Presentation Ceremony Thursday 14 March 2019 Members’ Dining Room Melbourne Cricket Ground @schoolsportvic schoolsportvictoria #vicsportsawards Published by the Communications Division Department of Education and Training 2 Treasury Place, East Melbourne, Victoria 3002 @ State of Victoria (Department of Education and Training) 2019 www.education.vic.gov.au/sportsawards MINISTER’S MESSAGE Welcome to the 25th annual Victorian School Sports Awards Your success in the sporting arena has been built on the same It is a pleasure to welcome you all to the iconic MCG for this foundations of hard work and perseverance that everyone historic event. needs to succeed in life. For a generation, the Victorian School Sports Awards have Your persistence, dedication and commitment to teamwork is represented the most prestigious sporting accolades in an example for every student, in every field, all across the state. Victoria’s government school system. That is why the Victorian School Sports Awards are not just This year, we are proud to celebrate 25 years of this a celebration of your sporting achievements, but also the fantastic event. strength of your character. Along with recognising the outstanding achievements of To that end, I would like to congratulate all of the people who Victoria’s world-class young sportspeople again this year, I am have helped you to become such thriving and dedicated also thrilled to recognise this significant milestone. young people, including your parents, teachers, coaches and school leaders. It means that the Victorian School Sports Awards have now been the platform for a generation of talented young Victorians Today’s event must be an incredibly proud occasion for all of to launch their sporting careers. you, so whether you are receiving an award or celebrating the achievements of someone close to you, I hope you all have a For 25 years, these awards have acknowledged the wonderful day. achievements of young Victorians who have gone on to be Olympians, World Champions and title winners, across a range Thank you. of sports. That is a wonderful legacy of excellence, which continues to this day. Congratulations to each of today’s 57 award recipients. You should be extremely proud of yourselves, because it is a The Hon James Merlino, MP massive achievement. Deputy Premier Minister for Education 3 OVERVIEW The Victorian School Sports Awards are the highest sporting The term Sporting Blue derives from the history of English sport. accolades presented in Victoria’s government school system. In 1936, during a boat race between Oxford and Cambridge Universities, a Cambridge oarsman tied a light blue ribbon This annual event, held for the first time in 1994, rewards to the bow of his boat (the colour of his school, Eton College). excellence across all categories of major school sports. A dark blue ribbon was then ascribed to Oxford (the colour of The awards are given to students, teachers, parents and Christ Church College). volunteers who have excelled or made an outstanding contribution to school sport. Subsequently, a Sporting Blue became identified around the world as an accolade of sporting excellence by young people In 2010, a new award recognising community partnerships and is distinguished by a two-coloured ribbon attached to a between schools and local community groups was introduced traditional bronze medallion. to acknowledge the vital role that partnerships play in the development of Victorian sports. The Department of Education and Training believes it is fitting to present Sporting Blue awards as a reflection of the high This year, for the fourth time, we are delighted to present the standard of talent and dedication demonstrated by aspiring Lindsay Gaze Outstanding Sports Leadership Award, in honour young athletes in Victorian government schools. of the seven-time Olympian and Basketball Hall of Fame legend. This award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding dedication to both school and community sport. Forty eight individual student awards, each known as a Sporting Blue, will be presented across eighteen categories to young athletes for their outstanding success in 2018. 4 MASTER OF CEREMONIES STEVE MONEGHETTI AM Steve Moneghetti is one of the champions of Australian sport. He exemplifies what is to be achieved through training, perseverance, planning, goals and aspirations. From Australian Under 20 Cross Country Champion in 1982, Steve has become a world champion distance and marathon runner. He has been awarded as No.1 World Roadracer, Australian Sports Star of the Year and Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist. Steve competes and wins in Marathon and Distance events from Berlin to Tokyo each year. To compete at this International level he trains twice a day, every day of the year, covering approximately 200km per week and totalling over 8500km in a year. Away from running, Steve has a Degree in Civil Engineering, a Graduate Diploma in Education and works when available as a teacher. He was a personal development consultant with the Department of Education in Victoria until 2000, and Chairperson of the Victorian Review into Physical and Sport Education in Schools. 5 LINDSAY GAZE OUTSTANDING SPORTS LEADERSHIP AWARD VicHealth is proud to support the annual Lindsay Gaze Lindsay also made a significant contribution to VicHealth. As a Outstanding Sports Leadership Award, which recognises member of our Board for more than 10 years, he helped guide outstanding leadership in the promotion of community and the governance and strategic direction of VicHealth, so that school sport. the benefits of better health and wellbeing can be enjoyed by all Victorians. Lindsay Gaze is a distinguished Olympian. He represented Australia in three Olympic Games before turning to coaching, For over 30 years, VicHealth has been working to improve where he quickly established himself as one of our country’s the health and wellbeing of Victorians. More recently we have best basketball mentors. Inducted into the Australian been creating more opportunities for less active Victorians to Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004, he has worked tirelessly to participate in sport and regular physical activity. Our focus share his remarkable knowledge of and passion for the game. is on engaging children, young people and women and girls, to work towards our goal of having 300,000 more Victorians His contribution has not been restricted to the court. By serving physically active by 2023. as a member of the NBL Board and FIBA’s technical and rules committees, he has helped shape the structure of the game on We congratulate today’s winner on this prestigious award. a world-wide basis. Jerril Rechter CEO, VicHealth 6 ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTATION OF AWARDS Balwyn High School Cheerleaders Athletics with a Multi-Class, Athletics, Australian Rules Football, Baseball, Basketball, Cricket, Cross Country, Diving, Football, GUESTS SEATED Golf, Hockey 12 noon DESSERT SERVED CEREMONY COMMENCES MUSIC PERFORMANCE INTRODUCTION Canterbury Girls’ Secondary College Steve Moneghetti AM Master of Ceremonies PRESENTATION OF AWARDS Netball, Rugby League, Softball, Swimming, Table Tennis, WELCOME TO COUNTRY Tennis, Volleyball ADDRESS Outstanding Teacher Contribution Tim Richardson MP Outstanding Community Contribution Parliamentary Secretary Outstanding School and Community Partnerships MAIN COURSE SERVED Outstanding Sporting Achievement MUSIC PERFORMANCE Lindsay Gaze Outstanding Sports Leadership Award Canterbury Girls’ Secondary College CEREMONY CONCLUDES ADDRESS 2.30pm Tony Goodwin President, School Sport Victoria 7 PRESENTERS Kelsey Browne Linden Hall Australian Netballer Olympian Kelsey Browne is a current player for Linden’s career in athletics started the Collingwood Magpies. She came through school sport, making her first to prominence in 2010 when she Victorian cross country team in 2003 represented Australia in the under 19 as a grade six student. She went on team as an 18 year old. to become an Australian Olympic and Commonwealth Games representative Whilst representing Australia at the and broke Australian records for the 1500 metre and mile. under 19 and under 21 level, Kelsey also played a pivotal role in Academically, in 2017, she completed a Master of Dietetics, the success of the Victorian Fury. During her time there, she was to become an Accredited Practising Dietitian and competed a part of three ANL championships. Kelsey finished her career further study to become a sports dietitian. at the Fury in 2015 where she was awarded the club’s MVP as well as filling a permanent replacements role for the Melbourne Vixens in the ANZ Championship. In 2016 Kelsey earned herself a spot in the inaugural Sunshine Coast Lightning Squad. She played a key role in securing their back-to-back Premierships in the Suncorp Super Netball. 8 PRESENTERS Madison Robinson Richard Colman AM Australian Netballer Paralympian Madi is one of Australia’s most Richard made his Paralympic debut in distinguished netballers who is best Athens, where he won a gold and silver known for her dominance through the mid medal in the 800 metre and 4x100 metre court. She represented Australia in 2009 relay, and set a new games record in the at the under 21 World Championships and 800 metre – achievements which saw successfully helped Australia win the title. him rise to the number one world ranking. At national level, she began her career at the Melbourne Vixens Richard competed in five events at the 2008 Paralympic Games in 2008 before leaving for the