“Things have to be done, so let’s get them done.”
Volunteer Vikki Chave has a practical approach to her involvement in the University of Adelaide Short Blacks club and her hard work is paying off in spades for the club.
Officially, Chave is the club’s junior coordinator but her list of duties extends well beyond that title, creating welcome packs for new families
“Junior coordinator - what do I do? Everything,” she laughed.
Chave has been nominated for the HSBC Volunteer of the year for her efforts but she feels she simply plays a role in the wider achievements of the club.
The club's junior numbers have grown in recent years from 55 to 90 children and will have a U16 team for the first time in 2019.
Chave's dream is to see juniors regularly transition into the senior club but it's the community connections that she really values.
“I always wanted to be part of that extra community stuff,” she said.
“For me it was about, I want my kids to have a community other than school to be around them.
“It was someone needed to step up to sort something out and grow club and juniors. We had a growth in juniors and then a decline.
“I want my kid to keep playing because he needs kids to play with him.”
Chave grew up in Adelaide but married a rugby-mad Jarrod and fell into the game from there.
Once their son Angus was born, rugby was always on the agenda and when he turned four he was down at the Short Blacks starting his sporting journey.
“I’m a convert - I grew up with AFL but my husband is a rugby boy he schooled me and I saw the qualities in it,” she said.
“It has qualities that I liked for my kids, the respect and the discipline that came through with the game.”
It is the inclusivity of rugby that really attracted Chave to the sport, hoping that the club can be a home for kids of all shapes and sizes.
“That prop that might not have a place in some other spots they have a sense of being a valued member of the team and the club,” she said.
