2024/2025 GIPPSTAR ANNUAL AWARDS
The 65th annual Gippstar Awards were hosted on Thursday, August 14th, at the Moe RSL. 120 guests gathered, representing sportspeople, teams, and clubs from across Gippsland, and enjoyed a sit-down meal. Judi Buhagiar, Netball Victoria Eastern Region Manager, served as the evening’s MC, while several dignitaries from Gippsland Local Government Authorities presented awards.
With a long and illustrious history, the Gippstar Awards honour exceptional athletic accomplishments by gifted Gippslanders in a wide range of sports. This year, individual athletes as well as teams and clubs represented the following sports: polocrosse, bocce, taekwondo, IPSC pistol shooting, Brazilian jiu jitsu, table tennis, swimming, clay target shooting, netball, hockey, athletics, AFL, mountain biking, lawn bowls, cricket, cross country, modern pentathlon/tetrathlon, surf lifesaving beach sprint & flags, golf-croquet, showjumping, basketball, football, and tennis. These highly regarded Gippstar Awards aim to provide an important opportunity to recognise and acknowledge, each year, the tremendous efforts and results achieved by so many talented sporting Gippslanders.
The 26 successful nominees for the monthly awards between July 2024 and June 2025 received trophies in both the Open and Junior categories.
Kody Said of Traralgon won the Annual Gippstar Overall Junior Award for his swimming performance.
Kody has had an outstanding 2024-2025 swimming season, winning multiple state and national gold, breaking various Gippsland open men’s records, and representing Victoria at the highest levels. Kody won three gold medals (400m, 800m, 1500m freestyle) and three silvers in the 2024 Victorian Age Short Course Championships, breaking men’s Gippsland records in the 800m and 1500m freestyle by 30-39 seconds despite being only 14 years old. He also succeeded at the Victorian Country Short Course Championships, capturing three gold medals and being selected for the Victorian Pathways State Marlin Squad. In long-course competition, he dominated the 2024 State Championships, winning gold in the 400m, 800m, and 1500m freestyle, breaking new records. At the 2025 Country Championships, he won gold in the 400m and 800m freestyle, as well as the relay. Kody performed solidly in Age Nationals (Brisbane 2025), finishing 11th in the 1500m freestyle with a 14-second personal best, and was nominated for (and won) the Gippsland Sports Academy’s Tim Forsyth Outstanding Achievement Award. He also won the Jeremy Saunders Trophy, which recognizes the best senior performance outside of Gippsland. Kody has been selected for Team Victoria again, and he will compete in 8 individual and 4 relay events in Brisbane, cementing his status as one of Australia’s most promising young distance swimmers.
Ashley Nicholes of Traralgon won the overall Annual Gippstar Overall Open Award for Swimming. Ash is undoubtedly one of Gippsland’s top swimmers, and a Gippsland Sports Academy athlete for the past four years, now competes in masters swimming. Ash has been an outstanding Captain of the Traralgon Swimming Club, and he coaches squads in the club and teaches Learn to Swim at Ford Swim Centre. In March 2025, he won 10 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and broke two Gippsland records. In May 2025, he was named Premier Swimmer of the Year at TSC for accumulating the most points during the season. Ash has 88 Gippsland records, including long and short courses, as well as four Country Victorian records. Ash was nominated for the Tri State Team to compete against Western Australia and two New Zealand teams in July. With an amazingly dominant performance at the State Championships in the 18-24 age bracket, Ash earned 12 gold medals and broke 3 Australian and 7 Victorian records as a Masters Swimmer for the Traralgon Masters team. At the Australian Age Swimming Championships, Ash ranked 7th in the 18 years 50m freestyle. Ash swam 2pbs to keep his position as 7th, with .6 of a second between 1st and 16th. He also competed for Victoria in the State freestyle relay.
Each year Gippstar has four additional awards:
- Gippstar Team of the Year:
Given to a Gippsland Team based on their performance over the Gippstar year. This year we have two sections to this category, and the winners are:
Junior Team of the Year: Lindenow PS Lawn Bowls Team A team of Grade 5/6 kids won the School Sports Victoria State Championship Lawn Bowls competition. This includes winning a district, divisional, and regional tournament to get to the State Finals. The team was undefeated in all tournaments, totalling more than 16 matches. It was an incredible success for a school with only 135 pupils competing against schools with over 1000 children from inner city Melbourne and throughout Victoria. The team of eight children remained committed for the entire year, practicing at lunchtimes at school and supporting one another throughout, including training after school. They travelled far and wide to competitions staying overnight to continue winning so far away from home, adding another layer of adversity to their triumph.
Open Team of the Year: Traralgon Masters Swimming Team Traralgon Masters won the Team Trophy against all clubs, Metro and Country. No Country Club has ever won a Masters points score trophy in the history of Masters Swimming in Victoria or Australia for over 50 years. 40 swimmers competed, the most among all competing clubs. Swimmers won 67 golds, 45 silvers, and 37 bronzes, setting 6 Australian and 14 Victorian records. Relays won 9 gold, 8 silver, and 1 bronze medals, setting three Australian and four Victorian records. They started planning for this meet a year ago, after finishing fifth at the previous one. Overall, a 12-month project that paid off with a resounding win.
- Gippstar Club of the Year:
Given to a Gippsland club based on their club achievements over the Gippstar year.
This was awarded to Fish Creek Football Netball Club FCFNC was the subject of an arson attack in November 2023, which burned their club memorabilia, change rooms, social club rooms, and everything else inside those rooms. They have worked tirelessly to keep teams on the courts and football fields without their own rooms, while also raising funds, seeking for grants, and collaborating with all levels of government to try to rebuild. They have faced difficulty but have continued to overcome them and run a thriving club, winning their 37th Senior Premiership last year and remain favourites for another three-peat. The club has been juggling temporary rooms, which has hampered their ability to organize fundraising parties, but with such a passionate following and community behind them, they hope to see both on and off the field success by the end of the year, with news of both premierships and approvals to re-build. This club is the definition of a “Club of the Year.”
- Gippstar Special Achiever Award:
This is given in recognition of outstanding service to sport over a significant period of years.
This year we have two worthy award winners:
Jane Mitchell from Traralgon Swimming Club for her service as administrator. Jane was the President of TSC from 1997-2024 and is the current Vice President. She has been the Secretary of Gippsland Swimming from 2009. Jane has been awarded Administrator of the Year by Swimming Victoria twice. Jane joined the club in 1991 and has been a dedicated member for almost 35 years. During her management, the Club has consistently finished in the top ten at State Championships for almost 25 years, winning 21 Country Championship titles and 26 Gippsland titles in a row. She has coached with the club for almost a decade and swam for the club for many years, now a member of the Traralgon Masters, who recently won the Team Trophy at the Victorian Short Course Championship. Her four children swim with the club, three of whom were national-qualified swimmers. Jane is a deserving recipient of the Special Achiever award for her tireless efforts to improve swimming in Gippsland.
Wayne Seear from Warragul Little Athletics Club for his service as coach. Wayne is a lifetime member of WLAC (since 2021), having served as an athlete, President, and committee member for more than 30 years. He provides free coaching to club athletes and has helped many of them succeed, including two who won gold medals in state and national championships. Wayne is still contributing to the club with the incredible work he does with athletes each week, both during the week and on Saturday mornings. From athletes achieving success at a national level, to athletes breaking long standing centre records, to athletes consistently beating their own PB’s, Wayne has an uncanny knack to get the best out of each athlete that he assists in their discipline and each one of them grow a new level of enthusiasm and enjoyment for their events which is vastly improving their performances and confidence. Wayne is a very worthy recipient of the Special Achiever Award.
- Gippstar Gippsland Champion:
To receive this award the athlete must have commenced their sporting career with a Gippsland Club and/or Association and continued to achieve in their sport outside of the Gippsland area, whilst maintaining family connections in Gippsland.
This year’s recipient was Eleanor Patterson of Leongatha for her sport of High Jump. Eleanor was unable to attend the awards as she is currently in Italy training & competing in the European athletics summer season in preparation for the 2025 World Championships in September to be held in Tokyo. Proud Mum & Dad Helen & Mark Patterson accepted the award on her behalf. They spoke of how they continue to be proud of Eleanor and her achievements. Eleanor started high jumping at the age of eight after trying several sports and with the local pool closing, Little Athletics seemed to be her sport. Her primary school teacher noted her passion for athletics and encouraged her. Growing up in the South Gippsland Shire town of Leongatha, with only a grass athletics track to train on (the closest synthetic facility was an hour away) another “country” athlete (London Olympian Kaila McKnight from Foster) was an inspiration for Eleanor. At 14, she recorded a personal best of 1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) and finished second in the 2011 national junior (under 20) championships. In November of the following year, she improved to 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in) and returned to win that title. The Australian high jumper retired from the sport in 2018 at the age of 22 but came back after over a year away, with renewed confidence and motivation. Eleanor is a World Champion (2022), World Championships silver medallist, Olympic Bronze medallist (2024), Commonwealth Games Gold medallist (2014), 2 x World Indoor Championships silver medallist. Eleanor is currently ranked #3 in the world at high jump, with a personal best of 2.02 metres (2022).
Congratulations to all the award recipients.
July and August nominations for Gippstar are now open and will close on the 8th of September 2025. If you would like to recognise the sporting achievements of a Gippsland athlete, coach, administrator or official (amateur of professional), nomination forms can be downloaded from Gippsland Sports Academy webpage: https://www.sportgippsland.org.au/gippstar-award-nomination-forms/
