Karen scores asoccer header

By Stuart Teather
KAREN Walden is treading new ground.
The mother of three and childcare worker has plenty on her plate throughout the week, but she recently added another weight to her shoulders.
Walden became the first ever female president at the Hampton Park United Football Club (Soccer) for the 2009 season.
After a ‘short stint’ as vice-president, Walden moved into the top job this year and said women were moving in at the club.
“We’ve got a female who is secretary as well, so we’re making our mark,” she said.
“We do actually have a fair balance now (on the committee), it’s still more males, but we do have a few females.
“Those of us about are able to stand up and speak our minds,” she added with a laugh.
She joined the committee a few years ago when her son started playing at the club and said she had enjoyed it ever since.
“I joined the committee at the beginning because we were struggling for committee members and things don’t happen without volunteers and I originally joined to help out so my son would still have a club to play with,” she said.
“It was a good opportunity to make some new friends, learn a bit more about soccer and really get involved in moving the club to the future.” As for this year, Walden said the club was focussing on being more open to the multicultural community.
“Although a lot of the kids will come along and they’re learning English at school, a lot of the parents aren’t speaking a lot of English, so we’re looking at ways we can assist the different cultures to be a part of the club,” she said.
The club’s registration day is on Sunday and Walden put out the call for new players, saying everyone was welcome at the club at KM Reedy Reserve, Pound Road, Hampton Park.
“People can come down between 11am to 3pm and have a look around the club,” she said. “We will soon be looking at starting training times for them, so they can build up a bit of fitness, some skills and build up some friendships too.”