Regional athletes and officials recognised with annual sports awards

Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) staff in the Pilbara coordinated the regional sports awards with the support of local governments, sponsors and selection panel members.

The awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of those making a difference in sport and recreation in their local communities.

All 4 local governments in the Pilbara (City of Karratha, Town of Port Hedland, Shire of East Pilbara, Shire of Ashburton) host their own sports awards — winning recipients from these events become nominations for the Pilbara Regional Sports Awards.

Each local government was able to get a special guest including Ben Cousins (former AFL player), Jane Claxton (Olympic Hockeyroos player), Natalie Medhurst (Australian Diamonds netball player) and Kyle Chalmers (Olympic Gold Medal swimmer) to attend their event this year and assist in presenting award winners with their trophy, sports voucher, framed certificate and engraved name on the perpetual trophy from their category.

The 2024 Pilbara Regional Sports Awards winners are:

• Junior Sportsperson of the Year — Yani Davis, Karratha Swimming and Brooklyn Bennett, Hedland Athletics — joint winners
• Sportsperson of the Year — Amanda Keller, Hedland Taekwondo
• Official of the Year — Toby Fountain, Karratha Basketball
• Volunteer of the Year — Marisa Ralph, Dampier Soccer and Jono Small, Newman Cricket — joint winners
• Coach of the Year — Briana Crisp, Karratha Swimming, PSA
• Sporting Group of the Year — Karratha Junior Rugby League

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees for your efforts, dedication and contributions to building a positive sport and active recreation environment in your local communities, and across the Pilbara region. 

Photo: DLGSC Regional Manager Toby Cotterell and Karratha Junior Rugby League committee.

Photo: Karratha Junior Rugby League Committee, DLGSC Regional Manager Toby Cotterell and Ben Cousins