Presented by the State Government of Victoria and Vicsport on Wednesday 25 August, 2021 at Marvel Stadium, the Victorian Sport Awards will acknowledge the fun, inclusive and innovative activities that individuals and clubs undertook during lockdown to remain connected with their clubs and community while also celebrating the state’s return to the playing field.
Finalists in the seven nominated categories of the 2020 Victorian Sport Awards are as follows:
Administrator of the Year – Eunice Gill Award
- Sarah Loh – South Metro Junior Football League
- Steven Gatt – Netball Victoria
- Lisa Hasker – Vicsport
- Ayden Shaw – Disability Sport & Recreation
Local Government Initiative of the Year
- Get Active! At Home Series – Maribyrnong City Council
- #CaseyGirlsCan Program – City of Casey
- Mental Health in Sports Clubs Program – Cardinia Shire Council
- Sport and Physical Activity Strategy – City of Casey
Active Recreation Initiative of the Year
- ‘The Cage’ – McKinnon Basketball Stadium
- Club Race Series – Triathlon Victoria
- FitSkills – LaTrobe University
- I Speak Football – City in the Community
Sport Initiative of the Year (Inaugural Award)
- North West Travelling Competition – Softball Victoria
- The Inaugural Omnium Regatta – Rowing Victoria
- Maplink and DIY Orienteering – Dandenong Ranges Orienteering Club/Orienteering Victoria
- Club Race Series – Triathlon Victoria
Outstanding Media Coverage of Sport Award
- Liam Murphy – Calisthenics Victoria
- Sean Whipp and Tim Crosbie – Athletics Victoria
- Puma – Melbourne Vixens/Netball Victoria
- Raff Agostino – School Sport Victoria
Volunteer of the Year
- Marg Jones – Pakenham Lions Netball Club
- Richard Lawysz – Athletics Victoria
- Heather Webb – Waverley Softball Association
- Joseph Joyce – Rowing Victoria
Peter Norman Inclusion Award
- Elizabeth Gosper – Inclusive Sports Training
- Life Saving Victoria
- Stella Lesic – Bushrangers Sporting Alliance
- Yvonne Snell and Sarah Wheadon – Special Olympics Australia
Entrants in the Awards are nominated by friends, family, teammates, club members or their local community in recognition of their outstanding contribution to sport and active recreation.
This year, the inaugural Sports Accounting Australia Sport Initiative of the Year Award will be presented. This award recognises the work of individuals, clubs, teams, groups or organisations who have succeeded in enabling more people to participate in sport activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vicsport Chairman Ron Gauci says: “Vicsport is delighted to recognise and celebrate the wonderful achievements of the sport and recreation community after our industry responded so well to many new challenges.
“The calibre of nominations in 2020 and the subsequent finalists chosen are an indication of the strength and resilience of our industry in Victoria who battled a year like no other while finding innovative ways to stay connected.
The process of judging the winners is a challenging but rewarding one and we now look forward to honouring the success of our finalists at the 2020 Victorian Sport Awards in June.”
The quality and breadth of the nominations received for the Victorian Sport Awards makes selecting the finalists a difficult endeavour.
33 highly qualified Victorian sports people, comprising of Olympians, former athletes and Victorian sport administrators, were invited to constitute the judging panels charged with picking the finalists across the seven categories.
Judges included four-time Olympian Steve Moneghetti AM OLY and 12-time national hurdles champion Kyle Vander Kuyp OLY as well as CEO’s from the Victorian Institute of Sport (Anne Marie Harrison), Baseball Victoria (Kristie Middleton), School Sport Victoria (Rayoni Nelson), OneAthletics (Kate Palmer) and Bowls Victoria (Tony Sherwill).
For more information about the 2020 Victorian Sport Awards