The Australian Football League and the Hampton Park B.C. mourns the passing of women’s football pioneer and lawn bowler, Helen Lambert, who has sadly passed away.
Helen Lambert joined the Hampton Park Bowls Club in 2007.
She came to bowls after a stellar career in women’s football.
Helen will be remembered for her sense of humour and her refusal to quit on any challenge.
At Hampton Park B.C., she quickly became proficient at bowls, finishing with three Women’s Singles Championships (2011/12, 2015/16 & 2018/9).
Lady president, bar manager, selector and board member were some of the positions held by Helen during her time at the club.
She was fiercely competitive when it came to bowls, both against women and men, wanting to be the best.
Even when she was in poor health, the will to compete was always there.
Helen’s pioneering work had laid the foundation for growing the game of football for women and girls.
As a founding committee member of the VWFL, 40 years ago in 1981, Helen was a driver in those first years to what we see in the game now, where the AFLW has added a vibrancy and excitement to the game.
With a key role in the formation of the Victorian Women’s Football League in 1981 (the earliest ongoing league for women in Australia), Helen was the inaugural captain of the Broadmeadows Scorpions, leading them to a premiership in the first season of the competition.
In 1983 she became president of the VWFL, was subsequently awarded life membership, and continued to serve as president until 1986.
Helen’s legacy will continue to live on in football, with the best and fairest medal in the VWFL named in her honour, with the first Helen Lambert Medal backdated to 1983.
With the formation of a national women’s competition in 2017, Helen’s pioneering contribution to the code continues to be recognized by the Lambert-Pearce Medal, awarded to the best and fairest player in the premier division of the VFL Women’s competition.
Condolences to the Lambert family and we thank them for her contribution to football.
