As a community, we take immense pride in celebrating the remarkable achievements of our young people.
Recently, I had the honour of hosting an awards ceremony recognising the exceptional accomplishments of our Local Sporting Champions and Local Para Champions, who have excelled in their sports at state, national, and international competitions.
Our local champions were also able to hear from our local Olympian and world renowned softballer, Ellen Roberts, who provided an insight into their future trajectory as an athlete based off her own local experience and left some inspiring words of advice to ensure these local champions continue to excel into the future.
These inspiring young individuals include:
Local Sporting Champions:
- Lachlan Donoghue and Marcus Morsink who competed at the 2025 Football Australia National Futsal Championships
- Makenzi Gartner who swam at the 2025 Australian Age Swimming Championships
- Vera Gerasimova who swam at the 2025 Synchronised Swimming Australian National Championships
- Hannah Lemus Gonetskaya who competed at the 2024 Australian Figure Skating Championship
- Hayley Paterson who competed in the 2025 Australian Underwater Hockey Championships
- Junqi Zheng and Thomas Abbott who swam in the 2025 Australian Open Water Championships
- Gary Zhu who competed in the 2025 Musto Australian Optimist Championship
- Hannah Croker, Travis Leadbeatter and Kamran Norgard, who competed in the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships
- Evie Moore-Mulcahy who competed I the Australian Track and Field Championships
- Jamie Lau who competed in the U16 Girls National Softball Championships
- Mason Li who competed in the 78th Australian Dancesport Championship
Local Para Champions:
- Tallow Ra who will compete in the 2025 Junior Wheelchair National Championships
- Maddison Hinds who swam in the 2025 Para Swimming World Series Australia and the Swimming Australia Open and Para National Championships 2025.
Their dedication, perseverance, and remarkable talent set a powerful example for all young people in our community. Encouraging and supporting the involvement of young people in sports is vital—not just for their individual development but also for promoting teamwork, discipline, and overall community wellbeing.
Congratulations again to all recipients— your dedication, perseverance, and remarkable talent inspire our community, and highlight the importance of supporting youth sports to keep our community spirit strong.
