Ringwood City Soccer Club is an Australian soccer club from Ringwood, a suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The club was formed in 1953 as Wilhelmina by

Dutch Australian Dutch Australians refers to Australians of Dutch ancestry. They form one of the largest groups of the Dutch diaspora outside Europe. At the 2021 census, 381,946 people nominated Dutch ancestry (whether alone or in combination with another ance ...

s. The club currently competes in Victorian State League Division 4 East, where it has been since 2014.

History

Early History

Wilhelmina D.S.C (Dutch Soccer Club) entered the Fourth Division Reserves competition in 1953, wearing all-orange kits and playing on a paddock in North Balwyn, its home for three years. The club finished second despite having begun halfway through the season. 1954 saw the first official Wilhelmina senior side enter the Fourth Division competition. The side had many players who had played in higher divisions and won the league with ease, earning promotion to Division Three. The following season, Wilhelmina earned promotion again with a perfect season of 18 consecutive wins. Wilhelmina relocated to Burnley Oval in Richmond in 1956. In 1956, the club won the Second Division and earned promotion to the first division. It took the club only four years to get promoted into the

Victorian State League The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer leagu ...

, losing only one game of the 54 played. In 1957, Wilhelmina moved to McDonald Reserve in Hawthorn for its first season in the State League. The season ended with a fifth-place finish. The following season, Wilhelmina won the

Dockerty Cup The Dockerty Cup is an annual association football knock-out competition open to all Victorian clubs across the Victorian football league system. The tournament is named after the former president of Football Federation Victoria Harry Dockerty. ...

. In 1966 they were relegated, but the following year they were again promoted as Ringwood City Wilhelmina. After many more years of an up-and-down State League campaign, they were relegated to

Victorian State League Division 1 State League 1 is a semi-professional association football league in Victoria, Australia. Sitting at level 4 of the Victorian league system, below the three NPL Victoria divisions, it forms part of the fifth tier of the overall Australian league ...

in 1990. This started the club's demise. After years of competition, the club found themselves relegated seven times, and found themselves in the lowest men's Victorian league, Metropolitan League South East.

Recent Years

In 2009 Ringwood City defeated St. Kevins Old Boys 3–0 in the final round of the 2009 FFV Metropolitan South East division to gain their first championship in 12 years. In 2013, Ringwood City won the State League Division 5 East championship, with Nicholas Theodore taking out the league Golden Boot, scoring 27 goals. The club currently competes in Victorian State League Division 4 East, the sixth tier of Victoria football, where it has been since 2014.

Honours

*Victorian State League Champions 1959 *Victorian State League Runner-Up 1958 *Victorian State League Division 1 Champions 1956, 1967 *Victorian State League Division 2 Champions 1955, 1997 *Victorian League Division 4 Champions 1954 *Victorian State League Division 5 East Champions 2013 *Victorian Metropolitan League SE Champions 2009 *Dockerty Cup Winners 1958 *State League Cup Winners 1961 *AMPOL Pre Season Cup Winners 1962 *B.I.S.C. Winners 2002

Competition timeline

References

{{AUS fb state Vic Association football clubs established in 1953 Soccer clubs in Melbourne 1953 establishments in Australia Sport in the City of Maroondah Women's soccer clubs in Australia Ringwood, Victoria