Awards Night finalists confirmed
The sport’s most outstanding athletes, administrators, clubs and media have been recognised as finalists at the 2016 Awards Night. Bowls Australia have today unveiled the list of finalists for the 12 categories on offer at the 2016 Awards Night, which recognises the sport’s most outstanding athletes, administrators, clubs and media coverage.
Testament to his exceptional consistency, Ettalong Memorial’s Aron Sherriff has been selected as a finalist for the coveted Australian Sports Commission International Bowler of the Year award for a fifth consecutive year, and will look to secure his fourth trophy after a three-peat from 2012-14.
Standing in his way is Mark Casey from Club Helensvale, who last claimed the peer-determined award for performances on the world stage at the Awards Night’s inaugural staging in 2012.
Queensland’s Club Helensvale will feature prominently on the night, named as one of the finalists in the newly introduced Stockland Club of the Year award, capping an outstanding year in which the club hosted the Australian Open and the World Champion of Champion Singles events.
Joining them as finalist clubs from an impressive 18 nominated clubs are two of the flagship success stories from the inaugural year of Jack Attack, Southport Bowls Club (QLD) and Manning Memorial Bowls Club (WA) as well as one of Victoria’s most progressive clubs, Torquay Bowls Club.
In the other newly introduced award, Josh Barry (Sebastapol, VIC) has been recognised as a finalist in the Bowler with a Disability of the Year award following a year which saw him grab the Physical Disability Singles and Multi Disability Pairs double at the Australian Open, as well as two gold medals at the World Cerebral Palsy Championships.
Standing in his way is Tiffany Brodie, who has been rewarded for an exceptional year which saw her claim Australian Open titles in the Women’s Fours and Under-18 Girls’ Singles by being named as a finalist for both the Bowler with a Disability of the Year and the Tourism & Events Queensland Under-18 Female Bowler of the Year.
NSW young gun Molly Wilton (Raymond Terrace, NSW) joins Brodie as the other finalist for the Tourism & Events Queensland Under-18 Female Bowler of the Year after an outstanding year which saw her reach the semi-finals of the Women’s Singles at the Australian Open along with a swag of titles at district and zone level in NSW.
The Domina BCiB Under-18 Male Bowler of the Year category sees two-time winner and the defending champion of the award Jono Davis (Dubbo Railway, NSW) look to cap off a stellar year which saw him take out the Under-18 Boys’ Singles at the Australian Open, as well as the NSW Boys’ Singles Championship.
He is up against Josh Studham (Holdfast Bay, SA), runner-up to Davis in the Under-18 Boys’ Singles as well as the Boys’ Pairs gold medalist from the Australian Under-18 Championships.
Holdfast Bay is also represented in the Official of the Year award, where 2015 runner-up Sandy Wallace has again been recognised as a finalist for her work as Bowls Australia’s ITO Mentor and Assessor.
Standing in her way is a former winner of the award, chairman of the National Officiating Advisory Group and Australian Open Tournament Director John Roberts (Bundoora RSL, VIC), who won the award in 2014.
Sydney metro Regional Bowls Manager (RBM) Chris Wallace joins Davis as the other 2015 award winner nominated as a 2016 finalist, named as a finalist for the Regional Bowls Manager of the Year.
First-time nominee, Regional Bowls Manager for North East Victoria Josh Thornton, is also in the running for the prestigious award which recognises the work of Bowls Australia’s 17 RBMs at the grass roots level of the sport.
Two exceptional servants to the sport have been recognised as finalists in the Blamey Saunders Hears Volunteer of the Year award, with Ben Woods (Musgrave Hill, QLD) and Ray Ganderton (Broadbeach, QLD) selected as finalists.
Woods, the Games Director at Musgrave Hill, was integral in the coordination of the Australian Open amongst many other events, while Ganderton was been tireless in his efforts assisting at a number of events at Broadbeach Bowls Club, including the Australian Open and the Australia vs. Scotland test series.
Former Australian Jackaroo Sharyn Renshaw (St Johns Park, NSW) has been recognised for her tireless work in developing young talent as the NSW Under-18 Coach, named as a finalist for the City of Gold Coast Coach of the Year award.
Renshaw will be up against Western Australia’s NTC Coach Therese Hastings (Manning Memorial, WA), who led the Western Australian women’s side to an exceptional second place finish at the Australian Sides Championships in April.
Veteran sports journalist Renard Peters has been recognised for his many years of coverage of the sport, with the Courier Mail, nominated as a finalist for the Story of the Year award for his feature story on Kelvin Kerkow from APL03.
Peters faces stiff competition from Fox Sports, who have been recognised for their exceptional live coverage of the Australian Premier League (now Bowls Premier League), which included more than 20 hours of live coverage.
Two of the major awards, the Male and Female Bowler of the Year titles, have already been decided ahead of the night, based off National Player Rankings accumulated until the conclusion of the 2016 Australian Open on June 24, with Broadbeach’s Ryan Bester and Raymond Terrace’s Natasha Scott claiming back-to-back titles.
It’s a considerable achievement, given the breadth and width of events that boast ranking points on offer over the 12 month period, with Bester’s major points coming from his Queensland State Singles and Queensland State Champion of Champion Singles wins, while Scott’s Australian Open women’s singles trophy capped off her stellar year on the green.
Further information on Scott and Bester’s triumphant year can be found here: http://bit.ly/2bsK7ls
2016 Awards Night categories and finalists include:
• Australian Sports Commission International Bowler of the Year: Aron Sherriff (Ettalong Memorial, NSW), Mark Casey (Club Helensvale, QLD);
• Cruiseabout Male Bowler of the Year: Ryan Bester (Broadbeach, QLD);
• Cruiseabout Female Bowler of the Year: Natasha Scott (Raymond Terrace, NSW);
• Domina BCiB Under-18 Male Bowler of the Year: Josh Studham (Holdfast Bay, SA), Jono Davis (Dubbo Railway, NSW);
• Tourism & Events Queensland Under-18 Female Bowler of the Year: Tiffany Brodie (Fitzroy Victoria Bowls and Sports Club, VIC), Molly Wilton (Raymond Terrace, NSW);
• Bowler with a Disability of the Year: Tiffany Brodie (Fitzroy Victoria Bowls and Sports Club, VIC), Josh Barry (Sebastopol, VIC);
• Stockland Club of the Year: Club Helensvale (QLD), Manning Memorial Bowls Club (WA), Southport Bowls Club (QLD), Torquay Bowls Club (VIC);
• Regional Bowls Manager of the Year: Chris Wallace (RBM Sydney Metro), Josh Thornton (RBM North East Victoria);
• City of Gold Coast Coach of the Year: Sharyn Renshaw (St Johns Park, NSW), Therese Hastings (Manning Memorial, WA);
• Official of the Year: Sandy Wallace (Holdfast Bay, SA), John Roberts (Bundoora RSL, VIC);
• Story of the Year: Renard Peters (The Courier Mail, QLD), Fox Sports Australia
• Blamey Saunders Hears Volunteer of the Year: Ben Woods (Musgrave Hill, QLD), Ray Ganderton (Broadbeach, QLD).
The 2016 Awards Night will be held on Thursday, October 27 at Mantra Legends, Surfers Paradise from 6.00pm.
Tickets are available online for $100 each (plus booking fee), inclusive of a three-course meal and drinks, but are presently limited to just 20 places for the first release.
They can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/2bT2A9e
Bowls Australia congratulate all Awards Night finalists.
