Louise Bawden joins the Board of Volleyball Australia

Louise Bawden has been appointed to a casual vacancy as a Director of Volleyball Australia.

The position was recently vacated by Les Young, with Louise agreeing to fill the vacancy at a VA Board Meeting earlier this month.

Louise’s early passion for sport led her to build an athletic career in volleyball and beach volleyball, and since her playing days she has gone on to take roles as a coach, advocate and mentor.

At just 19 years of age, Louise was selected as a member of the Australian women’s indoor volleyball team for the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Going on to represent her country in more than 200 internationals matches, Louise then transitioned to beach volleyball and in 2008 joined the national program in Adelaide. The South Australian capital remained her base for 10 years while she competed professionally on the FIVB World Tour, as well as earning selection to the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

After retiring in 2018, Louise took on the role as Assistant Coach of beach volleyball at Stanford University in the United States and was appointed to the FIVB Athletes’ Commission.

Louise also trains beach volleyball coaches globally for the FIVB, acts as a mentor to female high-performance coaches and is the Wellbeing Lead with the Adelaide Thunderbirds netball team.

“Louise brings a wealth of experience from both volleyball and beach volleyball to the Board, and her understanding of the game both on and off the court will be incredibly valuable.” said President of Volleyball Australia, Craig Carracher.

“She will bring a unique perspective to the table and I have no doubt her contribution will be felt at all levels of the game in this country.

“I’d also like to thank Les Young for his contribution over nearly three years on the VA Board. Les has served in countless roles at Volleyball ACT and Volleyball Australia over a quarter of a century and his passion for the sport has had a huge impact in this time.”