Words by Andrew Sutton

Ruud and Ingrid and their two children Lizanne (U9) and Mischa (U6) joined Corroboree at the commencement of the 2010-11 season and immediately became actively involved and embraced all that was special about Corroboree.

Ruud’s vast experience in athletics became apparent very quickly and this saw him drafted into assisting in the running of On-Track and in the role of Carnival Manager for one of the carnivals that season.

At the end of the season I, as President, approached Ingrid who, like Ruud, had immediately shown a strong interest and commitment to Little Athletics, to take on the role of Vice President.  I still remember the conversation vividly – she firstly made sure I wasn’t going anywhere in the next year or so before agreeing to take on the role.  Fortunately I was in a position to assure her that was the case and Ingrid agreed to step up.  In her first year as VP Ingrid was more than happy to put her efforts into anything that needed doing.  We were going through a lot of change and the first thing that took her focus was updating our very old Constitution, not the most exciting role, but one that was necessary and as a result of her work, the Constitution has required little to no change since then.

Ingrid was also happy to attend LAACT meetings which were never my favourite thing to do

Ruud in the meantime took on a key role supporting John Hunt as a member of our coaching ranks, having migrated from The Netherlands as a Level 2 Coach.   This was finally accredited in 2017-18 as a Level 4 Specialist Coach (Sprints, Relays Hurdles) and Level 3 Advanced Event Group Coach after many years wrangling with bureaucracy!

At the end of the 2012-13 season Ruud was awarded the John Hunt Award.  This was in recognition for his outstanding efforts throughout the season, not just in regards to the above which he did as a matter of course each week, but also for taking on the thankless but extremely challenging role of the Northside Regional Championships Manager.  Ruud also acted as the Assistant Chief at the ACT Championships and became involved in ALAC.

At the end of the 2014-15 Ingrid was recognised for her outstanding and consistent efforts in also being the recipient of the John Hunt Award.  As I described Ingrid when delivering my President’s Report at the AGM “Ingrid is very much the glue that keeps us all on track.  Her family are obviously all passionate about athletics and Corroboree and Ingrid best exemplifies the culture of the Club.

That year, Ingrid was responsible for the preparation and submission of our successful ACT Government Grant; she prepared the Officials Roster for the Northside Regional Carnival with great success; took on the responsibility for our uniforms, and has spent much time preparing the duty statements for each of the committee.  Ingrid is always happy to help, whether it be attending ACTLAA meetings, coaching juniors, helping set up on each Saturday morning, timekeeping, assisting other Committee members when they are under the pump, assisting in managing the Carnivals and Championships etc etc.  A most deserving 2014/2015 John Hunt Award recipient.”

Whilst I remained President until the conclusion of the 2015-16 season, Ingrid had already in effect taken on that role.  As I was quietly withdrawing myself from running the Club, Ingrid stepped up and whilst she had some reservations about taking on the role of President, there was no doubt in my and the rest of the Club’s mind that she was right for the role.

Ingrid continued in the role of President for 2 seasons, stepping down at the end of the 2017-18 after being on the Executive for 7 years, but has continued to remain on the Committee this year.

In the meantime, Ruud’s contributions to Little Athletics also continued unabated.  Not only did he take on an ever increasing role at the ACT Level acting as Referee for Field Events at every Carnival and Championships, he became involved at the ALAC level initially as Assistant Coach and then in recent years taking on the Coaching role, one that he has filled with great regard..

One of the things that Ruud does behind the scenes that demonstrates perfectly his commitment to Corroboree is whenever hurdles is on the program on a Saturday morning, he spends quite a few hours marking out the positioning for all the hurdles so that the Meet runs so much more effectively than it would. He is also the man who marks all the Javelin throwing areas, fixes those tapes that get broken at Saturdays meets, glues High Jump bars back together, delivers tents to carnivals when the association asks for our assistance, acts as selector and manager for representative teams and the list goes on.

Also of note, Ruud was nominated in the Volunteer category for the ACT at the last National Roll of Honour awards for Little Athletics; while Ingrid was in her final year of her Club Presidency when Corroboree was awarded the LAACT’s Club of the Year.  These are both recognition of their commitment to Little Athletics.

In a way this is very much reflective of both Ingrid’s and Ruud’s contributions to our great Club, but also to Little Athletics generally.  Neither seek the limelight in what they do preferring to undertake their roles quietly and effectively.

Both have been consistently and actively involved in each and every Saturday morning Athletics Meet getting there first thing to help with set-up, helping run athletic events either as a coach, timer or whatever role needed filling, as well as being the last to leave after everything was packed away.  I can remember either not being present at our meets on a handful occasions and invariably it is because they were involved at another ACT or National Athletics Meet.

Not only are Ruud and Ingrid so committed to Corroboree and Little Athletics in general, they do it in a way that reflects so positively on our Club, our sport and especially themselves.

They are always very positive, very calm, but assertive when needs be.  In taking on challenging roles whether it be Ingrid as President or Vice-President, organiser of Officials at Carnivals/Championships etc or Ruud as Carnival/Championships Manager or Field Referee, their personalities ensures that they get the results desired or required, but they bring everyone on board in doing so.  Ruud has also become highly regarded as a coach having that perfect balance between seriousness and having fun, but also getting the best out of the athletes.

Before I conclude, I think it also worthy mentioning both their children Lizanne and Mischa. Their ongoing love of athletics has helped ensure that Ruud and Ingrid have remained engaged with not only the sport but especially Corroboree, so thank you to both.  In some ways I think the love of athletics is mutual and has certainly played a strong part in the strong family bond between the four of them.