2015 NSW Sports Awards: Recap

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The NSW Sports Awards were held on Thursday 18 February 2016 at Curzon Hall where World Cup winning netballer, Kim Green, beat a star-studded field, including Australian cricket captain Steve Smith, AFL’s Adam Goodes, tennis champion Sam Stosur, canoeist Jess Fox and equestrian Shane Rose, to claim the top honour.

Green was crowned 2015 NSW Athlete of the Year for her role in the Australian Diamonds’ gold medal win in the 2015 Netball World Cup at Sydney Olympic Park, which also won Event of the Year at the 21st annual Sport NSW awards night at the prestigious Curzon Hall, Marsfield.

A total of 15 awards were presented in an inspiring evening which also recognised coaches, administrators, volunteers, masters and young athletes and athletes and teams with a disability.

Green was unable to attend the event because, although she retired from international netball after the World Cup in August 2015, she announced that she would continue to play in the national competition and was in New Zealand, preparing for the NSW Swifts season.

“Netball NSW and the NSW Swifts are my family away from home, they have given me so many opportunities,” said Kim Green when thanking her state sporting organisation and team, in her video message to the audience.

“I would like to thank Sport NSW for this Award, it’s just an absolute honour, I was shocked when I got the phone call,” said Kim.

Green’s international retirement came after a career of successful captaincy, 109 ANZ Championship appearances and 74 appearances for Australia that include two Netball World Cup Gold Medals, two Commonwealth Games Gold and Silver Medals. She is one of Australia’s top 10 most capped players of all time.

“I would just like to thank all the Athletes and fellow finalists that were amongst this group, to be named amongst you guys, I’m truly honoured, congratulations on your year as well,” said Green.

This year’s event was a great success, receiving more nominations for outstanding sport achievements throughout New South Wales than ever before, surpassing the record set in 2015.

The NSW Sports Awards is an all-embracing event that acknowledges the variety of sporting activity and achievement across the state every year.

The NSW Lendlease Breakers won  the National Professional League - Team of the Year Award for their outstanding 2015 performance after winning both the Women’s National Cricket League and Women’s T20.  

Maddison Elliott OAM was awarded the Athlete of the Year with a Disability title after having a stellar 2015, continuing her run from last year when she was crowned the Young Athlete of the Year with a Disability for 2014.

She dominated the swimming world with her incredible performance at the IPC championships in Glasglow, Scotland, taking home four gold medals and setting the World Record and Oceania Record in the women’s 100m freestyle.

Australian Wallabies Head Coach, Michael Cheika, and Diving Australia’s Head Coach, Chava Sobrino, were among the top award winners, with the pair sharing the category of Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year.

Cricket NSW was once more victorious when they claimed the Organisation of the Year Award against some fierce competitor, including Netball NSW, Equestrian NSW, Tennis NSW, Rowing NSW and Women’s Bowls NSW.

The Organisation of the Year also won the Inclusion/Diversity Award for their instrumental work in developing programs to promote an inclusive environment and create cricket as a sport for all.

This year, Sport NSW introduced the Inclusion/Diversity Award for organisations who demonstrate outstanding commitment to the principles of inclusion and diversity in their sport or the sport industry as a whole. It is a celebration of the work being done towards building a holistic and all-inclusive sporting community across the board.

Sport NSW CEO Cheryl Battaerd said that for 21 years, the NSW Sports Awards has recognised leading athletes, teams, coaches, administrators, volunteers and organisations in NSW and celebrated their outstanding achievements in high performance and community sport levels.

“This awards program is an integral event in the state’s sporting calendar, providing an opportunity for the New South Wales community to unite, celebrate and acknowledge those whose contribution is the lifeblood of our state’s sporting community,” she said.

Award Winners

Athlete of the Year
Kimberlee Green (netball)

Team of the Year (National Professional League)
NSW Lendlease Breakers (cricket)

Coach of the Year - Joint winners:
Michael Cheika (rugby union)
Chava Sobrino (diving)

Young Athlete of the Year
Callum Mills (Australian Football)

Official of the Year
Glenn Toland  (Tennis)

Organisation of the Year
Cricket NSW

Event of the Year
Netball World Cup Sydney 2015

Masters Athlete of the Year
Clary Munns (masters swimming)

Athlete of the Year with a Disability
Maddison Elliott OAM (swimming)

Young Athlete of the Year with a Disability
Jessica Cronje (wheelchair basketball)

Team of the Year
NSW Rugby 7s Team (rugby union)

Team of the Year with a Disability
Daniel Fitzgibbon OAM and Liesl Tesch AM (sailing)

Inclusion/Diversity Award
Cricket NSW

Administrator of the Year
Gillian Brooker (Diving NSW)

Volunteer Director of the Year
Trudy Vonhoff (Tennis NSW)