Ballarat Sportsmen's Club: Rare honour for secretary Bruce Valpied

Finding inspiration and supporting each other, particularly promising young people, are at the core of why Mr Valpied strives to keep helping.

The long-serving Ballarat Sportsmen's Club secretary has been awarded life membership to the club in a gala dinner this month. Unable to attend, due to illness, a "gobsmacked" Mr Valpied accepted the rare honour only bestowed 16 times in the club's 60-year history.

Mr Valpied is now one of seven living life members on the roll call that features national sporting legends such as Ron Casey (1965), Jack Dyer and Lou Richards (1983), and The Courier's much-loved and respected former sports editor Jim Murphy.

Olympic badminton player and fellow life member Peter Blackburn, who presented Mr Valpied his award, said life membership was assessed on the impact of service to the club. Mr Blackburn said Mr Valpied, one of four club secretaries, had been instrumental in bringing the club into its modern form and continuing to build on a nationally renowned reputation.

The Christian Ashby fundraiser in 2016 stands out most to Mr Valpied for how a community could come together so strong and so fast in support. Ashby, a keen triathlete, had been hit by a car when on a training ride by Lake Wendouree that Easter.

Coincidentally, Ashby's sporting hero Emma Carney had been booked as guest speaker for the club's monthly dinner. Doors were thrown open to non-members, extra space opened up, tickets were sold-out within two days and high-end donations kept arriving for auction on the night.

In a letter penned for the night, Ashby wrote he felt like Ballarat had wrapped it arms around him and his family. Mr Valpied said this was a key reason he got so involved in the community.

Similarly, Mr Valpied said the night AFL identity Neale Daniher came to raise awareness for motor-neurone disease was incredibly powerful and full of meaning.

Mr Valpied has long been involved in community organisations such as Rotary and Apex but he has been particularly passionate about supporting young people. He is a former president of Horsham Sunnyside Junior Football Club.

After retiring to Ballarat, Mr Valpied joined Ballarat Sportsmen's Club in 2008 and has been secretary for the past 11 years.

Mr Valpied was proud of the club's strong reputation that can draw headline athletes to Ballarat, often for no cost.

Olympic speed skater Steve Bradbury, who this week marked 19 years since his unlikely gold medal in Salt Lake City, proved a character. Mr Valpied found him at his house, sitting down for a cup of tea and piece of cake "as if he were a neighbour calling in".

Jana Pittman travelled from Sydney in 2016 to share lessons from her controversial athletic career and new career path in medicine, using her voice to raise cervical cancer awareness along the way. Olympic aerial skier Jacqui Cooper's tales of training still amaze Mr Valpied and he was impressed with the formidable women's football advocate Susan Alberti.

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One of Mr Valpied's favourite speakers was Olympic swimming great Kieran Perkins for last year's Ballarat Sportsperson of the Year guest speaker.

"In Kieran, you get the speaker who was there not for himself but to help young ones," Mr Valpied said. "He encouraged and spoke directly to senior and junior athletes. It's important he talk to them, especially because they have a lot of work to do and have done a lot of work to get them where they are.

"We've had a lot of very inspirational speakers - and some football coaches are very good - then you get someone like Kieran Perkins who impressed with what he did. He was one of those swimmers who, to beat opposition, really just had to work hard and set himself goals.

"We've been able to financially support a lot of juniors as well and that's why I work as hard as I do."

Shooter Russell Mark, who represented Australia in six Olympic Games, was one such junior. Mark returned for Ballarat's annual sportsperson of the year gala event last week as a six-time winner of the honour but also proudly the 1979 junior award winner.

Valpied said he has known Mark and his father for years and he was a great example of an athlete still making an impact on the international sporting world, now primarily as a commentator.

"Sport's a fantastic medium to be involved in and it's fantastic when kids you helped often tell you years later they remember you and the support from the club," Mr Valpied said.

Lockdowns may have all-but stopped sport last year but this offered Mr Valpied a chance to put more effort and detail into the club's 60-year anniversary book detailing sporting efforts in the region. This book was officially presented to members last week.

Mr Valpied said the book was a great reminder how strong Ballarat was as a great sporting city.

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