Athletics champ wins April bankmecu Gippstar Award, 1 May 2013A strong field of nominations was received for the April bankmecu Gippstar Awards in the junior and senior categories However, Longford athlete Mia Ross was awarded the senior nomination for her achievements in athletics. The Wellington Athletics Club representative recently competed at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships in Perth where she took the crown in the Under 20 Women's 800 metres. Previous to that Ross was successful at the Victorian Open Track & Field Championships as well as the Victorian Junior Track & Field Championships. The junior nomination was awarded to Darcie Morton of Marlo who has continued her success in the sport of table tennis. The petit 13 year old is ranked No 1 in Victoria in the Under 13 age group due to her consistent form at a number of highly ranked tournaments as well as her success at the Australian Junior Championships where she came home with a bag of medals one of them being gold. Organisers of the bankmecu Gippstar Awards are now calling for nominations for May as well as Club of the Year, Team of the Year, Special Achiever and Gippsland Champion nominations. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Young rider hot selection for bankmecu Gippstar March award, 5 April 2013The bankmecu Gippstar selection panel couldn't go past Ben Currie's nomination for the Junior March Award. Hailing from Glengarry Ben is now a long way from home as he prepares to race in the British Superbike Championships. Ben is in his first year of road racing but has been racing in motocross since he was 8 years of age. Ben accepted a contract from PP Racing in England where he will spend the next 8 months. Ben's achievements include Australian Under 21 600cc Superstroke Champion, 2nd in the Pirelli Road racing series in 600cc Superstock TT series and 3 rd in the Victorian Championships in the Open 600cc Superstock. The senior winner for March was Mark Thorpe from Sale for his achievements in the sport of Sailing with a Disability. The sailor has overcome his disabilities to achieve at the highest level in his chosen sport. The inspirational sailor has advanced from not even being able to steer the boat to the fully independent sailor he is today competing at the highest level. Organisers of the bankmecu Gippstar Awards are now calling for nominations for April as well as Club of the Year, Team of the Year, Special Achiever and Gippsland Champion nominations. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Paynesville Sailor wins January Gippstar, 8 March 2013Gary Maskiell from Paynesville has been named senior winner of the bankmecu Gippstar for the month of January. “I had the good fortune to have my father take up sailing shortly after I was born, so have been sailing all my life” Gary said when he was contacted regarding his monthly award. The sailor was very humble as he spoke of his most recent achievements. Gary placed 1st in the Yachting Victoria Eastern Region Regatta, the Australian Mosquito Mk1 Catamaran Championship, the Australian Mosquito Spinnaker Catamaran Championship and the Victorian Mosquito Spinnaker Catamaran Championships. The racing season for the 2012-13 Australian Mosquito Mk1 Championship involved 22 sailors competing in 10 races over 4 days. Each sailor counts their best 8 races, in which Gary placed 1st in 4 races, 2nd in 3 races and 3rd in 1 race. The junior bankmecu Gippstar winner for January was judo competitor Aaron Nabulsi. Aaron has won numerous titles at State and National level, the inspiring and committed 10 year old trains 3 nights a week and travels to Melbourne every Sunday in the 3 months leading up to Nationals to train with his Victorian team members. He is a member of Judo Victoria and is proud to belong to a sport which is represented in the Olympics. The senior bankmecu Gippstar winner for February was lawn bowler Lisa Phillips who recently took out the Australian Open Singles Champion and the Australian Open Triples Champion. The Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship holder has accumulated a number of titles over the recent season including the 2012 Australian Super Six Singles Champion, the 2012 Victorian Singles Champion, the 2012 Victorian U25 Singles Champion and the 2012 Australian Open Singles Runner-up. Orbost’s Zoe Quinsy-Munro was named junior winner for the month of February for her efforts in athletics. Zoe was a Gold medallist at the Victorian Country Track & Field Championships in Under 14 Javelin and Discus and achieved silver in shotput. Prior to that Zoe was a bronze medallist at Victorian All Schools Track and Field Championships at Lakeside Stadium with a throw of 28.81m which saw her qualify for the Australian Junior Athletics Championships to be held in Perth in March 2013. Organisers of the bankmecu Gippstar Awards are now calling for nominations for November as well as Club of the Year, Team of the Year, Special Achiever and Gippsland Champion nominations. Link to Gippstar Award nomination information. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Fair fight on the horizon for siblings, 11 October 2012Traralgon Judo Club competitor Aoife Coughlan was named October junior bank mecu Gippstar award winner and will now compete against her sister Maeve, the junior winner for August, for the overall Annual prize in the junior category. However Aoife's immediate focus is set on competing at the Judo World Championships and completing two VCE final exams for subjects she is studying as a year 11 student. The accomplished young athlete was selected to represent Australia and is currently ranked number 1 in both the Australian Junior and Senior Women Under 63 kilo category. The bank mecu panel was unable to separate the senior winners as both had competed on the international stage and were very worthy recipients. Peter Bennett was named duel winner following his placing of 40th in the World Field Championships held in France in September. The humble archer continues to improve as he aims to better his placing in the future. Newry's Craig Huffer also shared the title of senior bank mecu Gippstar winner for the month of October following his amazing 4th place in the Fifth Avenue New York Mile. Craig recorded a time of 3:53.5 as he was hot on the heels of eventual winner 2011 World Championship 1500 metre medallist Matthew Centrowitz in a time of 3:52.4. Other place getters included multiple Olympic and World Championship medallist Bernard Lagat (2nd – 3:52.9) and 2012 Olympic silver medallist Leo Manzano (3rd – 3:53.1). “Congratulations to the Gippsland Sporting Community for embracing and supporting the awards, the panel is absolutely thrilled with the number of nominations being received, please keep them coming in” bankmecu Gippstar Chairman Philip Barnes said. Organisers of the bank mecu Gippstar Awards are now calling for nominations for November as well as Club of the Year, Team of the Year, Special Achiever and Gippsland Champion nominations. Nomination information for the Gippstar Awards is available here. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Olympian wins bankmecu Gippstar for September, 17 September 2012Longford's Keith Ferguson was named bankmecu Gippstar Senior winner for the month of September. Ferguson represented Australia at the London Olympics in the sport of shooting. After debuting at the London Olympics Ferguson finished 20th in the men's skeet in London and now has his sights set on another Australian selection in the hope of competing in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The Junior winner for the month of September was Josh Street after being selected to represent Victoria in the sport of table tennis. The talented young Bairnsdale athlete is a member of the Gippsland Sports Academy Table Tennis Squad and the reigning Bairnsdale & District Table Tennis Singles Champion. Josh who is currently ranked 5th in the Under 13 age group in Victoria is training hard to prepare for the National Titles being contested in Perth later this month. Organisers of the bankmecu Gippstar Awards are now calling for nominations for October as well as Club of the Year, Team of the Year, Special Achiever and Gippsland Champion nominations. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Archer hits the target, 7 September 2012Twin City Archer's Samantha Crawford has been named August Senior bank mecu Gippstar winner following on from her selection to represent Australia in Val d'lsere France at the World Field Archery Championships. In the lead up to her selection Samantha won Silver in the Clout and Field at the 2012 National Archery Championships as well as Gold in Target. Samantha was required to raise her own funds to represent her country in France. In a name synonymous with Judo Maeve Coughlan was named Junior recipient of the August bank mecu Gippstar Award. Following on with her family tradition Maeve is leaving her mark on the sport of judo after winning Gold in the National Championships in the Under 52 kg weight division. Maeve has her sights set on being selected to represent Australia at the upcoming Australian Youth Olympic Festival being held in Sydney in January 2013. Incredibly this amazing young competitor fought outside of her 48 kilo division to ensure she is well prepared should she be selected. July's monthly junior winner was Taylah Bott of Drouin following on from her success at the International Schoolgirls Netball Challenge where she represented Australia and came home with a Silver medal after going down to arch rivals New Zealand. The senior winner for July was Daniel McConnell a Mountain Bike rider from Bruthen who was selected to represent Australia at the London Olympics following on from a great season in the sport winning 1 st at the Australian Championships Elite XCountry and 1 st in the Oceania Championships Elite XCountry. Organisers of the bank mecu Gippstar Awards are now calling for nominations for the May as well as Club of the Year, Team of the Year, Special Achiever and Gippsland Champion nominations. An annual award ceremony will be held in July for all nominees where annual winners of each category will be announced. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Honours for Gippsland's best, 26 July 2012![]() Anthony Heinemann (bankmecu) with Clinton Jee and Damon Morton's father Two times Australian Boomerangs Basketball representative Clinton Jee has been named the bankmecu Gippstar Senior winner for 2011/12. Clinton represented Australia in the sport of basketball at the INAS global games, for para-athletes with an intellectual disability. This is the second selection into the national team for the six foot eight player. The national team improved on past results and finished 4th at this year's championships. Clinton is an instrumental player in the Australian side and has been described as the cornerstone of the team and is hoping to be part of the team for a while to come yet. He only lost one tip-off for the entire tournament to a player whose height registers in at 7ft. He started on court in every match and averaged 14 points a game. The sport is being considered as a paralympic sport ahead of the 2016 games being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The selection panel couldn't go past Marlo's Damon Morton for overall junior winner. Damon's has reached amazing heights in the sport of Cross Country Skiing. The exciting biathlon athlete has competed strongly in both junior and senior levels, but his most outstanding results have come at the junior level. Damon won the Australian Joey Kangaroo Hoppet held at Falls Creek in August, the biggest ski race in the Southern Hemisphere. He is ranked number 1 nationally in Youth Male in the discipline of biathlon and number 2 Junior Male in distance cross country skiing and has qualified as the number 1 male in the Australian Junior Team. ![]() Monthly winners: Ashley Christopher, Lily Collins, Andrew Brady Tory Alger, Sam Farrington, Clinton Jee, Ignatius Duivenvoorde Damon won 7 of his 8 races in the Youth Olympic Selection races in cross country skiing and biathlon, unfortunately though Damon was unable to compete in the Youth Olympics in 2012 as he was one year too young. Strong nominations were received for both Club and Team of the Year Awards. The panel had an extremely hard time selecting a Club of the Year with exceptional nominations received from Twin City Archers, Traralgon Swim Club and Sale Netball Association. With all Clubs offering so much to the community of Gippsland it came down to the wire seeing Twin City Archers being given the honor in recognition of the National events continually hosted by the club. Twin City Archers was represented by a very proud Peter Bennett who acknowledged the hard work of the small but dedicated committee which is relentless in its endeavours to see the club continue to forge ahead. The team of the Year saw Traralgon Swim Club's 14 & Under 50 metre Freestyle team unanimously crowned the most outstanding team following their record breaking swim in. ![]() More monthly winners: Bohdi Walker, Thomas McFarlane, Aoife Coughlan, Danni Pearce, Anthony Heinemann, Stephanie Barnett, Sophie Molineux, Mia Ross, Phoebe Trembath, Peter Bennett December of last year saw them break the long standing Australian Record. The Team was represented by all members Georgia Tsebellis, Maggie O'Keefe, Erin Roberts and Taylah Da Ros. Also recognised in the special achievers category were four hard working people who are the backbones of their organisations. Poowong Netball Club's Janis Mackay was recognised for her tireless work and dedication to the club where she has played over 300 games, Trafalgar stalwart Graeme Rankin has amassed over 9,000 runs in cricket with the club, Warragul's Jean Nielsen was recognised for her selfless work with badminton, in particular juniors and Robert Thompson was also an outstanding recipient for his dedication to the sport of table tennis. For the third year the bankmecu Gippstar awards also named a Gippsland Sporting Champion seeing finalists Lisa Alexander, Will Tomlinson and Peter Siddle in the running. Wild Will Tomlinson was the favourite following on from his fight that saw him crowned the IBF super featherweight Champion after defeating Mexico's Alan Herrera at Perth's Challenge Stadium and extending his unbeaten run to 17 professional fights. The selection panel strongly encourages the people of Gippsland to nominate a local champion. Nomination information for the bank mecu Gippstar Awards is available from the Gippsland Sports Academy's website. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
bankmecu Gippstar Awards - who will be the best in Gippsland? 11 July 2012Following on from what has been another extraordinary year in Gippsland sport the bankmecu Gippstar Awards will, for the 52nd time, recognise the best athletes from our region. ![]() June winners Phoebe Trembath (volleyball) & Charlotte McShane (triathlon) The bankmecu Gippstar Awards will be hosted on Wednesday July 25 at the Waratah Restaurant in Morwell and is shaping up to be the best yet. “Each year for the past 51 years Gippsland athletes, sporting officials and coaches have been recognised for achieving amazing results in their sport whilst residing in the region”, Gippsland Sports Academy Chief Executive Officer Judi Buhagiar said, “and I am talking about some serious achievements, such as national selection and national title winners, you can't get much better than that” she added. Past winners include the late Lionel Rose, Ted Hopkins, John Trevorrow, Kathryn Watt, Tim Forsyth, Darren Cole, Lisa Phillips, Lisa Alexander and Ashley Delaney. This year's awards will once again recognise an overall winner in the junior and senior categories, team of the year, club of the year, Gippsland champion and special achievers. The panel had a tough time deciding the final winners in all categories requiring voting, which proves the strength of sport in Gippsland on all levels. The strong field of contenders is made up of a cross section of 21 different sports including judo, surfing, cross country skiing, swimming, table tennis and archery just to name a few as well as seeing all six municipalities of Gippsland represented strongly. The evening will see 4 special achievers acknowledged for the tireless work they continue to contribute to sport within Gippsland, a category that has seen sporting leaders John Bryant, Cyril Metcalf, Jenny Mills and Howard Williams recognised in the past. The Club of the Year category finalists are the Sale Netball Association for their amazing steady growth and ability to develop players and officials, The Traralgon Swim Club for their continued strong approach to the success of swimming in country Victoria and Twin City Archers for their foresight of working with other community groups and consistent development of National Champions. A strong field of nominations will fight it out for the Team of the Year as both representative netball teams from Sale who successfully took out the 2012 Eastern Region State League titles in the Open and 17 & Under age groups, Gippsland Pride's Under 16 Girls Cricket team winners of the State under 16 Championships and the Traralgon Swim Club 14 & Under freestyle national record breaking team in the 50 metre freestyle relay, look to be recognised as the best in Gippsland. In the past 3 years the awards have also recognised a Gippsland Champion an award that sees successful athletes, coaches and officials who have developed their skills in Gippsland but have since left the area to perform on the world stage or at the highest possible level within their sport acknowledged for their achievements. Past winners have seen Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury and Australian Opals Basketball team member Belinda Snell. This year's finalists are Australian Diamonds Netball Coach, Lisa Alexander, IBF Super Featherweight title holder, Will Tomlinson and Australian cricketer Peter Siddle. Each year the level of nominations for all categories continues to improve and with a number of Gippslanders heading to the London Olympics and Paralympics this month the community can look forward to some exciting nominations for the 53rd annual awards to be held in 2013. Who will be named the best in Gippsland? If you would like to nominate someone for any of the categories in the bankmecu Gippstar Awards please go Gippsland Sports Academy's website or contact Judi Buhagiar on 51270163. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Archer hits another bullseye, 31 May 2012Moe's Peter Bennett's bankmecu Gippstar Award nomination has seen him named the winner of the senior category for the month of May. Peter's achievements continue to the hit the bullseye and he was awarded for his endless ambition to represent his country. After winning the National Archery Championships he will now head to France to compete in World Championships. A very proud Bennett is now preparing and looking to leave no stone unturned as he looks to spending time with experienced archer and Melbourne coach Leigh Cornish who will assist him with the estimation of distances. Cornish is the founder and designer of Titan Scopes and has been an archer since the 1960's having twice finished 2nd in the World Field Archery Championships and 2nd in the IFAA World 3D in 2001. Bennett will also look to ensuring his physical fitness is at its peak and will take to the pool to assist with conditioning of his back. Bairnsdale's Stephanie Barnett has recognised as the junior winner for May as she continues to excel in the sport of tennis. Stephanie was captain of the Victorian team that competed in the School Sport Australia Championships and this was the third time she represented her state in this competition. Stephanie has won pennant titles at Maffra and currently competes in the winter pennant competition in Dendy Park and was player of the year in 2011. Organisers of the bankmecu Gippstar Awards are now calling for nominations for the May as well as Club of the Year, Team of the Year, Special Achiever and Gippsland Champion nominations. An annual award ceremony will be held 25 th July at the Waratah Restaurant where annual winners of each category will be announced. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Phillips wins April's bankmecu Senior Gippstar Award, 26 April 2012Yallourn’s Lisa Phillips has been awarded senior bankmecu Gippstar award for the month of April, for her continuing success in lawn bowls. Lisa’s performance over recent months has been outstanding. Not only has Lisa represented Victoria winning a test series against South Australia and Tasmania, she was also crowned Victoria U25 singles champion at the young age of 19. In addition Phillips is also a member of the Australian National Squad and recently returned from New Zealand where she was a member of the U25 Australian team winning the Trans Tasman Series. Earlier in the year Phillips demonstrated skill and composure to claim silver at the Australian Open Singles Championships. Lisa is continually advancing her bowling skills with Richmond Union club and the guidance of the Victorian Institute of Sport. The April Junior bankmecu Gippstar could not be split between two very talented young athletes from contrasting sports. The winners were Longford’s Mia Ross, Athletics (Track) and Traralgon’s Aoife Couglan, Judo. Mia, who is only 16, has had a stellar season on the track. Mia competed in the Victorian championships in February in Melbourne where she took on the competition and finished top of the table in the U18 800metres. Mia continued this form recently at the Australian championships in Sydney where she was crowned U18 800metre Australian Champion. Mia’s hard work and competitive spirit currently sees her ranked 8th in Australia in the women’s open division. Jointly Aoife Couglan has been dominating in her class within Judo of late. She has recently taken Gold in junior and senior women’s under 63kg at the Queensland International Open, gold in junior women and silver in the senior women under 63kg at the Australian Capital Territory International Open. As a result of these outstanding achievements Aoife is currently the highest ranked junior in Australia in this class and second in the senior women’s class at the very young age of 16. It doesn’t stop there, Aoife has been selected to represent Australia at the Oceania Judo Union Championships in junior and senior women under 63kg in Cairns in April. This is the third time she will represent at junior level, but her first cap in the senior division. Organisers of the bankmecu Gippstar Awards are now calling for nominations for the May as well as Club of the Year, Team of the Year, Special Achiever and Gippsland Champion nominations. An annual award ceremony will be held in July for all nominees where annual winners of each category will be announced Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Cricket and basketball feature in bankmecu Gippstar wins, 9 April 2012Sale’s Bohdi Walker has been recognised for his continued success in the sport of cricket by being named the bankmecu Gippstar senior nominee for the month of March. The talented sportsman has been selected to represent Australia in the indigenous under 23 development squad that will tour India in October following an impressive performance while representing Victoria at the recent national Imparja Cup in Alice Springs. Bohdi has already experienced international cricket when the Victorian team played a match against Papua New Guinea at Casey Fields. Bohdi is looking forward to representing his country and said he learnt a lot from the senior members of the Victorian team. The junior bankmecu Gippstar award was hard to separate seeing two young athletes nominated. Danni Pearce was recognised for her efforts in basketball after being named an emergency in the Under 17 Australian Women’s Basketball team. The team will travel to China this month but Danni will only join them should a selected member of the team be unable to travel. Danni has represented Victoria and was selected for Basketball Australia's elite National Performance Program. Sophie Molineux from Bairnsdale was the joint recipient of the March junior bankmecu Gippstar award following an exceptional season in cricket. Sophie represented Victoria in Cricket Australia’s National Championships in Sydney as a bottom age player and was the leading run scorer for the state and second highest run scorer for the competition making 98 off 72 balls against Western Australia which was the highest score of the championships for any team. Sophie was named in the All Australian Team of the Championship and was presented with a Baggy Green cap. Locally Sophie captained the Bairnsdale under 14 boys to a top 3 place in the Junior Country Week carnival and captained Gippsland Pride in the Under 14 Girls Championships where she was leading run scorer and wicket taker for Gippsland and leading run scorer for the Championship. Organisers of the bankmecu Gippstar Awards are now calling for nominations for the remaining 3 months as well as Club of the Year, Team of the Year, Special Achiever and Gippsland Champion nominations. An annual award ceremony will be held in July for all nominees where annual winners of each category will be announced. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
bankmecu Gippstar nominations for four Gippsland champions, 29 February 2012Trafalgar’s Craig Hasthorpe has been named January’s senior bankmecu Gippstar winner for his achievements in the Australian Golf Open held in Sydney. Craig finished equal 19th. With his tour card keeping him extremely busy this result would surely be a highlight of his career as he was mixing it with some of the best golfers in the world. Considering players such Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Craig Parry and Matt Kutcher missed the cut, Craig’s solid putting allowed him to overtake golf’s world class and household names. January’s junior bankmecu Gippstar winner was surfing queen and Phillip Island’s Nikki van Dijk. Nikki has been named in the TravelSIM Team Australia that will contest the International Junior Championships in Panama in April this year. Nikki is the only Victorian surfer to make the team. Sale’s David Weir-Smith was named senior winner for the month of February following his recent achievements in the sport of karate. David won first place at the heavy weight full contact National Australian Kyokushin Championships. A very happy Thomas McFarlane from Leongatha was recognised for his outstanding achievements in the sport of cycling being named junior winner for the month of February. The young cyclist claimed four state titles at the Northcote Indoor Velodrome. Thomas won the 500 metres time trial, 2000m pursuit, three lap sprint and the 5km scratch race in the Under 15 category all of this and he is still only 13. Annual winners are selected from the monthly winners and will be announced at the annual awards evening in 2012. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Hillclimb champion wins bankmecu Gippstar, 23 November 2011Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Brett Hayward has been named the bankmecu Senior Gippstar winner for the month of November. Brett was awarded this month’s bankmecu Gippstar award for his outstanding achievements in hill climb racing. Brett has been hillclimbing for the last 10 years and all his hard work and commitment came to fruition in November when he was crowned the 2011 Australian Champion at Yallourn’s Bryant Park. In addition to this outstanding result Brett also travelled interstate this year and also dominated the competition. Brett is the current Victorian, South Australian and Queensland Champion. These championships were all won in a car that Brett built himself. His plans for next year are to defend his titles and develop and fabricate a new race car. Troy Alger beside his kart
The bankmecu November junior Gippstar winner was the very talented go-kart racer Troy Alger. Troy, at only 12 years of age, won the 2011 Rookies Australasian kart titles (red plate). In addition to this title Troy has had solid results throughout the year. Troy finished second overall in the 2011 Golden Power series Rookies class and second at the Bairnsdale open Rookies class. He was also rewarded for his achievements by being selected to give a kart demonstration at Sandown and had breakfast with the V8 Supercar drivers. These achievements have placed Troy on the right path to one day reach his ambitions of driving a V8 Super car or F1 car. November also saw Lisa Alexander, formally of Leongatha, being named Gippsland Champion. The head coach of the Australian Netball Diamonds was nominated after the team moved back into the World Number 1 position following a recent test series against the New Zealand Silverferns. Annual winners are selected from the monthly winners and will be announced at the annual awards evening in 2012. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Clay shooter wins bankmecu Gippstar Award, 28 October 2011Glengarry’s Andrew Brady has been named the senior bankmecu Gippstar senior winner for October. Andrew was the captain of the winning Victorian State Open Zone Team in the State Open Clay Target Shooting Championships held recently in Wonthaggi. The 29 year old started shooting at the tender age of 12 and is a member of the Morwell Clay Target Club. He has represented Australia 5 times and won an amazing 4 Australian titles and 2 Commonwealth titles at junior level. Andrew has also been named State Open Champion 3 times. His next major competition is the Australian Olympic Trap Championship in Newcastle New South Wales in January 2012. Not to be out done by her brother, winner of the bankmecu September junior Gippstar, Darcie Morton was named winner for her efforts in the sport of table tennis. 11 year old Darcie from Marlo was rewarded for her success at the recent table tennis National Junior Championships held in Sydney where she came home with 2 silver and 1 bronze medal. Darcie then backed up her national campaign by competing in the primary school competitions and winning the State Title for her age group. Annual winners are selected from the monthly winners and will be announced at the annual awards evening in 2012. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Distance runner takes bankmecu Senior Gippstar Award, 20 September 2011The ever improving Kaila McKnight has been named the bankmecu Senior Gippstar winner for the month of September. Kailia is currently travelling the European circuit and will finish off with the New York Mile. After a gruelling 3 months overseas the long distance runner is looking forward to coming home and trialling for selection into the Australian Team. Her results have been pleasing as she already has an A result under her belt. To be considered for trials Kaila must achieve another A result but is very confident she can do that in the time required. She must however also finish in the top three of her group to be considered. Trials are being held in April 2012. The bankmecu September junior Gippstar winner was the very exciting cross country skier and biathlete, Damon Morton. Damon has competed at junior and senior levels but the panel couldn’t go past his amazing results in the junior section. Damon won the Australian Joey Kangaroo Hoppet held at Falls Creek in August, the biggest ski race in the Southern Hemisphere. He is ranked number 1 nationally in Youth Male in the discipline of biathlon and number 2 Junior Male in distance cross country skiing and has qualified as the number 1 male in the Australian Junior Team. Annual winners are selected from the monthly winners and will be announced at the annual awards evening in 2012. Nomination information for the Gippstar Awards is available the Gippsland Sports Academy website. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Para-athlete is bankmecu Gippstar winner, 15 August 2011July’s senior bankmecu Gippstar winner is Churchill’s Bradley King for his achievement in the sport of speed karting. Bradley has been involved in speed karting for a number of years and his hard work and dedication is paying off as Brad was recently crowned Australian Speedway Kart Champion after successfully competing at the titles held in Bega in May. Brad has consistently been in the top three of his club championships since 2006. The junior winner for July is Wy Yung’s Lily Collins for her efforts in the pool at the Australian Age Championships where she brought home a silver for the 100m breaststroke and bronze in the 200m breaststroke. Warragul Dojo of Kyokushin Karate school student, Ashley Christopher was named the junior bankmecu Gippstar winner after winning the Victorian Kyokushin Karate Championships which she recently fought in. Ashley is now preparing for the National Titles being held in Brisbane. The good news story for the bankmecu Gippstar awards is the achievements of the senior winner for August, Sale resident Clinton Jee. Clinton has been selected to represent Australia in the sport of basketball at the INAS global games, for para-athletes with an intellectual disability. This is the second selection into the national team for the six foot eight player who has been described as the cornerstone of the team. Clinton was first introduced to basketball about six years ago by local coach Trevor Holmes and has gone from strength to strength. Clinton has sacrificed much of his time travelling to Melbourne as a member of the Country Victorian Squad to play in tournaments as part of his preparation for selection. The global games are being played in Italy from September 24 to October 4. The bankmecu Gippstar Awards are announced each month and acknowledge the highest achievers in sport from athletes through to administrators in junior and senior categories. Other categories include special achievers for long term commitment to the development of sport in Gippsland, Gippsland Sporting Champion, Best Club and Best Team. Annual winners are selected from the monthly winners and will be announced at the annual awards evening in 2012. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
bankmecu Gippstar annual awards honour the best of the best, 21 July 2011 Ashley Delaney, Gippstar Senior Annual Award winner Three bronze and a gold medal at the recent Commonwealth Games was enough to secure swimmer Ashley Delaney the title of Senior bankmecu Gippstar winner for 2010/11 at the awards evening held at the Waratah Restaurant on Wednesday night. Delaney is currently in Shanghai for his assault on the pool at the World Championships as a member of the Australian Swim Team. The 51st Junior bankmecu Gippstar Award went to Aoife Coughlan for her continued success in the sport of Judo. Aoife from Traralgon has achieved international success winning gold at the Oceania Judo Union Championships in the Cadet Women Under 63Kg for the second year in a row and gold in the Junior Women Under 63Kg following on from her silver in the previous year. Aoife is also a member of the Australian Judo Team for the World Junior and is line to be selected for the World Cadet Championships for the tour to Ukraine in August and South Africa in November. Junior winner Aoife Coughlan with mecu's Anthony Heinemann Excitingly the bankmecu Gippstar awards was given a major injection with the announcement that mecu would now be the naming rights sponsor of the awards with the provision of $8,000 per year for the next three years. “We are ecstatic to have an organisation like mecu partner with us. We have moved to extend the program this year to include a new Club of the Year award as well as awards to recognise individuals who contribute so much to developing sport. “The bankmecu sponsorship will help us to further expand the program and explore the establishment of a Gippstar Alumni for the first time.” Also recognised in the special achievers category were three hard working people that do whatever it takes to keep their sporting groups in good working order. Cowwarr Football/Netball Club stalwart Stephanie O’Brien has been manning the canteen for 45 years which has now been named in her honor. Champion lawn bowler Lorraine Steel and sports all rounder Darrell White were also recipients for their tireless work in sport development within Gippsland. Monthly Junior winners with the overall Annual winner, Aoife Coughlan, centre For the second year the mecu Gippstar awards also named a Gippsland Sporting Champion seeing finalists Peter Siddle, John Hutchinson and Belinda Snell in the running. Belinda Snell was the favourite following on from her international performances in the sport of basketball. Belinda currently plays with Seattle Storm in the American Women’s Basketball Association on the back of playing with Perfumerias Avenida Salamance in the Spanish League and winning the Euroleague Championships a major achievement in women’s basketball. A strong field of nominations was received for the Club of the Year but the undisputed winner was Traralgon Swim Club for its continued vision, ability to produce swimming champions and energetic culture. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Talented champions will vie for 51st Gippstar Awards, 7 July 2011The 51st Annual Gippstar Awards is shaping up to be a very exciting evening with monthly winners from a wide range of sports set to attend the event at the Waratah Restaurant in Morwell on Wednesday 20th July. The Gippstar Awards have been recognising the sporting achievements of Gippslanders since 1960, and in the early days were black tie affairs and televised live throughout Victoria. These days, the awards continue to celebrate the sporting achievements of Gippslanders, and whilst they are no longer be broadcast on live TV, the talents of Gippslanders and the levels they achieve continue to be outstanding, and deserving of great recognition. This year’s awards will be hosted by the legendry Mr Sport himself, Kevin Hogan who is regarded as the Bruce McAvaney of Gippsland. The awards are currently administered by the Gippsland Sports Academy, with the support of all Gippsland local government councils, Win TV, and Gippstafe. The field for this year’s awards are diverse and of an excellent standard. Who will join the illustrious list of winners, which includes sporting greats such as the late Lionel Rose, Drew Ginn, Tim Forsyth and Ted Hopkins. “This is a very exciting time for the evergreen Gippstar Awards, we have a very special announcement to make, one that I am sure will put a huge smile on the faces of the Gippsland sporting community” Gippsland Sports Academy Chief Executive Officer, Judi Buhagiar said, “it’s going to be a fabulous evening for all who attend the achievements of all nominees is exceptional”, she added. Junior Gippstar nominees July – Aoife Coughlan, Judo: Aoife won the July Junior Gippstar Award after being winning with the Australian women's judo title. Aofie has been selected to represent Australia in two international events as a result of her title win. Aoife’s impressive win was in the cadet division, for the 15 to 16 age group. Her success follows wins, earlier in the year, in the ACT and Queensland international open events. Aoife has been selected for the Oceania Championships this month and has been preparing at an AIS high performance training camp August – Chase Lurati, Sailing: 17 year old Chase Lurati from Seaview won the August award when he achieved the excellent status of World Champion after winning gold for the Multihull Division of the Youth World Championships held in Istanbul, Turkey. Chase won the National Championships in Adelaide in January 2010 to qualify as an Australian representative in the event. Chase was a finalist for Australian Youth Sailor of the Year along with solo around the world sailor Jessica Watson. September – Mia Ross, Long distance running: Young Longford athlete Mia Ross has been awarded the prestigious Gippstar award for the month of September following a great year. July saw the commencement of the cross country season seeing Mia secure a 3rd in the Victorian State Titles. This great effort was rewarded with selection in the Under 16 Victorian Team and The Australian Cross Country Championship held in Brisbane in August where Mia produced her greatest achievement to date, placing 2nd overall and the Victorian team, of which Mia was a member winning gold and 2 silver National Medals. A member of the Wellington Athletic Club Mia has been a regular member of Athletics Victoria and VIS Talent and Developmental Squad for the last 3 years. October – Jake Dale, Destiny Bradshaw both Karate and Hannah Kaser for Basketball: Such was the standard of junior athletes in October the panel struggled to separate them and decided to split the award three ways. Young karate king and queen Jake Dale and Destiny Bradshaw, both from the Warragul Dojo of Kyokushin Karate School, are the new Australian Kyokushin Karate Champions after competing for the title in Melbourne. While Trafalgar resident, Hannah Kaser also received the October Junior Gippstar Award after coming home from the Youth Olympics with silver in Basketball. Hannah said the proudest moment of her life was when she was standing on the podium knowing that all the hard work and sacrifice over the years had paid off. Hannah now trains three times a week with WNBL Dandenong Rangers and is also a member of the Australian Gems Squad. November – Emma Hair, Equestrian: The junior Gippstar for November went to Emma Hair for her efforts in the National Interschool Equestrian Championships held in Sydney. Emma qualified for the event after an outstanding result in the Victorian Interschool Championships held at Werribee in July. December – Nikki van Dijk, surfing: Surfer Nikki van Dijk was awarded the Junior Gippstar Award for the month of December after being crowned Australian Junior Surfing Champion. An amazing way to finish a year that has seen van Dijk also crowned the Victorian under 18 State Champion. She has competed strongly in New Zealand and around Australia. January – Georgia Tsebelis, swimming: The incredibly talented Georgia Tsebelis, a member of the Traralgon Swim Club and the Gippsland Sports Academy, was the recipient of the January junior Gippstar award after continuing her assault in the pool at Victorian Age Swimming and Country Championships. Georgia absolutely blew her competitors out of the water at the Country Championships when she was awarded the Rob Godfrey Trophy as the most outstanding 13 & Under Swimmer for an historic 3rd consecutive time. Georgia set a new Victorian record in the 200 metre individual medley and brought home 10 medals from 11 events. February – Pat Ryan, athletics: Up and coming South Coast Athletics member, Pat Ryan won the February Gippstar for his achievements in hammer throwing and weightlifting. Pat is now 3 times State age hammer throwing champion and has also achieved a silver and bronze medal at the National titles now seeing him ranked number 2 for his age in Australia. Pat is also ranked number 1 nationally in the 77 kg under 16 division for weightlifting. March – Emma Gunn, women’s football: Emma, from Hazelwood was named the best and fairest player in the Football Champion’s League Under 17 age group. In only her third year of playing the sport Emma was also runner up in the golden boot challenge, seeing her score the second highest number of goals for the season. Emma’s football career continues to head in a positive direction after she was offered a place in the Country Women’s Premier League squad which will see her compete in the 2011 Victorian Women’s Premier League, the highest female football competition in Victoria. April – Kate Sommerfield, swimming: Kate is making her presence felt in the pool. A dominant breaststroker the 17 year old won gold and silver medals at a number of swim meets including the Victorian Country Championships and the Victorian Sprint Championships. Kate is ranked in the top 10 Australian open women’s 100m breaststroke which currently has Olympian Leisel Jones as number 1. Kate competed at the National Age Championships and the National Open Championships qualifying for a final. In addition to her swimming commitments Kate is also managing to complete her VCE at St Margaret’s School Berwick where is she school captain. May – Nick Ellen, Sprint Kart: A member of the Gippsland Go Kart Club, Nick currently holds two Victorian titles in the Victorian Senior National Light and Heavy classes. Not satisfied the young go kart racer recently secured the title of National Champion Senior National Light. June – James Golding, Karting: In his eight year karting career James has accomplished many different title wins, including his most recent and highest achievement so far 2011 Australian Karting Association National Championship title at the competition held in Perth recently. “Going to the biggest race in Australia put a lot of pressure on me as I was expecting a top five finish. Qualifying first put a big smile on my face and helped me through for the rest of the weekend with a 6 second win dominating the junior national light class” the national champion said. James has been asked to travel to England to race for his new kart team and represent them in the British Karting championships. Senior Gippstar nominees: July – Kaila McKnight, middle distance runner: The Stony Creek middle distance runner won the Australian 1500-metre title but with her times just being outside the selectors' "A"-standard were not enough for selectors to include Kaila in the Commonwealth Games team for Delhi immediately, but not about to take no for an answer the aspiring young athlete has undertaken a competition program in Europe achieving her dream of being selected in the Australian Team. August – Cassie Fein, Long distance runner: Cassie placed second out of 80,000 runners in the recent City to Surf Marathon in Sydney. This outstanding achievement follows her successes in recent months, in the 2010 Skins Sandown classic and winning the Victorian 10km Road Race championship. Cassie began running at the tender age of 12 and after some time away from running decided to take it up again. September – Eoin Coughlan, Judo: In his most recent competition, Eoin competed in the Oceania Judo Championships in the Young Men's Division (Under 20 years) securing first place bringing home the gold medal for the Under 81kg division. Eoin, a member of the Traralgon Judo Club, is the current national champion in this division, after his first successful representation for Australia at an International event. He was also been selected for the Junior World Championships being held in Morocco in October 2010. October – Lisa Phillips, Lawn Bowls: After continuing to take the Lawn Bowls circuit by storm Lisa Phillips was named the senior Gippstar award winner for October. Phillips won the highly regarded Queensland Open after a nervous battle against former world champion Carmen Anderson. November – Ashley Delaney, swimming: Multiple Commonwealth Games medal winner and swimmer, Ashley Delaney has been named the senior Gippstar winner for November. The selection panel couldn’t go past his achievements at the games where he came home with three bronze and a gold medal. December – Craig Hollins, windsurfing: Wonthaggi’s Craig Hollins won the December award for his record breaking windsurfer efforts. Craig Hollins has been competing for 24 years and said “The invention of the personal GPS has changed how we compete and what we compete in, with distance sailing only starting for windsurfers in 2004. The record then was 316km set in Europe”. Hollins was the first Australian to break 300km. Dave Morehead from Tasmania set a new world mark of 512km on the 29th of November 2009 only to have it broken by Hollins almost exactly a year to day. January – Dyson Heppel and Jed Lamb, AFL Draftees: Both former Gippsland Power players have been drafted to Essendon and Sydney respectively. Dyson was named the as NAB rising star nominee in round one. February – Michael Ross and Dean McDonald, AFL Draftees: Another two former Gippsland Power players who have been drafted into the AFL and Michael will join Essendon after being picked at number 80 and Dean will join Richmond. March – Lisa Phillips, Lawn bowls: Her most recent and undoubtedly biggest achievement was being crowned Australian Open Singles Champion in February making her the youngest ever bowler to win this prestigious event. Lisa outclassed current U25 World Champion, Sam Shannahan to take the Australian title which was held at the Darebin International Sports Centre. In between Lisa has taken the title in the Victorian U18 Singles Championships, won a bronze medal in the Australian Junior Triples Championship and was runner up in the Australian U18 Singles Championships. April – Leonie Picton, Downhill Mountain Bike: Competing in the National Mountain Bike Series Leonie put everything and more into reaching her goal of being crowned the national title holder. “I made sure I pedalled my guts out, there was nothing left in the tank when I crossed the line,” Leonie said. With her emotions high Leonie added, “I was ready to ball my eyes out with excitement”. Leonie hopes to represent Australia at the Downhill World Championships in Champery, Switzerland. Picton’s family, friends and sponsors have been strong supporters as she has made the journey from novice to National Champion. May – Nick Cooper, Bocce: Morwell Bocce Club member Nick Cooper has been playing bocce for about 10 years and his hard work and dedication seems to be paying off. Nick has travelled to Italy, Nice and Monaco and was a member of the doubles team who made history when he and his partner beat Italy, a result never achieved by an Australian bocce player before. The star performer was recognised for his efforts at the Australian Junior Open Championship, winning all of the Under 23 titles - Singles, Bowl Throw, Rapid Throw and Precision Throw. June – Jeff Bell, Field Archery: Jeff has been involved with the sport on a number of different levels for 25 years only competing on a major level since 1997. In April, this year, Jeff travelled to Wagga Wagga to compete in the World Bowhunter Championships, the first time this event has been in Australia for 16 years. After four days of competing which included four different types of rounds, all over unmarked distances, Jeff came home with the Bronze medal in the Men’s Barebow Division. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Karting features in May and June Gippstars, 22 June 2011Traralgon’s Nick Ellen has been named the Junior Gippstar Award winner for the month of May. A member of the Gippsland Go Kart Club, Nick currently holds two Victorian titles in the Victorian Senior National Light and Heavy classes. Not satisfied the young go kart racer recently secured the title of National Champion Senior National Light. The senior award for the month of May went to Morwell Bocce Club member Nick Cooper. Nick has been playing bocce for about 10 years and his hard work and dedication seems to be paying off. Nick has travelled to Italy, Nice and Monaco and was a member of the doubles team who made history when he and his partner beat Italy, a result never achieved by an Australian bocce player before. Recently Nick was the star performer at the Australian Junior Open Championship, winning all of the Under 23 titles - Singles, Bowl Throw, Rapid Throw and Precision Throw. The junior Gippstar award for the month of June went to James Golding for the sport of Karting. Karting is the first step to V8 supercars and Formula 1. It’s a known fact many drivers racing in these categories started in karting. In his eight year karting career James has accomplished many different title wins, including his most recent and highest achievement so far 2011 Australian Karting Association National Championship title at the competition held in Perth recently. Jeff Bell at Wagga Wagga “Going to the biggest race in Australia put a lot of pressure on me as I was expecting a top five finish. After practicing on the Wednesday and Thursday I got setup and was confident in myself. Qualifying first put a big smile on my face and helped me through for the rest of the weekend with a 6 second win dominating the junior national light class” the national champion said. James has been asked to travel to England to race for his new kart team and represent them in the British Karting championships. Senior Gippstar for the month of June was field archer Jeff Bell. Jeff has been involved with the sport on a number of different levels for 25 years but has only been competing on a major level since 1997. In April, this year, Jeff travelled to Wagga Wagga to compete in the World Bowhunter Championships, the first time this event has been in Australia for 16 years. After four days of competing which included four different types of rounds, all over unmarked distances, Jeff came home with the Bronze medal in the Men’s Barebow Division. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Mountain bike champ wins April’s Gippstar, 21 April 2011Maffra’s Leonie Picton has been awarded the Senior Gippstar Award for the month of April. Leonie took out the elite women’s downhill competition for her achievements in the sport of mountain bike racing. Competing in the National Mountain Bike Series Leonie put everything and more into reaching her goal of being crowned the national title holder. “I made sure I pedalled my guts out, there was nothing left in the tank when I crossed the line,” Leonie said. With her emotions high Leonie added, “I was ready to ball my eyes out with excitement”. Leonie commenced riding downhill about 5 years ago in the Victorian state series and socially with friends. In her first year of racing in the state series, she finished first in the overall placing, an achievement that came as a surprise as she was so new to the sport. Her love for the sport increased with each ride and as her skills improved Leonie was taken by the thought of competition and giving the national series a go. “Racing against the best women in Australia was very scary but I was excited about the challenge. The National series involves a lot of travelling, money, time off work, and a lot of learning. I finished my first national season in 6th place. Three years on, after a lot of hard work and training, I am now the 2011 Australian National Champion and National Series Winner” a proud Leonie Picton explained. Leonie hopes to represent Australia at the Downhill World Championships in Champery, Switzerland. Picton’s family, friends and sponsors have been strong supporters as she has made the journey from novice to National Champion. Junior Gippstar for April was awarded to Ellinbank’s up and coming swimmer Kate Sommerfield. Kate, a member of the Warragul Swimming Club and the Gippsland Sports Academy, is making her presence felt in the pool. A dominant breaststroker the 17 year old won gold and silver medals at a number of swim meets including the Victorian Country Championships and the Victorian Sprint Championships. Kate is ranked in the top 10 Australian open women’s 100m breaststroke which currently has Olympian Leisel Jones as number 1. Kate is currently competing at the National Age Championships and recently competed in the National Open Championships qualifying for a final. In addition to her swimming commitments Kate is also managing to complete her VCE at St Margaret’s School Berwick where is she school captain. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Female sports stars take out March Gippstars, 11 March 2011Newborough’s lawn bowls sensation Lisa Phillips has been named Senior Gippstar winner for the month of March. The past 10 months have been outstanding for the young bowler seeing her take all before her. Lisa won the Queensland Open Singles Championships in July and hasn’t looked back. Her most recent and undoubtedly biggest achievement was being crowned Australian Open Singles Champion in February making her the youngest ever bowler to win this prestigious event. Lisa outclassed current U25 World Champion, Sam Shannahan to take the Australian title which was held at the Darebin International Sports Centre. In between Lisa has taken the title in the Victorian U18 Singles Championships, won a bronze medal in the Australian Junior Triples Championship and was runner up in the Australian U18 Singles Championships. Up and coming female footballer Emma Gunn, was awarded the Junior Gippstar title for her outstanding efforts in the Victorian Champions League. Emma from Hazelwood was named the best and fairest player in the Football Champion’s League Under 17 age group. In only her third year of playing the sport Emma was also runner up in the golden boot challenge, seeing her score the second highest number of goals for the season. The modest young player says she had no idea that she would be in with a chance for the title of best and fairest and was happy to be there purely for the experience. Emma’s football career continues to head in a positive direction after she was offered a place in the Country Women’s Premier League squad which will see her compete in the 2011 Victorian Women’s Premier League, the highest female football competition in Victoria. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
AFL draftees are the big winners, 28 February 2011Gippsland AFL draftees have been recognised for their achievements in football by being awarded the senior Gippstar award for the months of January and February. Dyson Heppell and Jed Lamb received the January award after being drafted to Essendon and Sydney respectively whilst Michael Ross and Dean McDonald were awarded February's senior Gippstar award after being drafted to Essendon and Richmond respectively. In the juniors the incredibly talented Georgia Tsebelis, a member of the Traralgon Swim Club, was the recipient of the January junior Gippstar award after continuing her assault in the pool at Victorian Age Swimming and Country Championships. Georgia absolutely blew her competitors out of the water at the Country Championships and was awarded the Rob Godfrey Trophy as the most outstanding 13 & Under Swimmer for an historic third consecutive time. In the 57 year history of the country championships no other swimmer has achieved this. Whilst competing at the Victorian Age Swimming Championships Georgia set a new Victorian record in the 200 metre individual medley and brought home 10 medals from 11 events. Georgia is now preparing for the Australian Age Swimming Championships being held in Adelaide in April. February's junior Gippstar was awarded to up and coming South Coast Athletics member, Pat Ryan for his achievements in hammer throwing and weightlifting. Pat is now 3 times State age hammer throwing champion and has also achieved a silver and bronze medal at the National titles now seeing him ranked number 2 for his age in Australia. Pat is also ranked number 1 nationally in the 77 kg under 16 division for weightlifting. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Bass Coast athletes scoop December Gippstars, 21 December 2010 Craig Hollins - photo: Andrew Daff Surfer Nikki van Dijk has been awarded the Junior Gippstar Award for the month of December after being crowned Australian Junior Surfing Champion. An amazing way to finish a year that has seen van Dijk also crowned the Victorian under 18 State Champion. She has competed strongly in New Zealand and around Australia. The senior Gippstar award for December went to world record breaking windsurfer Craig Hollins from Wonthaggi. Hollins has been competing for 24 years and said “The invention of the personal GPS has changed how we compete and what we compete in, with distance sailing only starting for windsurfers in 2004. The record then was 316km set in Europe”. Hollins was the first Australian to break 300km. Dave Morehead from Tasmania set a new world mark of 512km on the 29th of November 2009 only to have it broken by Hollins almost exactly a year to day. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Ashley Delaney receives monthly Gippstar Award, 25 November 2010The prestigious Gippstar award for October and November has gone to athletes from an array of sports all achieving outstanding results. Ashley Delaney Multiple Commonwealth Games medal winner and swimmer, Ashley Delaney has been named the senior Gippstar winner for November. The selection panel couldn’t go past his achievements at the games where he came home with three bronze and a gold medal. The junior Gippstar for November went to Emma Hair for her efforts in the National Interschool Equestrian Championships held in Sydney. Emma qualified for the event after an outstanding result in the Victorian Interschool Championships held at Werribee in July. After continuing to take the Lawn Bowls circuit by storm Lisa Phillips was named the senior Gippstar award winner for October. Phillips won the highly regarded Queensland Open after a nervous battle against former world champion Carmen Anderson. Such was the standard of junior athletes in October the panel struggled to separate them and decided to split the award three ways. Young karate king and queen Jake Dale and Destiny Bradshaw, both from the Warragul Dojo of Kyokushin Karate school, are the new Australian Kyokushin Karate Champions after competing for the title in Melbourne. While Trafalgar resident, Hannah Kaser also received the October Junior Gippstar Award after coming home from the Youth Olympics with silver in Basketball. Hannah said the proudest moment of her life was when she was standing on the podium knowing that all the hard work and sacrifice over the years had paid off. Hannah now trains three times a week with WNBL Dandenong Rangers and is also a member of the Australian Gems Squad. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Young stars win September Gippstars, 27 September 2010Young Longford athlete Mia Ross has been awarded the prestigious Gippstar award for the month of September in the junior category. Mia has had a great year beginning in January at the Victorian Country Championships where she placed first in the 800 and 1500 meters. In March, Mia competed in the Australian Youth Track and Field Championships in Sydney after qualifying for both 800 and 3000 meters, after making the final in the 800 Mia chose to make this her focus dropping the 3000, which paid off seeing her placed 4th in a PB time. July saw the commencement of the cross country season seeing Mia secure a 3rd in the Victoria State Titles. This great effort was rewarded with a selection in the Under 16 Victorian Team and The Australian Cross Country Championship held in Brisbane in August where Mia produced her greatest achievement to date, placing 2nd overall with the Victorian team of which Mia was a member won a gold and 2 silver National Medals. A member of the Wellington Athletic Club Mia has been a regular member of Athletics Victoria and VIS Talent and Developmental Squad for the last 3 years. Eoin Coughlan from Traralgon has been awarded the Senior Gippstar Award for September. In his most recent competition, Eoin competed in the Oceania Judo Championships in the Young Men's Division (Under 20 years) and securing first place bringing home the gold medal for the Under 81kg division. Eoin, a member of the Traralgon Judo Club, is the current national champion in this division, after his first successful representation for Australia at an International event. He has also been selected for the Junior World Championships being held in Morocco in October 2010. In his spare time Eoin lines up the for U18 Traralgon Football Club team this year seeing him bring home a medal of a different sort, after being a member of the premiership team. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
International competitors win Gippstar Awards, 23 September 2010Long distance runner, Cassie Fien has been awarded the Senior Gippstar Award for August. Cassie placed second out of 80,000 runners in the recent City to Surf race in Sydney. This achievement follows her recent success in winning the Victorian 10km Road Race championship. ![]() Chase Lurati at the World Youth Championships in Turkey Last year Cassie represented Australia in the World Half Marathon Championships in Bermingham and is now preparing for the 2010 World Half Marathon Championships being held in October, this time in China. The August Junior Gippstar Award goes to 17 year old Chase Lurati from Seaview. Chase won gold in the Multihull Division of the Youth World Sailing Championships, held in Istanbul, Turkey. His win in the National Championships in Adelaide qualified Chase to represent Australia in this event. This latest achievement is not the first international success Chase has had as he won the 2006 Hobie Dragon World Championship and, with his brother Jake, the F18 World Youth Championship the following year. Chase's switch to catamarans resulted in runner-up results at the Australian Championships in 2008 and 2009, ahead of his successes this year. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Australian Champions are latest Gippstar winners, 5 August 2010 ![]() Aoife Coughlan (left) at the Australian Championships and Kaila McKnight (right) at the 2009 World University Games Recently crowned Australian women's judo title holder, Aoife Coughlan, and member of the Yinnar and District Judo Club, is the recipient of the July Junior Gippstar Award. Aoife has been selected to represent Australia in two international events as a result of her title win. Aoife’s impressive win was in the cadet division, for the 15 to 16 age group. Her success follows wins, earlier in the year, in the ACT and Queensland international open events. Aoife has been selected for the Oceania Championships this month and has been preparing at an AIS high performance training camp. Kaila McKnight is the recipient of the July Senior Gippstar Award for her athletic performances. The Stony Creek middle distance runner won the Australian 1500-metre title but with her times just being outside the selectors' "A"-standard were not enough for selectors to include Kaila in the Commonwealth Games team for Delhi immediately, but not about to take no for an answer the aspiring young athlete has undertaken a competition program in Europe in the hope of achieving her dream. After some excellent results Kaila in Europe is now more hopeful of making the team to Delhi. Athletics Australia selectors are expected to announce their final team nominations shortly and Kaila is hopeful that her name will be amongst them. Go to News Summaries Go to top of this page
Gippstars honour highest achievers, 15 July 2010
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Water sports provided the winners of November's Gippstar Awards. The Junior Gippstar Award winner is jet ski racer Joel Barry from Traralgon. Joel recently competed against some of the world's best juniors at the IJSBA 2007 World Finals at Lake Havasu, U.S.A.
Competing in the 13-15 age group, Joel has achieved a number 2 world ranking after top performances in the three championship events. Joel assisted the Australian team to an overall third place out of 30 countries competing.
The Senior Gippstar Award winner is sailor Peter Nikitin from Loch Sport. Peter claimed a gold medal in the Masters Games in Adelaide. Peter sailed his 4.8 metre mosquito catamaran, “Bee Alert” in the 54-64 years age group.
Peter has been sailing for 20 years with the Loch Sport Boat Club, where he is currently commodore.
Other contenders for the Awards were:
Senior: Kathryn Ewels (athletics/orienteering), Chris Hunt
(cycling), Guy Morton (archery), Peter Bennett (archery), Vivienne
Bennett (archery), Merv Grinstead (archery), Paul Rowe (body building),
Daniel Milford (body building), and Ben Geard (swimming).
Junior: Sophie Vickers (tennis), James Ingram Robertson
(netball), Thomas Henry (motocross), Lachlan Findlay (tae kwon do), Adam
Curwood (soccer), Jarrad Sergi(lawn bowls), Tom Davies (soccer), Matt
Gauci (soccer), Luke O'Dea (soccer), Madelaine Richardson (soccer),
Harley Acheson (volleyball), Tom Couling (golf), and Jeremy Meyer
(swimming).
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Shannon McCurley won the Junior Gippstar Award for October. Shannon, a Traralgon cyclist, achieved great results at the National Junior Cycling Championships in Canberra. She won a gold medal in the criterium, and took 3 bronze medals in the U17 time trial, road race and teams pair trials.
Shannon has the distinction of being the second female cyclist this year to win a Gippstar Award, following Peta Mullens' win last month. Both ladies are also from Traralgon.
Nick Hider from Maffra was the Senior Gippstar Award winner. Nick is a Maffra footballer who plays mid-field. After an outstanding season Nick won the 2007 Trood Award Rodda Medal as the best and fairest in the West Gippsland Latrobe Football League.
Other contenders for the Awards were:
Senior: Adrian Burgiel (AFL football), Carmen Weaver (basketball), and Jamie Lee Pearce (basketball).
Junior: Harley Atcheson (volleyball), Geoffrey Drakeford
(golf), Harrison Savage (golf), Olivia O'Connor (equestrian), Dan
McConnell (mountain biking), Kayleen Gannon (gymnastics), Jackson Hall
(AFL football), and Thomas Coulings (golf).
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Michael Green from Leongatha won the Junior Gippstar Award for September. Michael competed in the Australian National Race Walking Championships held in Adelaide where he was a silver medallist in the U/14 boys, 2 km event.
Earlier in the year Michael had placed 2 nd in the both 1500m and 2 km Victorian Walking Championships.
The winner of the Senior Gippstar Award for September 2007 was cyclist Peta Mullens from Traralgon. Peta represented Australia in the national team at the female equivalent of the tour De France (Route de France Feminie).
Peta came third overall in the young rider category and had six top finishes out of 9 stages. In Stage 1 Peta lead out for the eventual stage winner and still able to finish sixth in that stage.
Shortly before this Peta had been an Australian team member in the Oceania Road Cycling Championships in China, where she finished third.
Other contenders for the Awards were
Senior: Ben Geard (swimming), Karen Munro (cycling), Chis Hunt (cycling).
Junior: Michael Ross (football), Harrison Savage
(golf), Lara Trevorrow (hockey), Tiana Kramer (hockey), Matt Dinsmore
(swimming), Jeremy Saunders (swimming), Alex Sheedy (basketball), Jess
Benai (taekwondo), Jackson Benai (taekwondo)
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The winner of the Junior Gippstar Award for August 2007 was gymnast Sam Scammell from Traralgon. Sam was selected in the Australian Level 7 Open Team that competed against New Zealand in the Trans Tasman Challenge, winning gold. Sam also won bronze on floor, 4th on vault, 5th on high bar and 5th place overall in the level seven open section.
The winner of the Senior Gippstar Award was horse trainer Ian Hutchins from Sale. Hutchins took out Maffra's community Sports Club Cup with Sunset Plaza and in doing so, capped off his best season so far. In this racing year, Hutchins has recorded 16 country winners and seven city triumphs, both the most successes he has enjoyed in a single year and the most metropolitan wins. Hutchins has been training at Sale for the past 11 years since the Epsom Training Centre was closed.
Other contenders for the Awards were:
Senior: Clinton Johnson (boxing).
Junior: Madalaine Richardson (soccer), Stephanie
Tanter (soccer), Alexanra Gummer (soccer) Chloe Poole (soocer), Melissa
Backman (gymnastics), Vanessa Bruce ( karate), Thomas Young (AFL).
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The winner of the Junior Gippstar Award for July 2007 was swimmer Jeremy Meyer from Sale. Jeremy recently competed in the Trans Tasman championships, in which Jeremy has been competing against much older swimmers on a national scale. Jeremy took first place in Sydney on 200m breastroke, first in 100m breastroke, and second in 50m breastroke in an incredible time of 29.93sec. Jeremy is a member of the Gippsland Sports Academy.
The winner of the Senior Gippstar Award was boxer, Will Tomlinson, from Bairnsdale . Will competes in the 63kg Light Welter Weight division, and is the current Victorian Champion, Australian Champion, Oceania Champion and will be Australia's representative in the World Championships in the USA.
Other contenders for the Awards were:
Senior: Sandra Timmer-Arends (athletics), Clinton Johnson (boxing).
Junior: Dale Simpson (baseball), Sophie Bechaz
(water skiing), Chelsea Watson (archery), Brigid Davis (gymnastics),
Emily Robinson (soccer), Shanii Hotchkins (soccer).
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The 47th annual Gippstar Awards annual presentations were made last night at a function at the Waratah Restaurant Morwell.
Following the presentation of the monthly award winners, the
Junior Gippstar of the Year Award was presented to brothers Jake and
Chase Lurati , students at Marist Sion College, Warragul. The brothers
competed in Queensland in early 2007 and won the Combined Youth World
Championship. They competed against a fleet of 77 yachts, and competed
in 15 races over 5 days. Jake has only been skippering their Hobie Tiger
Catamaran since 2006. Chase accepted the award on behalf of his brother
who was unable to attend due to work commitments.
Winner of the Gippstar of the Year award was Wy Yung's Hamish Nelson. 18 year old Hamish is the current Australian U20 Decathlon Champion, and holds the record for the Victorian U20 Decathlon.
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Hamish will be representing Australia at the Melanesian Games
in August 2007, after attending the Australian Combined events
Development Camp in May. Hamish is a member of the Gippsland Sports
Academy Athletics Squad, and has been a consistent achiever through his
junior years, and now in is first senior year of competition. Hamish's
award was accepted by his brother Zachariah, an accomplished athlete in
his own right.
The Gippstar Team of the Year Award was presented to the St. Paul's Anglican Grammar School Aerobic Program, in recognition of their success at state and national level over the last 4 years. The students, parents and teachers were thrilled to receive the award as recognition for many years of achieving both state and national titles.
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The Gippstar Awards will now be managed by the Gippsland Sports Academy, following a handing-over ceremony at the Awards.
With the continued support of Southern Cross Ten, the Gippsland Sports Academy will provide administrative support for the Awards. Local government authorities have also agreed to support the awards to ensure their future.
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