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Spotlight shines on Tamworth’s sports stars

Each year Tamworth Regional Council recognises the sporting achievements and dedications that individuals, teams, clubs and associations make to sport in our region.

Winners of the 2024 Tamworth Regional Sports Awards have been announced and are:

Coach of the Year

John Ireland – Basketball

• Coached the Tamworth Thunderbolts senior men’s team to their first grand final victory in the Basketball NSW Spalding Waratah Senior League Men’s competition.
• Led the most successful season in Thunderbolt’s Senior’s team history with only one loss during the season, and claiming the grand final win by 24 points.
• Epitomises good sportsmanship on and off the court and fosters a cohesive team ethos

  Local Achiever Award

  Mirridhi Knox – Taekwondo

• Has competed (and in some instances competed up a grade) in a multitude of competitions over the past year with some being the Blue Mountains Taekwondo Championships and the Fit-For-It Taekwondo Academy Poomsae (Taekwondo Formwork) and the NSW Taekwondo Championship
• Placed third in the U11 girls blue belt division at the Australian Taekwondo NSW State Selection Tournament and qualified to compete in the Australian Taekwondo ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Championships in November 2024 (making her the first Fit-for-It student to compete at a national level
• Often assists with younger classes at the Academy and has participated in community events for demonstrations

  Cara Hickson Award for Special Achievement

  Georgia Pryer – CrossFit

• Competed against 25,000 other competitors in the Oceania Region during Stage 1 (The Open) to move on to stage 2 of qualifying for the CrossFit Games (CFG)
• Was in the top 40 to complete 5 tests in 3 days during the ‘Quarterfinals’ stage
• Competed in the Semifinals event (stage 3) running over three days. The top 40 men and top 40 women from across the world make it from this stage to the CFG
• Competed at the CFG in 10 events over 4 days of competition and placed 29^th
• Promotes the sport of Cross Fit through her engagement on social media and promotion of the sport of Cross Fit for females

  Ken McKenzie Award for Services to Sport

  There were joint winners announced for the Services to Sport category:

  Steven Mitchell – Football

• Inducted as a life member to the North Companions Football Club in 2023
• Plays and coaches at the club and provides ongoing leadership and support
• Regularly attends trainings and workshops to maintain Club Changer accreditation ensuring the club fits national framework to support the development of its members
• Works across a multitude of roles including field maintenance, canteen duties, presentation days, answering phone calls, applying for grants and helping with uniforms

  Lad Jones – Rugby League

• Amongst the roles he dedicates time to, he is Chairman of Group 4 Rugby League, head coach of 2023 and 2024 NSWRL RISE programs, coach of Group 4 U18’s Representative team in 2024, assistant coach and sports trainer of 2024/2025 Northern Tigers for the Laurie Daley Cup squad and sports trainer for Andrew Johns Cup squad
• All-rounder around the club in mowing, line marking, setting up fields, cleaning amenities, and steps in as linesman when needed

  Junior Sports Team of the Year Award

  Tamworth Gymnastics Club Level 5 Team

• Team consists of Laura Wilkinson, Amelia Jackson, Anshika Kaysap, Layla Foy and Remi Foy
• Competed at the Australian Gymnastics ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Clubs Competition and made it into the A division for the finals on the first day. They placed fifth overall in Australia at this competition
• Amelia, Anshika, Layla and Laura placed first at the NSW Country Championships and also won their division at the Tamworth Country Capital Cup

  Senior Sports Team of the Year Award

  Tamworth Thunderbolts Waratah League Team

• The team won all but one game during the season
• Placed first at the State league’s men’s championships which was the first time for the club
• Their overall season results mean they’re the most successful senior team in Thunderbolt’s history

  Sport Development Award

  Tamworth Softball Association (TSA)

• In 2024, they fielded teams State Championships teams in Over 35’s and U14’s and combined with Softball Macarthur for U16’s and Newcastle DSAW for U18’s
• Introduced TSA Junior Training for all junior members irrespective of team.This was designed to increase the skill development of junior members and provide an opportunity to develop younger members as mentor coaches
• Three coaches gained their Foundation Level coaching accreditation
• One umpire became accredited at Level 1 through Softball Australia and umpired at the 2024 State Championships which is the first time in a very long time

  Junior Sports Star of the Year

  Abbie Peet – Athletics

• Won the 100m and 200m Women U17 Para events at NSW All School’s Championships and placed 2^nd in the 800m landing her selection into the Australian All Schools Championships.
• Competed at the ACT Athletics Championships placing 2^nd in the U20 women’s para 100m and 7^th in the open women’s para 200m
• Broke Australian record for U17 T36 200m at the ACT Athletics Championships
• Competed at the Oceania Athletics Championships in the Open women’s 100m and 200m Para events placing 5^th in 100m and 4^th in 200m

  Senior Sports Star of the Year and Overall Sports Star of the Year

  Steph Halpin – Touch Football

• Selected to play in the U27 Australian Touch team that competed in the 2024 World Cup held in England. She was named co-captain for this team.
• The team placed Australia at the top of the standings after the round games.
• The team defeated England in the World Cup final 7-1 and Steph was named player of the final

• Displays ongoing commitment to the Kootingal Moonbi Rugby League Club as a player, volunteer and president, and the development of rugby league more broadly

Hall of Fame

Athletes are inducted into the Hall of Fame if they meet the criteria, which includes representing Australia at a senior level in a sport recognised by the ASC, AIS and any other national body. This year, Aimee Tindall was inducted into the Tamworth Regional Council Hall of Fame for her representation of Australia in OzTag, and Alice Arnott was inducted for her representation of Australia at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in field hockey.

Olympic Honour Wall

Athletes that are recognised on the Olympic Honour Wall must meet criteria including representing their sport at an Olympic level as well as receiving the majority of the primary/secondary education in the Tamworth LGA. This year Tamworth Regional Council are very proud to have Alice Arnott (field hockey) and Nick Kay (Men’s Basketball) qualify to be on the Tamworth Regional Council Olympic Honour Wall for their representation at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

This year’s event was proudly sponsored by Intersport Tamworth, who provided gift vouchers for each winner.