.png)
"Play hard. Play scrappy. Play laughing. You fall, you get up. You fail, you persevere. You get hurt, you get healed. I’ve always played like a girl and it hasn’t failed me yet."
Kerrie Barnes has spent her life making sport stronger from the ground up. With more than 30 years in the not-for-profit space, especially in Surf Life Saving, she’s helped build events, support volunteers, lead organisations, and create space for others to thrive, all while staying deeply connected to the community side of sport.
"I’ve been involved in the NFP space since I was 19, both as a volunteer and a staff member," she says.
"I don’t play team sports, but I hit the gym nine times a week, do boxing sessions, and recently did my first Hyrox relay. I’d love to compete in the Masters Games in boxing one day and take on a solo Hyrox event."
While Kerrie’s dream to play rugby league as a kid wasn’t possible back then, her love for sport never left. "My dad played league, so I grew up watching it. Now, I watch just about every sport under the sun."
Her sporting traditions are sacred, especially one.
"My favourite thing in the world? Frozen Pizza Footy Friday. Same pizza. Same footy. Same bourbon. Every Friday for over 10 years. It’s my time to enjoy sport and turn my brain off."
.png)
"I was the Club Captain at 19, the second female in Queensland to do so. Women had only been allowed in Surf Life Saving for 15 years at that point.
There was criticism and scrutiny, but also amazing support. I didn’t even realise I was doing anything groundbreaking. I had a skill and a voice and it never occurred to me that I wasn’t supposed to use them."
Over the years, Kerrie has served on boards, led regional operations, chaired panels, and created long-standing events like Oceans 38 and Little Dudes for under eights to tens.
Her leadership philosophy is direct and grounded in experience.
"It taught me to back myself. Put in the work, do the research, go to every workshop. Ask questions. Ask anyone and everyone. If you don’t know something, find out. Leadership has nothing to do with rank and everything to do with how you treat people and how you follow through."
"I joined simply to learn. I’ve been a leader for a long time, but I can always do better."
Kerrie says she wasn’t sure what to expect from the program, but it blew her away.
"The experience was a thousand times better than I thought it would be. The community was so like-minded in their desire to learn, share and grow. There were people from all levels, all ages, all motivations and it worked so well."
She loved how practical and relevant the learning was.
"The workbooks, the readings, the recordings, they were all so relevant and not at all time-consuming because of how interesting and succinct the learning was."
One moment that stuck with her?
"We did a problem-solving exercise where each person naturally took on a role suited to their strengths. At the end, one of the groups said if the men’s team didn’t listen, we’d get Kerrie to sort them out. It was a nice confirmation that my skill set was appreciated."
Kerrie works in complaint management and says the course gave her a new lens.
"I use components of the course to understand the causal factors behind issues. It’s not just about the incident but about the personalities involved and the development levels of the club’s leadership team. It all fits together."
"While member-on-member disputes are common, there’s often an organisational factor behind them. I try to decipher where the organisation is at in their leadership maturity and look at what can be implemented to help."
"The obvious lesson is teamwork. But more than that, sport teaches you to play everyone to their strengths. It’s about perseverance, discipline and mindset. If you’re involved in sport, you’ve had to face setbacks. You’ve lost and come back. That applies to life and career too. You can’t let negatives derail you. You get up, dust off and go again."
Kerrie is currently studying law, growing her business and looking to re-engage in more volunteer leadership.
"I’m passionate about complaint management and want organisations to understand that complaints are a positive thing. They should be seen as tools for organisational improvement."
She has one big dream on the horizon.
"My ultimate goal is to create and run my own not-for-profit. I have a clear idea of what I want it to be. I just need to plan and execute."
"Truly, I just want equal opportunity. I don’t want the fact that we have a female CEO or football manager to be a big deal. I want it to be normal."
"Back when I became Club Captain, I didn’t know it was rare. I didn’t even know I was a role model until later. I just want people to use their skills, use their voice and if they need help to achieve something, ask for it."
"Quotas and government targets help but they don’t shift mindsets. Education does. Women need to know what they can be and how they can contribute. Men need to understand their unconscious bias. It’s not about tokenism. It’s about genuine inclusion."
.png)
Kerrie, thank you for leading with honesty, humour and heart. You remind us that leadership isn’t always loud. It’s consistent, values-driven and grounded in purpose.
Your journey shows what’s possible when women back themselves, trust their skills and keep showing up. We’re so proud to have you in the Play Like a Girl community and can’t wait to see what you create next.
.png){kind=icon}
.png)
.png)
.avif)
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.png)
