4 September 2026
Country NSW dad recognised for his remarkable contribution to swimming, grassroots sport and the community he calls home
Binalong local Ben Spencer has been named the 2026 Community Sports Dad of the Year, recognising years of giving his time to kids, grassroots sport and his local community.
Now in its 13th year and proudly supported by Philips Water, the national award celebrates the dads and father figures who keep community sport moving – coaching, volunteering, managing teams and simply putting their hands up when something needs to be done.
For Ben, 37, giving back is something that runs particularly deep.
His family has been part of Binalong for generations, and Ben and his wife Alison are now raising their two boys, Ian, 9, and Harry, 7, in the same country NSW community.
Ian and Harry are the fourth generation of Spencer brothers to attend Binalong Public School.
“Binalong and its community mean so much to our whole family,” Ben said.
“We simply want to continue contributing to Binalong and help make it a great place to live and a wonderful community for our kids to grow up in.”
A lifetime around the pool
Swimming has been part of Ben’s life since he was a child — and today it sits at the heart of much of what he gives back to his community.
As President and a coach of the Binalong Swimming Club, Ben spends three afternoons each week helping coach around 40 local children, developing their swimming ability, confidence and safety in the water.
There is also a special family connection. Ben was coached as a youngster by the woman who would eventually become his mother-in-law. Today, they coach Binalong’s next generation of swimmers side by side.
For such a small community, the results have been remarkable.
Binalong Public School has just 38 students from Kindergarten to Year 6. This year, 15 students progressed to the district swimming carnival, 10 reached regional level and six competed at State, with the school’s small-school relay team finishing second in NSW.
But for Ben, the real reward goes beyond competition.
“I love attending the school swimming carnival each year and seeing the large majority of students able to confidently get in the water and swim,” he said.
“It makes me extremely proud to know that I have played even a small part in helping our local kids develop this essential life skill.”
Taking water safety beyond Binalong
Ben’s passion for swimming also led him to establish the not-for-profit Spencer Swim Safe in 2011, driven by his belief that drowning is preventable.
The program was created to provide essential swimming and water-safety skills to children and communities who may otherwise have limited access to lessons.
Ben and his team delivered free programs locally and further afield, including in a remote village in the Philippines, an orphanage in Thailand and the Indigenous community of Yarrabah in Far North Queensland.
“Swimming has been a massive part of my life, and I have always believed that drowning is a preventable death,” Ben said.
Spencer Swim Safe is currently on hold while Ben and Alison raise their young family, but Ben hopes Ian and Harry might one day become involved and help take the program into its next chapter.
From the pool to the footy field
Ben’s contribution to Binalong extends well beyond swimming.
At just 25, he became President of the Binalong Brahmans Rugby League Football Club, a role he continues to hold today — while still playing the game himself at 37.
During Ben’s time as President, the club has raised more than $25,000 for charities and important causes, including MND, Ronald McDonald House, the Black Dog Institute, Cure Brain Cancer Foundation and Can Assist.
He also volunteers as a Sports Trainer for his sons’ Yass Magpies teams and has helped Binalong Public School students develop the skills and confidence to participate in school Rugby League competitions.
“Through sport and being involved in their local club, kids learn teamwork, commitment, resilience, respect and the importance of contributing to their community,” Ben said.
‘Without people like Ben, our local clubs and groups wouldn’t exist’
Ben was nominated for the award by Binalong Public School Teaching Principal Renee Arabin, who has been Principal for 10 years and has known Ben for approximately two decades.
Renee now teaches Ben’s children and has also watched him coach local kids — including her own — at the swimming club.
“I think that Ben shows our kids and the wider community what it means to give service to others, and that he cares and invests in our kids and our community, now and in the future,” Renee said.
“In our small rural towns, we are often those who create opportunities and make it happen, and without people like Ben, our local clubs and groups wouldn’t exist.”
Ben’s contribution also extends beyond sport. He is Senior Deputy Captain and Training Officer with Binalong VRA Rescue NSW, serving alongside his father and younger brother, and is also a volunteer with the Rural Fire Service.
‘It is about consistently showing up’
Despite everything he does, Ben admits his first reaction to being nominated was that he didn’t deserve the recognition.
“For Renee to nominate me for this award was a massive privilege in itself, but to be named the 2026 Community Sports Dad of the Year is something I still find hard to believe,” he said.
“My first reaction was that there was no way I could possibly deserve an award like this because I didn’t think I really did that much.”
Writing down his story made him think differently.
“I have realised that it isn’t necessarily about one big achievement.
“It is about consistently showing up — coaching at the pool, helping at footy, volunteering at the school, supporting our sporting clubs and community organisations, and hopefully making a difference to the kids around me.”
$5,000 going back into Binalong sport
As the 2026 Community Sports Dad of the Year, $5,000 in Rebel vouchers will go back into Binalong community sport, courtesy of major partner Philips Water.
Ben hopes to share the vouchers between local sporting clubs and Binalong Public School, providing equipment that will directly benefit local children.
And when asked what he hopes his years of volunteering will ultimately mean, Ben’s answer perhaps best explains why he is this year’s winner.
“I hope that in 50 years’ time, some of these kids will look at the old team photos on the pub wall and remember the people who gave their time to make sport possible for them,” he said.
“If they can remember me as someone who helped them, encouraged them or showed them the value of giving back to their community, that makes everything I do worth it.”
“To receive this title for 2026 is nothing short of amazing, and I am extremely grateful and proud to represent my family and the Binalong community.”
The 2026 Community Sports Dad of the Year is proudly supported by Philips Water.
