Volunteers make the world go round
Talking about the huge value of sport and recreation volunteers may well be preaching to the choir but it never hurts to make just a little bit more noise about them.
Coinciding with International Volunteer Day last month, regional centres celebrated the people who give tirelessly to their local teams and associations.
The Pilbara held their inaugural sports awards to recognise the contributions of sporting groups, volunteers, athletes, coaches, officials and acknowledge their sporting achievements.
Nominees were a culmination of the winners from each of the local government sports awards and winners included Volunteer of the Year Michael Manson (Newman BMX), Official of the Year Toby Fountain (Karratha Basketball) and Coach of the Year Relma Bule-Turner (Hedland Taekwondo).
Sport and Recreation Executive Director Kim Ellwood represented the Department at the Broome Sports Awards, which is put on by the Broome Sports Association (BSA). Award winners included Broome Pearlers Sports Club for most outstanding achievement, Vanessa Romano being named Official of the Year, Simone Eddington for Coach of the Year and Christie Milenkovic for her service to sport.
BSA receive $60,000 a year in DLGSC funding through the Regional Athlete Support Program to assist talented athletes that live in Broome to help them progress along their sporting pathway.
Australian Ninja Warrior Olivia Vivian was the guest speaker at the City of Mandurah Sports Awards held at the Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club.
Winners included Female Volunteer of the Year Lynn Strother (netball and football), Male Volunteer of the Year David Chisholm (cricket), Junior Volunteer of the Year Jess Grigio (volleyball) and Club of the Year went to Peel Aquatic Club.
Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s Goldfields Sports Star of the Year awards recognised service to sport volunteers across several sporting areas. The recipients were David Grills, Patricia Peterken and Erin Wood (Goldfields Inclusive Sports Inc), Isaac Rowatt (Pegasus Hockey Club), Peter Rowling (Goldfields Golf Club/Mines Hockey Club), Nichole Wells (Special Olympics Goldfields), Jaymi Worthington (Olympics Basketball Club) and Robert Tagliaferri (CBC Basketball Club).
Congratulations to all the winners and thank you for your contribution to your teams and community sport.