WA Football Commission

Janet Seth named Volunteer of the YearSaturday, October 10, 2020 - 4:48 PM

With more than a decade of voluntary service to football, East Fremantle's Janet Seth has been recognised as the 2020 recipient of the Lynette Smith Volunteer of the Year Award.

Janet is an extremely worthy winner of this award, having given over twelve years to female football in WA through the East Fremantle Women’s Football Club (EFWFC), East Fremantle Football Club, the WA Women’s Football League and WA female football talent programs and academies.

Having been involved with the East Fremantle Women’s Football Club for over a decade, Janet's volunteering with the club started in 2009 as she took on the role of team manager and joined the club committee. This was the start of an epic commitment to the club that would grow to become her beloved East Fremantle Sharks family.

In her time with the Sharks, Janet has been the team manager of the Premier/League (now WAFLW) team for eleven of the last twelve years, and has been a committee member for 5 of the last twelve years.

It comes as no surprise to hear that outside her team manager commitments with East Fremantle, Janet is always one to put her hand up to help. At clubland Janet also helps with making club banners, recording game day statistics, helping the Rogers Cup and Reserve team managers, assisting with functions, stocktaking equipment and washing uniforms. It is said Janet is like a Mum to all the girls at the club, that she is passionate, committed, dependable, a great teacher and is flexible to handle any situation that may arise.

Outside of the blue and white, Janet has an impressive record helping with the WA state talent academies. From 2010 – 2017 Janet was the team manager for the State 18’s, Under 23’s and Opens competitions, and over that period took months out of her ‘non-football life’ to travel with the team wherever needed.

At the 2013 WAWFL Annual General Meeting, Janet was voted in as a WAWFL Board Member focussing on event managemen. Janet held this role for four years until 2016.

In 2016, Janet competed against other female football volunteers to win the VicHealth AFL Football Woman of the Year (Honorary category). That year, while undertaking her usual club and talent program roles, Janet was also on the Fremantle Dockers National Women’s League Bid Advisory Committee and a member of the WA Football Commission Female Advisory Committee. Additionally, Janet was also the team manager for the Fremantle Dockers in their Perth based AFL Exhibition game.

Since joining East Fremantle all those years ago, Janet has become an integral part of the club and is said to always have the interests of football and the wellbeing of the players as her first priority. Her volunteering efforts at the club have been noted as incredible.

It is a cliché to say that volunteers are the life blood of our competition, but simply put, they are. We are thankful for every volunteer at every club, but we are especially thankful for those that go above and beyond, year after year. The WA Women’s Football League would like to sincerely thank Janet for her dedication and devotion to the game. Her tireless efforts, and thousands of volunteer hours across the past twelve years are a credit to her commitment and drive, and we are lucky to have Janet as part of our community.

It is with pleasure the WAWFL recognises Janet as the Lynette Smith Volunteer of the Year in 2020.