Athlete, Coach, Board Member, Media Professional
Ali Clarke was born in Brisbane but has called Adelaide home
for over twenty years. She has spent most of that time waking up with the
people of Adelaide on Breakfast radio, with #1 rated shows on three different
networks, she has returned home to MIX102.3.
Ali formerly wrote a weekly sports column for the Adelaide Advertiser, was a sports reporter for Channel 9 and a courtside reporter for Adelaide Thunderbirds Netball matches for Channel 10. She has an Honours degree in Human Movement Studies and a degree in Journalism from The University of Queensland. Her honours research led to two publications on Women’s Rugby in Australia. She is also on the Local Advisory Committee for next years Beach Volleyball World Championships to be held in Adelaide.
Athlete, Coach, Board Member
Jenny played 167 games for the Australia Women’s Basketball Team (The Opals), competing at two Olympic Games and four World Championships. She was Captain of the Opals from 1980 until her retirement, going on to become assistant coach of the Opals for seven years including two Olympic Games.
Jenny’s basketball career started at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and the Canberra Capitals in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL). Whilst playing at the highest level with the Opals, Jenny was appointed assistant coach of the AIS (WNBL Team). Appointed head coach in 1990, Jenny was awarded Coach of the Year in her inaugural year.
At 15 years of age, Jenny was selected to play for the Australian Softball team and won a bronze medal at the World Softball Championship. She was a champion in three sports and was a member of the South Australian senior and junior softball, netball and basketball teams in the one year.
Jenny’s other accolades include winning the Halls Medal for the best and fairest player in the South Australian Women’s Basketball competition on three occasions: 1974, 1977 and 1978. She was awarded an AM in the Queen’s birthday honour list for services to basketball. Jenny was inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame, Australian Hall of Fame and automatically inducted into the SA Hall of Fame the same year.
She has served on the Australian Sports Drug Agency Board (ACT); Bruce Stadium Interim Committee (ACT); Olympic Athlete Committee and the Boxing Martial Arts committee (SA).
Jenny believes her most important role is as a Mum to her three beautiful daughters, Jacinta, Brooke, and Holly.
Athlete, Coach, Administrator, Board Member
Melody Cooper is a passionate leader dedicated to empowering and advocating for women in sport. A former New Zealand Black Sticks women’s hockey player, Melody competed in the 2012 London Olympics, where New Zealand placed fourth. She began her career in club hockey in New Zealand before moving to South Australia, where she captained the South Australian Suns to victory in the Australian Hockey League Championship in 2011.
In her coaching career, Melody broke barriers as the first woman to lead-coach a men’s team in the Australian Hockey League. She served as co-head coach of the Southern Hotshots and later took on the role of head coach
for the Adelaide Hockey Club’s Men’s Premier League team. Her coaching excellence was recognised in 2014 when she was named Coach of the Year by Hockey SA in the South Australian Premier League.
Currently, Melody serves on the Hockey South Australian Board, co-founder of Thoegayn Zugub and a Commonwealth Games Federation Regional Development Manager for Asia & Oceania. She also contributes as
the lead support for the Australian Opals with the Australian Basketball Players Association. Her past roles include Chief Operating Officer of Indigenous Basketball Australia and General Manager of Adelaide Thunderbirds and Elite Pathways.
Melody is a passionate advocate for gender equity and inclusion, committed to creating pathways for women in sport to achieve excellence. Her vision is rooted in a deep connection to culture, community, and humanitarian values, where she emphasises empowerment, kindness, and resilience. Balancing her career, volunteer roles, and responsibilities as a dedicated parent to two children, Melody is driven by the belief in equal opportunities and the transformative power of sport.
ATHLETE, OLYMPIAN, SPEAKER, PHYSIOTHERAPIST/RUNNING COACH, MOTHER
Jessica’s love for sport and the outdoors was instilled at a young age. She grew up in the town of Naracoorte in South Australia’s south east, where she and her family enjoyed many adventures and weekend activities such as family bike rides, camping trips and a holiday to Sydney for the 2000 Olympics. Jess attributes her success in the Marathon to her love for running and the outdoors, her active upbringing, determination, hard work ethic (role-modelled by her family members) and most importantly, her strong support network.
Jess ran her first ever Marathon in Japan in 2012 and achieved a time of just over 2h 31 minutes which qualified her for the London Olympics in August of that year. She has since gone on to represent Australia at the 2013 Moscow World Championships, 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow (bronze), 2016 Rio Olympics, 2017 London World Championships, 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (bronze), the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, where she achieved her dream of winning gold. Most recently she competed in the Paris Olympic Games, placing 13th in the second fastest Australian women’s Marathon time ever at an Olympic Games.
Jess fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming a Mum in 2019 when she gave birth to her son Billy. In 2023 she welcomed a daughter Ellie into the world. She believes that Motherhood has made her stronger both physically and mentally. It has heightened her passion for running and its many benefits.
Athlete, Coach, Official, Board Member
A passionate advocate for women’s sport, Louise is a former state league netballer and premiership captain with Matrics Netball Club, Australian representative in Indoor Netball, assistant coach for the Adelaide Thunderbirds and AFLW Player Development Manager for the Adelaide Football Club.
Throughout the many diverse roles, she has held from corporate positions to non-for-profit directorships, to those of a mother and wife, she draws unquestionably, most often on the skills garnered from her time in sport as an athlete, coach, umpire, and mentor. It is the depth of these life skills and the power of friendships and networks built over many decades that drives her passion to support, empower and create opportunities for girls and women through the medium of sport.
Louise commenced her role on the SANFL Commission as the sole female director and shortly after was appointed to the Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority where she was the first and only female. At the SANFL, she sat on the Finance & Audit Committee and chaired the Women’s Football Committee with a charter to fully develop the SANFLW league to include all eight clubs, expand the length of the season and to provide improved pathways for females to engage and enjoy all levels of football within South Australia. Additionally, Louise played a pivotal role in establishing the inaugural Female Personal Development Pathway program which delivered leadership, financial literacy, and wellbeing education for every SANFLW player. Today, Louise proudly sits as one of three women on the SANFL Commission, with three women also now directors of AOSMA.
With a confessed passion for sports and huge appetite for learning, Louise is driven in her ongoing desire to empower females to reach their potential. This motivation fuels her continuous engagement in sports at varying levels.
Louise’s current role is General Manager at Turnbull Built, an award-winning building firm based in Adelaide. Her leadership has been recognised through various accolades including the Professional Women’s Award and the Small Business Management Award from the Housing Industry Association of South Australia.
Official, Coach and Educator
Eleni is a distinguished Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women’s field umpire, boasting outstanding credentials in her field. She made history by becoming the first female umpire to officiate in a match sanctioned by the AFL, in the NAB Challenge match between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club. Eleni also became the first female to be appointed field umpire for an AFL Premiership season match, when she was selected to officiate the Essendon and West Coast match in Round 9 of the 2017 AFL season.
Her successful career as an umpire began with the North Eastern Metro Junior Football Association in Adelaide, South Australia, before commencing to umpire in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). In August 2013, she umpired her first senior SANFL match becoming the first female to officiate as a field umpire in a State League match nationally. It is from this national platform that Eleni gained further recognition and in 2014 she was offered a three-year AFL Field Umpire Pathway scholarship in Melbourne, where she umpired in the VFL throughout the 2015 and 2016 seasons. This position was then elevated to the AFL Field Umpire Senior list in 2017.
In recognition of her remarkable contributions, Eleni was honoured as the 2019 South Australian Young Australian of the Year and in 2021 was awarded a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia for her services to umpiring nationally.
Eleni’s personable nature and competent public speaking skills have empowered many young athletes/people throughout her career, presenting and speaking at events. Outside of umpiring, Eleni is employed at the AFL as Umpiring Growth and Development Coordinator – Schools and Female and at the SANFL as Umpire Growth and Female Academy Manager.
Athlete, Media Professional, Educator
Katrina is recognised and acknowledged for her success as a Paralympic athlete. She has won multiple gold, silver and bronze medals in athletics at three Paralympic Games. Recognised for her successes, she was appointed as the first torch bearer to enter the stadium for the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Paralympic Games and selected on behalf of the International Paralympic Committee to speak at the United Nations in New York.
Katrina’s outstanding achievements include her selection in the Australian Netball 17 and Under Netball Squad; being awarded an Australian Institute of Sport Netball Scholarship; winning gold and silver at the IPC Athletics Championships; winning two silvers at the World Athletic Championships; setting a new world record and awarded an Australian Institute of Sport Scholarship and silver medal at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Katrina’s impact on the Australian Paralympic community was recognized with several prestigious honours. She was bestowed the Order of Australia medal (OAM), the Centenary Medal and was honoured as the South Australian Sports Institute Female Athlete of the Year.
Off the track, Katrina serves as the director of Silver 2 Gold High Performance Solutions, a specialised organisation dedicated to empowering organisations, teams and individuals. Leveraging her role as a global ambassador for the International Paralympic Committee and drawing from her personal journey navigating disability, Katrina channels her passion for aiding others by founding and directing Newday Leadership, a platform to inspire leadership for the greater good.
In addition, Katrina is an international speaker, leadership
and personal mastery consultant, trainer in wellbeing, resilience and diversity
and inclusion and a physiotherapist. Loving a challenge, Katrina has walked the
Kokoda track and has trekked to Basecamp Everest twice. She is also a mother to
three beautiful boys and has worked with Seven as a reporter at the Tokyo 2020
and Nine at Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. In total she has attended 7 Paralympic
Games and 2 Commonwealth Games. Katrina is currently an Australia Team Deputy
Chef de Mission for Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
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