Upclose - Cherie Horan

Cherie Horan 35 // Manunda // WGC Sharks Netball Club president and airline regional base manager

Cherie Horan has netball in her blood. She has just topped off 10 years as founding member of the WGC Sharks Netball Club with another grand final victory two weeks ago.

Cherie was awarded by the players the inaugural life member of the club in August and even met her husband Glenn at a mixed indoor netball game.

"I thought he looked great in a sweaty white shirt," she laughs.

Cherie was born in Adelaide and took up netball when she was eight years old, representing her home town and state on numerous occasions. She left the city of churches shortly after her 21st birthday to drive around Australia. But she got as far as Cairns and decided to get a job here and replenish her bank account. While managing Cairns Indoor Sports, Cherie learned the female indoor netball players wanted to play outdoor netball. So she spearheaded the formation of the Sharks Outdoor Netball Club, originally with just one ladies team.

They won their very first A Grade premiership in 1988 and have since won seven premierships. But as the players married, had children or moved away Cherie realised the club needed to grow to ensure its future and so the club voted to include junior girls teams. WGC Sharks Netball Club now has 11 teams, six of which are junior teams.

Cherie says netball is a fantastic game to be involved with at any age. "I have made friends for life from netball," she says. "The teams socialise together off the court because we’re mates. One year a team member was in hospital having had a baby and after we won the carnival we all trooped up to the hospital to show her our trophy."

Cherie left Cairns Indoor Sports in 1998 and decided to forge a career in the tourism industry. She worked for Green Island Resort and Raging Thunder before training to be an airline hostess and cabin manager, flying to Asian destinations out of Cairns. She now works at the Cairns Airport with a major Australian airline managing cabin crew and pilots.

-- Source Artice Cairns Post