Community Legend: Rick Clancy

Rick Clancy has an unwavering passion for Aussie Rules. Spend a few minutes with the man and you can’t help but sense his undying love of all things footy.

No one knows this to be truer than the Walbundrie Football Club, whose life member Rick Clancy plays an integral part in the club’s operations and management.

Rick’s own footy career in senior football was cut short when he got concussed three times in one season.

True to his character, this didn’t stop him pursuing his passion for the game.

Retiring at the age of 18, Rick turned to umpiring as a way of satiating his love of AFL. Thirty five years on, Rick continues to approach umpiring with the same fervour and energy as he did when he was a 18 year old boy.This is a man who doesn’t plan on hanging up his footy boots any time soon.

Rick’s football resume is exhaustive.

He was the Secretary of the Walbundrie Football Club between 1991 and 2000 and was a committee member for over 20 years. In 1981 he received Club Person of the Year, and in 2001 received a life membership with Walbundrie. Rick’s ongoing commitment to the club was recognised in 2010 when he was inducted in the Hall of Fame, as part of the Walbundrie Football Club’s Centenary celebrations.

Rick is a vital cog in the well-oiled Walbundrie football machine, organizing all of the club’s umpires every week. He takes an unconventional approach to organizing his umpires, preferring to ring the umpires personally each week rather than creating a roster.

Ten years ago, Rick took up yet another role in community in football, but this time it was with the Hume Football Club.

Due to the shortage of umpires in football at the time, the Hume Football League approached Rick to be one of two Umpire Co-ordinators.

Since then, Rick has trained countless Hume club members to become accredited umpires.

As an umpire co-ordinator, Rick is responsible for organising umpire clinics throughout the season and selecting club umpires for finals. In 2007, Rick received an award from the Hume Football League as the 2007 Boundary Umpire of the Year.

Three years later, he won the Hume Volunteer of the Year award and in 2015 he won an Umpiring volunteer award from us here at AFL NSW/ACT.

Rick simply loves being part of country football.

He never expects anything in return and thoroughly enjoys being involved with football at all levels of the game.

For Walbundrie locals, Rick is a familiar face on Thursday evenings, where he joins the boys for a few laps of the oval in order to keep fit. Those who have had the pleasure of knowing Rick personally will tell you that he is an immensely passionate supporter of Aussie Rules and loves a good yarn or two on a Monday morning about the previous weekend’s games!

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Each week during the regular season AFL NSW/ACT will identify and recognise a local Community Legend from one of our community Leagues. 

Volunteers play a vital role within our game and without them community football simply doesn’t happen. 

AFL NSW/ACT would like to thank all of our community volunteers for their ongoing commitment to our game.