Swans win WA Sports Community Club of the Year Award

Last night Swan Districts Football Club won the Community Club of the Year John Gilmour Medal at the 2023 SportWest WA Sports Awards.

The prestigious annual event is the WA Sport Industry’s opportunity to celebrate the achievements of WA sportspeople, volunteers, officials, coaches and administrators.

This Community Club of the Year award is selected from all sporting clubs statewide. It acknowledges clubs who are leading the way in creating inclusive and safe environments for people to connect, inspire and achieve together and make a positive impact on the local community.

Swans have long been committed to community engagement. The club’s purpose is empowering communities and individuals to create better futures. Its vision is to be a high performing and sustainable club delivering positive social impact in communities, families, and for individuals.

Club President Peter Hodyl was delighted with the recognition. “We’ve been on this course for many years now. It’s who we are and what we do.”

“While football’s in our DNA, our club exists for a deeper purpose. We use football, as a language most West Australians understand, to connect and engage with people.”  

“We’ve shown that our club has a role to play in strengthening community, creating social value, and building environments where people can be the best they can be.”

“We have around 500 volunteers, players and staff, and also a large strong member and supporter base, who are committed to creating positive social impact in our community.”

The club has many well established inclusion and community outreach programs throughout the Pilbara and Perth metropolitan area. A few of these include early years and youth engagement programs, mentoring in schools, disability and inclusion initiatives, and health and wellbeing programs for specific demographics. The club measures the social impact it achieves. The club also have All-Ability and Wheelchair football teams competing in the Perth Football League.

The club was delighted to have Lance Corporal John Gilmour, 2/4^th Machine gun Battalion as a guest at the its annual Anzac Day commemoration home game in 2018 at age 98.