Super Netball Makes History With All-Female Anzac Day

When the NSW Swifts took the court for their Sydney derby match, they brought history with them.

The Super Netball team partnered with Women's Veterans Australia to host what's believed to be the first all-female Anzac Day ceremony at a major sporting event. Instead of the traditional focus on male service members, women from the army, air force, and navy took center stage at Ken Rosewall Arena.

Llani Kennealy chairs Women's Veterans Australia and said the invitation from the Swifts last year caught her completely off guard. Her organization had never been asked to appear at a sporting event before.

The ceremony featured an honor guard made up mostly of women from the Australian Defence Force Netball community. Warrant Officer Kimberly Kiely, who served in Iraq alongside Kennealy, recited The Ode of Remembrance while her fellow service members stood in uniform.

Kennealy noticed something special about the partnership between netball and military women. Both groups fight for recognition in male-dominated fields, creating a natural connection that resonated throughout the arena.

"There were so many mothers and daughters in the crowd," Kennealy told ABC Sport. "It was such a positive environment showcasing role models that demonstrate young women can be whatever they want to be."

The ceremonies extended beyond Sydney, with all four weekend matches incorporating servicewomen into their Anzac Day tributes. The Adelaide Thunderbirds created the Vivian Bullwinkel Medal, named after an Australian Army nurse who was the sole survivor of the Bangka Island massacre during World War II.

The Ripple Effect

The impact went beyond one weekend of games. Netball made a deliberate choice to avoid comparing sport to war, instead focusing on shared struggles for visibility and recognition.

For the women who served in uniform and now play in the Australian Defence Force Netball league, seeing their dual communities honored together created something powerful. Young girls in the stands saw women in military uniforms and professional athletes sharing the same space with equal importance.

The ceremonies sparked conversations about representation in sports and how female-led organizations can lift each other up. When women's groups work together, Kennealy explained, everyone benefits from increased visibility.

Social media lit up with photos and videos from the ceremonies, spreading the message far beyond the netball courts. Mothers tagged daughters, veterans shared their pride, and conversations about women's service gained fresh momentum.

These ceremonies proved that recognition doesn't have to be a zero-sum game—celebrating women who served doesn't diminish anyone else's sacrifice, it simply shines light where it's been needed for far too long.