Watkins’ pride at Lizzie’s legacy

Frank Watkins has a message to the community ahead of the 10-year anniversary of his daughter Lizzie’s passing.

Lizzie Watkins, a member of the North Coast Raiders Premier League hockey side, tragically died following a match in 2012 when a ball deflected off her stick and hit her.

“It was a total accident – the ball ended up coming off Lizzie’s stick,” Frank says.

“Unbeknownst to me, Lizzie was an organ donor.

“How many 24-year-old kids are on the donor register? How many think to do it? I found out in the ICU when there was no hope of her survival.

“We want the 10-year anniversary of her death to not just be a celebration of her life but, moving forward, an occasion for hockey to raise the profile of organ donation… and for people to consider supporting other people and other families in the event of their own deaths.”

The annual Lizzie Watkins Memorial Match has been played since Lizzie’s tragic passing, with North Coast Raiders’ Women’s Director Debbie Campbell, among others, instrumental in its organisation.

“We have played the memorial match every year (except 2019 due to COVID) against Curtin University Hockey Club. They have been fantastic supporters in celebrating Lizzie’s life and playing the memorial match against Raiders,” Campbell says. 

“What happened on the pitch 10 years ago was a tragedy for the Watkins family, the players, and the general hockey community.

“We had condolences and support from all over the world the week following the accident – not only did the WA hockey community rally behind the sides, but people from across the globe did too.

“It was such a significant event in hockey and particularly for the Watkins family and the teams involved. It was very courageous of our girls to play in honour of Lizzie five days after the accident happened. Curtin and Raiders both played that very emotional game with great sportsmanship and compassion and our club thanks Curtin University Hockey Club for their ongoing support of the memorial match.”

The roll out for a tribute gathering in the days following her death highlighted the impact she made on and off the field.

“We saw 2500 to 3000 at an event for Lizzie’s passing the Friday after the match,” Frank recalls.

“It was amazing – there was a traffic jam at the stadium.

“She was always the centre of attention, smack bang in the middle of every photo with a huge group of friends.

"She was so happy, positive and energetic. A really popular person, a pretty good athlete and an entrepreneur.”

Campbell knows better than most the impact Lizzie had – on and off the field.

“We had DonateLife WA speak the night of the match following Lizzie’s passing about the importance of organ donation,” Campbell says.

“Now 10 years down the track, we see that organ donation is a significant part of why we continue to remember Lizzie’s life, as her organs gave life to other people.

“Lizzie came through our junior program and embodied the Raiders’ spirit and dictum ‘Raiders4life’.

“The strength of the club to come together after such a tragic accident helps us to this day to continue to celebrate the life of Lizzie Watkins.”

For Frank, his daughter’s spirit lives on.

“The one thing that made sense of Lizzie’s passing to me was saving five other people’s lives,” he says.

“We don’t know names specifically, but DonateLife WA have had people ask to reach out through letters.

“It makes you feel so proud to read letters from the donors, they helped make sense of her dying. Even to receive something saying ‘now I can lead a normal life’ really hits home hard, and it makes me incredibly proud of what she has done.

“There’s a little bit of her running around somewhere now and that makes me feel incredibly proud of the woman she was and the impact she continues to have today.”

Lizzie Watkins’ North Coast Raiders and Curtin University will battle for the Lizzie Watkins Memorial Trophy at Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University on Saturday 7 May from 3.30pm. Players from both sides will wear armbands to honour Lizzie Watkins. All are encouraged to attend the match as well as discuss the life-giving decisions around organ donation.

For more on organ donation, visit donatelife.gov.au