Recent Senior Citizen of the Year award winner John Dawson has announced he is stepping down as secretary of the Kiama District Sports Association (KDSA) after 13 years of involvement.

Citing frustration, burnout, and a loss of influence, Dawson said one of the biggest reasons behind his departure was ongoing issues surrounding the Kiama Sporting Complex masterplan.

“My main reason for joining the KDSA was the complex - that was my top priority,” said Dawson.

Dawson said he initially got involved in the KDSA to help unify the various sports using the complex - including soccer, netball, cricket, and OzTag - so they could advocate for upgrades as a collective.

“I had a foot in a lot of different sports without any formal affiliation. So my main driver was to push for the complex to be redeveloped. A lot of clubs were saying independently, ‘we’re going to do this or that’,” he said.

“But we knew from experience it was better to come as a combined group. So back in about 2021 - maybe even earlier - we came together as a group.”

He explained that Council responded by launching a broader strategic plan for the LGA, which included a dedicated masterplan for the Kiama Sporting Complex to support future grant applications.

But since then, progress has stalled.

“We’ve had something like three or four different mayors, three or four different directors of infrastructure, two or three CEOs, all these different staff,” Dawson said.

“People in the clubs have all gone. I'm about the only one who's been consistent.”

Even after the long-awaited masterplan was released for public exhibition in June, Dawson said the plan has created more confusion and further delays.

“The whole idea of the strategic plan was to come up with a priority list of projects the Council could refer to - then they could say, ‘right, let’s apply for grants,’” he said.

“But other groups, like the Gerry Emery redevelopment, weren’t prepared to wait. And now they’re well into their developments - meanwhile, the complex is going nowhere.”

Fiona Phillips at Kiama Sporting Complex with Dawson back in September 2024. Photo: Fiona Phillips

As more upgrades were gradually added to the masterplan, Dawson said the original, more achievable goals - like rebuilding the amenities block - were lost in the expanding scope.

“It started off only being the soccer fields - which is where the cricket field is - and I said, no, you’ve got to include the netball complex as well,” he said.

“They agreed, but they said, adamantly, the leisure centre's not included in this. But then it got reviewed and deemed end-of-life, so it was suddenly added - and now the whole thing has just ballooned.”

Andrew Constance and Sussan Ley checking out the Kiama Sporting Complex facilities with Dawson back in April of this year. Photo: Andrew Constance

He said decisions around other contested elements - such as whether to relocate the skatepark or demolish the grandstand - have made the plan even more complicated.

“Someone recently asked the question: are we going to see this in our lifetime? And I just thought - I don’t know if I have the time or energy to continue being at the forefront.”

And so, after more than a decade of dedicated involvement, Dawson made the difficult decision to step away.

He has nominated himself for a position on the future Sports Complex Masterplan Management Committee, which would allow him to continue focusing solely on the redevelopment - but he’s not optimistic about being included.

“I said in my report that I still want to be involved,” he said. “But I’m not holding my breath that I’ll be invited.”

Despite the challenges, Dawson remains proud of his service and encourages others to get involved in their communities.

“I’ve loved it. I still love it. And I’m still going to volunteer and help out in other things,” he said.

“I just felt that for this particular role - it was becoming too much.”

The Bugle thanks John for his many years of service in the Kiama community, and can't wait to see what he does next.