21/05/2026
“The people! Serving community is always a privilege for me.”
For Tammy Kingi, volunteering in sport is less about roles and titles, and more about impact that lasts well beyond a season.
Tammy is a Team Leader at Le Mana Pasifika and has built a deep connection to sport and community across netball, rugby league and cultural development. Her work spans coaching, leadership and mentoring across multiple groups, including the Niue Netball Melbourne national squad.
She also plays an important role in Niue Rugby League, supporting youth development pathways and contributing as a cultural advisor, helping ensure Pasifika identity and connection stay at the centre of the game.
Closer to home, Tammy coaches an Under 9 netball team at Truganina Thunder, where she is helping introduce young players to the game for the first time, while also sharing the experience with her own daughter.
That group, she says, started as nine strangers.
“I currently coach the u9’s Truganina Thunder netball team and they are all new to the sport, new to sports in general and were a group of nine strangers who came together to play as a team.”
What’s stayed with her most isn’t just how the team has developed on court, but what’s happened off it.
“Parents have been commenting that they have seen their children grow in confidence, in discipline and in teamwork consideration.
One girl hardly ever spoke a word and is now calling for the ball… This is an absolute win for me, creating champions on and off the court !!!”
For Tammy, those moments sit at the centre of why she keeps volunteering.
“Volunteering in sport is one way you can create significant impact and although you may not necessarily see the fruit in your season of service, you can know that you had a small part to play in the next for any one person and even their families.”
That idea of connection runs through everything she does, especially within the Pasifika community in Narrm, where sport often becomes something bigger than sport itself.
“Sports brings people and communities together… more than a sport, building great leaders is too very important.”
When asked what she hopes athletes remember about her, her answer is simple.
“That they felt valued and seen for their talents, that I helped them to find the champion within themselves and that they would want me to coach them another season.”
And when she reflects on volunteering overall, she doesn’t hesitate:
“Volunteering in sport has given me… JOY!”
Tammy's story is a reminder of the people behind community sport who make participation possible, and the difference they make far beyond the court.
We are celebrating volunteers across the country through the Volunteer Map, where Australians can recognise the people making a difference in their communities.
📸 Centre for Multicultural Sport
