently the North Coast Raiders women's team.

Colins outstanding contribution across Western Australia can't be denied.

The next inductee was Elspeth Denning.

Born in Kenya and raised in South Africa, Elspeth moved to Western Australia in 1975 and quickly established herself as a quality player and coach.

Elspeth made her state debut in 1976, going on to captain the side from 1983 to 1988.

She made her Australian debut in 1978, going n to become one of Australia's most respected defenders, with 101 caps next to her name.

Elspeth made multiple Olympics, with her final Olympics campaign in 1988 her most notable, as she went on to win a gold medal with a sensational Hockeyroos team; that same year, earning the honour of WA Sports Star of the Year and earning the Order of Australia (OAM) honour.

At a club level, Elspeth has been a big part of the Curtin Pirates Hockey Club in their many iterations as a player and administrator, and as a coach and team manager, as well as serving as a committee member.

Making the WAIS Hall of Fame and becoming a Hockey WA Hall of Champions member, Elspeth can now add Hockey WA Life Member to her extended list of honours and accolades.

Charles Gaudoin was the third recipient of the Hockey WA Life Member honour for 2020.

Charles' playing career started in 1970 at the Harlequin Hockey Club, who with his expertise as player and assistant coach, reached the first division in 1980; Charlie continued this development of players in a coaching role until 1997, amassing a 27 year long tenure with the club.

In 1999, Charles spread his wings to coach at several other clubs across the state, including Suburban Nedlands, South West Strikers and Old Aquinians before he got the opportunity to coach internationally as the Indian Mens Assistant Coach in 2011.

After this tenure, Charles returned to Western Australia to coach Melville City Hockey Club; he was in that role for two seasons before moving on to being the Women’s first division coach at YMCC in 2016, the Curtin Men’s First Division head coach in 2017 and most recently at North Coast Raiders as their Men’s coach.

Charles also dabbled in coaching at a state level over a 15 year period, coaching the U15's, U18's and U21's State men's teams.

We thank Charles for his contribution to Hockey in Western Australia at both a club and state level.

The final inductee for the day was Wendy Pritchard.

Wendy first picked up a stick at aged 10 and from there, it was a rapid rise to the top for the Busselton native.

Six years after her first instance of playing Hockey, Wendy was selected for the WA State women's team; a team she would be a part of for 15 years, including undertaking the role as captain.

In 1965, she was named in the Australian ‘Blue Ribbon’ team leading to her selection in the Australian Women’s team in 1967.

Wendy wasn't just influential as a player, she was also influential as a manager, taking on the managerial role for the Hockeyroos in 1994.

During her tenure in that position, Wendy was a part of back to back gold medal Olympic and World Cup campaigns, 2 Commonwealth Games, 4 Champions Trophies and 29 other International tournaments.

Due to her impressive depth of knowledge within the sport, Wendy has served on multiple State and Australian Commissions and Committees including the Australian Sports Commission, WAIS Commission, WAIS selection panel for the Sports Star of the Year, the Hockey WA selection panel for the Hall of Champions and the Hockey Australia selection panel for the HA Hall of Fame.

Wendy's contribution to the sport at both a state and national level makes her a worthy recipient of the Life Member honour.

We thank out worthy Life Member recipients for 2020 for their outstanding contributions to the sport of Hockey in Western Australia and the nation as a whole.