Rachael Addison
Sport: Touch Football
Year Inducted: 2017
Rachael first joined local touch team, the Southern Suns, in 1997 and under the guidance of coach Tracey Bills, developed into an exceptional touch player, playing in the Link/Wing position.
Representing her country at both Open Women’s and Mixed level, throughout her touch career Rachael played at the highest level as well as contributing significantly to the local Wagga Wagga Touch Football Association. Most notably, Rachael was the first female from Wagga Wagga to be selected for an Australian Open Women’s touch team.
Rachael’s greatest asset as a sportsperson is her tremendous ability to combine sheer uncompromising competitiveness with a wonderful sense of humility. These combined with an abundance of natural talent have seen her achieve success at every level in the game of touch.
Tracey Bills, NSW Southern Suns Touch Coach
Internationally, Rachael represented Australia at two World Cups, playing ten games in total. At both, she was a member of the winning team – 2003 in Japan and 2007 in South Africa.
Another career highlight for Rachael was playing for Australia at the 2009 Trans-Tasman women’s touch football competition, the first time she played for Australia in Australia. There, the Australian women were victorious in the final series, with the victory marking a decisive win for Australia, who claimed the title with a dominant performance of 5 grades to 1.
Rachael’s national achievements included being a member of the NSW Mixed team (2002-04) and the NSW Women’s team (2006-08).
In 2005, Rachael not only represented Australia at the All Nations tournament, but that same year, captained the Wagga Wagga Open Mixed team that won the NSW State Cup.
Rachael retired from professional touch football in 2009, to enjoy just being a local player. This ‘downtime’ allowed her to focus on developing young and aspiring touch football players, to develop their skills and knowledge of the game, in a coaching/mentoring capacity. In 2017 she both captained and coached in the Wagga Wagga competition – Women’s A Grade as well as coaching Junior State Cup teams.
Her retirement from national and international competition allowed Rachael to dedicate her time to helping others reach the highest level possible, and most importantly, achieve their touch football dreams.