Volleyball WA is excited to introduce its new Alcohol. Think Again Ambassadors for the sport, Jed Walker, Samantha Shillington, Oliver Oaten and Elysse Hislop.

Each year Volleyball WA and our partner Healthway appoint four young people to represent the sport and be a positive role model. These four people are not only exceptional athletes they are also active participants in the development and delivery of the sport.

Jed has some very lofty aspirations wanting to play Beach Volleyball for Australia at the Olympics, in 2022 he won gold in Rounds 7 and 8 of the Elite Men’s Division of the Alcohol Think Again Beach Volleyball Tour exhibiting strong potential. Last year, he was the youngest athlete picked to represent WA in the Australian Volleyball League, the Men’s Team winning bronze in this competition.

Sam started playing at high school representing her school on several occasions, she has been selected to represent the state as an Under 19, Under 23 and then as a member of the Women’s Perth Steel Squad in 2022 and 2023.  She is a coach at Wesley College and at her club, Rossmoyne Raptors, and is an in-demand referee.  She hopes to continue playing volleyball at both a high level and socially for as long as possible and aspires to teach others to coach and referee, to further grow the sport within Western Australia.

Like the other two before, Oliver plays both beach and indoor volleyball.  He represented the state in beach volleyball as an Under 18 & 21, and an Under 23 in indoor volleyball. He was part of the 2021 Beach Volleyball Team of the Year and the 2022 State League Reserve MVP Runner Up. He played in the State League Reserves Winning team for Reds Volleyball Club in 2022 and won gold at the National University Games for beach volleyball in 2022.

Elysse has notched up a very impressive eight consecutive years of playing for the Women’s Perth Steel team, winning silver in 2017 and 2022.  She will be competing in the new Australian Volleyball Super League in 2023 alongside Sam and hopes to bring home the gold this year. She plays for local team Chequers in the WA Volleyball League and won a State League gold medal in 2021.

Lotterywest and Healthway CEO Ralph Addis said he welcomed the four ambassadors to represent Volleyball WA this year.

“Appointing positive role models as ambassadors that players and spectators can look up to puts them in an ideal position to assist with the organisation’s key focus on making positive lifestyle choices, especially when it comes to alcohol,” he said.

“These positive choices lead to good mental health and wellbeing and contribute to creating a happy, safe and healthy sporting environment for everyone.”

Volleyball WA is looking forward to seeing what this group can achieve in the next 12 months.

For more information, please visit www.volleyballwa.com.au.