From canteen kid to association President, Jessica Templeman’s lifelong commitment to Touch Football has kept Port Hedland’s sports community thriving through one of its toughest seasons yet.
There isn’t a time Jessica can remember where she wasn’t involved in the Touch Football community. From helping in the club canteen alongside her mother, watching her father or older sister play, playing the game herself, to now President of Port Hedland Touch Football Association, Touch Football has always been a way of life for Jessica.
Raised in a family dedicated to the sport in New South Wales and Victoria before moving to Hedland nearly 25 years ago, she helped recruit friends and family to form a local team. Today, that tradition continues as she plays alongside her husband and their son.
Jessica’s official leadership journey began over a decade ago when she took on the Secretary role. Over the years, she has held nearly every title on the executive board, including Vice President, Referee Coordinator, Games Coordinator, and now President.
When several longstanding committee members stepped away last year, Jessica took on the presidency to ensure the association could continue to run the sport.
“The options I had was to take the President role or accept that there would be no more competition. I couldn’t let the association fold,” Jessica said.
“This year, I want to continue to grow the association. I want to leave a legacy and ensure that Touch Football is still around for my children to keep participating in as they grow up.”
Over the past year, Jessica has been able to keep Port Hedland’s local season running, even sending teams to the WA Country Championships and WA State Championships.
“I think my job as an emergency department nurse allowed me to triage tasks to enable us to keep functioning,” Jessica explained.
“I also have a wonderful committee behind me, and I have learnt the art of delegation and doing little tasks often so that jobs don’t get so big that they become overwhelming.”
Jessica leverages her strong task-triaging skills as an emergency nurse to run the Hedland Touch Association. Source: Supplied
Heart of the game and for the community
For Jessica, the immense effort she has poured into the association is all about preserving the tight-knit community that defines Port Hedland Touch. In a remote town where many members live far away from extended family, the association provides a vital support network and community where teams are often seen as ‘surrogate families’.
“Our association is special as it’s a place where we compete hard on the field, but off the field we build meaningful relationships.”
“Through playing Touch Football, our members meet new people and form genuine connections with other members of the community, which can ease some of the difficulty of distance from relatives.”
The Hedland Touch community is all about the connections made on and off the field. Source: Supplied
Room for growth at Port Headland Touch
Looking ahead, Jessica is keen to expand female participation and growing the junior program to ensure long-term sustainability. Her aim is to provide an environment that encourages staying physically and socially active. Beyond the sport, Jessica is building a community.
Her advice to anyone considering stepping up in grassroots sport is simple: “Do it. The more people who get involved, the better. Many hands make light work.
“You also need to be able to recognise what roles are not suited to you. I am not the best when it comes to paying bills, so I know that Treasurer is not the role for me. Go with your strengths.”
Congratulations to Jessica Templeman, a true champion of grassroots sport and a deserving Volunteer of the Month.
To recognise volunteers from your community, please click here.
Discover more inspiring stories from previous volunteers of the month here.
