Nila, Francois

BORN IN LOS ANGELES IN 1965, he migrated to Australia at the age of 8 with his parents and younger brothers. He spent most of his life on the northern beaches, attending Narrabeen High and later Christian Brothers Manly. He joined the Warringah Bombers and immediately involved himself in the junior league, eventually investing more than twenty seasons in the club, competing for both junior and senior national titles. Later in the eighties, he played 2 seasons for the Macquarie Bears in the NSW Super League.

"Ice hockey is Number One. I just about live on ice," he said in 1981. Like many young players, he had hoped to get the chance to try out in the big time in the United States or Canada, 3 or 4 years down the track. He won four Goodall Cups representing New South Wales —1984, '85, '89 and '92. He represented Australia in the National Junior Team (U20) in 1983 and the National Senior Team at the IIHF C-Pool world Championships in Sydney in 1989. He continued to both coach and referee. Married to Danielle with three children, he studied at Assiniboine College in Brandon Manitoba and the University of Alberta. In 2005, he achieved the Bronze medallion in Australian Surf Life Saving.