The nominations for the 2015 WAIS Athlete and Staff Awards have been revealed with a stellar list of candidates shortlisted in all categories.
The Awards are presented each year as part of the celebrations at the WAIS Annual Dinner, which in 2015 will again be hosted at HBF Stadium – on Saturday, October 17.
With the spotlight very much on the countdown to the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games, WAIS has enjoyed another successful year, highlighted by new world champions at both senior and junior level, whilst the organisation itself has benefited significantly from the move to the $33.7mil WAIS High Performance Service Centre provided by the Western Australian State Government.
The Institute’s premiere award – the WAIS Athlete of the Year – has attracted a field of nine nominations from six sports.
World Champion netballers Caitlin Bassett and Natalie Medhurst are joined by track cycling gold medallist Melissa Hoksins, whilst FINA World All Stars Zoe Arancini and Aaron Younger have earned recognition for their feats representing Australia in water polo at the 2015 World Championships in Russia.
Para-triathlete Sally Pilbeam won a second consecutive ITU world title last month and is joined in the field by swimmer Brianna Throssell who in 2015 emerged as one Australia’s brightest swimming talents.
WAIS sailing duo Colin Harrison and Russell Boaden, along with Jonathon Harris (non-WAIS) have medalled at every major regatta they’ve contested during the nomination period (1st October 2014 – 30 September 2015) as they prepare to compete in November’s IFDS World Championships in Melbourne. Fellow WAIS sailor Matt Wearn was nominated after an outstanding 2015 international season that saw him raise his ranking to number two in the world as he continues his bid for Olympic selection in the men’s laser.
WAIS Executive Director Steve Lawrence commended the shortlisted athletes and admitted selecting a winner would prove no easy task.
“It is an outstanding field of nominees and I am thrilled to see so many Western Australian athletes achieving significant results on the world stage, supported by WAIS staff and services. Any of the nominated athletes would be a worthy recipient of our peak award,” Mr Lawrence said.
The WAIS Junior Athlete of the Year Award has attracted a highly credentialed field, with the list including current world champions and world record breakers.
Nina Kennedy broke the women’s pole vault junior world record in Perth last February and followed that effort with a podium finish at the national championships that saw her earn a debut at the senior world championships in China. WAIS swimmers Tamsin Cook and Damian Fyfe both returned home from the Junior Swimming World Championships in Singapore with medals, with Fyfe a silver medallist in the 4x200m freestyle relay and Cook earning two gold and a silver along with a junior world record as lead leg in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay.
WAIS track cyclist Alex Rendell followed in the footsteps of reigning WAIS Junior Athlete of the Year Sam Welsford, by winning a rainbow jersey as a member of the Australian men’s team pursuit at this year’s titles in Kazakhstan, whilst sailing athlete Conor Nicholas claimed a Youth World Championship in Canada, competing in the men’s laser radial.
Steve Lawrence suggested the athletes nominated for this year’s award would be part of an exciting future for the WA Institute of Sport.
“The list of nominations for the WAIS Junior Athlete of the Year is arguably the most impressive in terms of breadth of performance that I have seen,” Mr Lawrence said. “The award has always reflected high performance, but with three junior world champions and two world records across the nomination period, I think we can confidently look forward to an exciting generation of WAIS talent ahead.”
The WAIS Personal Excellence Award that highlights athlete achievement in tandem with career and/or academic excellence saw four shortlisted candidates. Water polo athlete Gemma Beadsworth, para-triathlete Brant Garvey, wheelchair basketballer Brad Ness and fencing scholarship holder Sutherlan Scudds are all in contention, with further details of their achievements to be revealed closer to the Dinner.
This year’s WAIS Program of the Year will be crowned to one of three finalists, with WAIS Men’s Hockey, WAIS Sailing and the Challenge Podium Performance Centre Swimming Program all in the running for the prize.
The WAIS Coach of the Year Award has seen nominations presented for Michael Palfrey (Swimming), Belinda Stowell (Sailing) and Michelle Wilkins (Netball), with Executive Director Steve Lawrence highlighting the importance of both peak staff awards.
“The Program and Coach of the Year Awards hold great value at WAIS and I am encouraged by the substance and quality of the nominations we received. The move to the WAIS High Performance Service Centre has been a significant step forward for our organisation, but these awards remind us that our facility is only as useful as the people working within it.”
Winners of the WAIS Awards will be announced on October 17, along with the newest inductees to the Western Australian Hall of Champions, which each year honours the achievements of WA’s finest athletes at the WAIS Annual Dinner.
WAIS Personal Excellence Award:
- Gemma Beadsworth (Water Polo)
- Brant Garvey (Para-Triathlon)
- Brad Ness (Wheelchair Basketball)
- Sutherlan Scudds (Fencing)
WAIS Junior Athlete of the Year Award:
- Tamsin Cook (Swimming)
- Damian Fyfe (Swimming)
- Nina Kennedy (Athletics)
- Conor Nicholas (Sailing)
- Alex Rendell (Cycling)
WAIS Program of the Year:
- Hockey Men’s
- Sailing
- Swimming – Challenge Podium Performance Centre
WAIS Coach of the Year Award:
- Michael Palfrey (Swimming)
- Belinda Stowell (Sailing)
- Michelle Wilkins (Netball)
WAIS Athlete of the Year Award:
- Zoe Arancini (Water Polo)
- Caitlin Bassett (Netball)
- Colin Harrison and Russell Boaden (Sailing)
- Melissa Hoskins (Cycling)
- Natalie Medhurst (Netball)
- Sally Pilbeam (Para-Triathlon)
- Brianna Throssell (Swimming)
- Matt Wearn (Sailing)
- Aaron Younger (Water Polo)
