2022 Women & Girls Breakfast

Hockey Victoria are delighted to host our 10th annual Women & Girls Breakfast on Thursday 5th of May 2022 which kickstarts the much-awaited Women’s Round. The breakfast will provide an opportunity to network and hear from female leaders, CEO’s, progressive clubs and emerging athletes across the State and Country!

This year’s theme is “Future of Hockey” and at Hockey Victoria we are committed to breaking the bias for a sustainable tomorrow by encouraging more women and girls to not only pick up a hockey stick but by having them play pivotal roles in all aspects of our game. We are proud to share that as part of our gender equity initiatives, our board are currently 50:50 M:F and in 2022 43% of our Premier League Club Presidents, 38% of our Metro Club Presidents and 44% of our Regional Club and Association Presidents are WOMEN!

Come along for a sumptuous breakfast and hear from these inspiring panellists about their journey of paving the way for others by being brave, taking risks and making the most of opportunities presented to them.

Theme: “Future of Hockey”

Date: Thursday 5th May 2022

Venue: Leonda By The Yarra; 2 Wallen Rd, Hawthorn VIC 3122

Time: 7:30am-9:30am (networking opportunity 7:00am-7:30am)

Book your tickets today! Click here

2022 Women & Girls Breakfast - Speaker Bios

Master of Ceremonies – Mary Konstantopoulos

Mary Konstantopoulos is a lawyer and currently works at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Financial Crime Compliance.

Mary is also an advocate for women in sport and is the founder of ‘Ladies who League’, a media company which encourages women to get involved in conversations about sport and promotes women involved in sport no matter their capacity.

Mary is an award-winning writer, with her work being featured in several major publications including NRL.com, Siren Sport, the Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph and the Roar. Mary’s work in this space has been recognised with awards from Sport Australia, Western Sydney Women and Women’s Agenda.

Mary also sits on the Board of Hockey Australia and the Parramatta Eels NRLW Advisory Committee and is also an ambassador for the GWS Giants and for Full Stop Australia who raise awareness, educate, and support women and children impacted by family violence.

Panellist – David Pryles

David Pryles, CEO of Hockey Australia has over 12 years of sport executive leadership experience in softball, golf, football and cricket, driving creative and innovative solutions to increase commercial and participation growth, financial performance, strong high-performance outcomes and positive cultural change.

He is an entrepreneur who develops and implements innovative strategies, drawing on expertise in marketing, communications and business development solutions to result in revenue growth of up to 50% annually. David is also a communicative leader who inspires by acting with integrity, demonstrating exceptional work ethic and delivering – or over-delivering - on commitments. He builds trust to harness teamwork and create a values-based culture that has the best interests of the sport and its people at its core.

He is a respected and invested leader in Australian sport with an extensive network of professional relationships to draw on for the good of Australian Hockey, including with the AIS, Sport Australia, AOC and State government bodies. He’s a commercial expert with extensive experience in attracting, negotiating and executing major deals worth up to $10.5M with global brands. David is a proven leader in facilitating a “one sport” mindset, enhanced governance structure and processes in consultation with State and Territory stakeholders and peak Australian sport partners.

Panellist – Emma Highwood

Emma Highwood, CEO of Hockey NSW is an experienced Sports Administrator with over 20 years working in Sport in the UK and Australia.

She has worked in diverse roles including at the English FA, Sport England, AFL and Football Australia, and has extensive experience working in complex stakeholder environments with over 10 years working in Senior Executive/General Management roles leading complex change across whole of sport.

Emma was the executive lead for Grassroots, Talent Pathway and Women’s Football for 7 years at Football Australia, overseeing the development and growth of football in Australia.

She led the redevelopment of the participation space at Football Australia resulting in record growth in Club participation and football becoming the largest club based participation sport in Australia. She oversaw the transformation of the talented player pathway, and the establishment of the Professional A-League Academies increasing the opportunities for talented players across Australia. She was instrumental in the growth of Women’s Football in Australia from the grassroots through to the Matildas, and played a significant role in successfully securing the Women’s World Cup.

Emma is passionate about grassroots sport and giving everybody the opportunity enjoys the benefits which sport offers. She is a strong advocate for the importance of creating a safe and inclusive environment particularly for young people, to have fun and reach their potential in all areas of sport. grew up playing Hockey in the UK and grew a passion for the sport and has experienced first-hand the inclusive nature of Hockey particularly for Women and Girls.

Panellist – Melissa Morton

Mel has been the Secretary of Footscray Hockey Club since 2021. She has been a member of Footscray Hockey Club for 20 years.

In her work as Secretary, she has particularly focused on inclusion as an important area for the Club. Mel has always viewed Footscray Hockey Club as a welcoming place and believes it is crucial to the success of the Club that it is continuously improving. She has worked collaboratively with other club members and organisations to make significant steps in making the Club more inclusive.

Mel has used her legal background to update the Club's governance documents. This work has gone a long way to setting the Club up for the future.

Her work with Victoria University in relation to cultural diversity and Sport and Life Training in relation to mental health has gone has assisted the club to make evidence-based improvements in these areas.

Looking into the future, Mel's focus is on Access All Abilities, First Nations and LGBTQIA+ programs.

Panellist – Zali Ward

I played my first game in minkey hockey on a grass field in North Central Victoria, just to fill in. At the time I played netball, little athletics and tennis. Due to an injury in netball, I decided to try hockey when I was 11 years old. At first, I thought it was hard and too many rules however I soon fell in love with the game - so much space to run and ability to always work on your skills/craft got me hooked.

Started at the Melton Mustangs in 2014 then moved to Essendon hockey as a 15-year-old starting to play senior hockey. There were so many opportunities in the city, including premier league competition, JSC regional comp, SSV and hockey Victoria trials. I’ve enjoyed every minute of the journey - highs and lows - learning to grow as an athlete and a person in this beautiful sport.

Recently I’ve had the privilege to be recognised and accepted as a VIS Womens hockey athlete. The support has been amazing, especially going into the jillaroos domestic series and now being selected in the national women’s development squad. I feel so grateful and can’t wait to hit the pitch…