The outstanding efforts of a number of individuals, clubs and teams were celebrated at the UniSA Sport Awards on Tuesday 27th November.
UniSA’s Ultimate Club was a big winner at the event held at Adelaide Oval, winning the Club of the Year Award and their men’s team taking out Team of the Year after being undefeated premiers in State League Division One.
President of the Club, Sean Davis, won the Club Administrator of the Year in addition to a Blues Award – after representing Australia in Ultimate.
Another Ultimate Club committee member, Alana Colbert, won a Half Blues Award for achieving sporting success at state level, while Annalee Alexander won a Club Colours Award for her contributions to the Ultimate Club.
Cyclists also faired well, with current Men’s Sprint World Champion and Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Matthew Glaetzer winning the Male Athlete of the Year for the second year running.
Fellow track cyclist Caitlin Ward won the Female Athlete of the Year after winning a number of international medals in the velodrome and securing an AIS scholarship to be a permanent member of the Australian Cycling Team.
Following her role as guest speaker at the event and talking the crowd through the ‘three P’s’ that guide her – passion, people and play – reigning Adelaide Crows AFLW Club Champion Chelsea Randall won the Georgie Rowe Outstanding Achievement Award.
The UniSA Sport Georgie Rowe Outstanding Achievement Award recognises a UniSA student who demonstrates outstanding achievement as a player, administrator or volunteer and celebrates Georgie’s sporting achievements in perpetuity.
Douglas Howard, a member of the UniSA Sport Advisory Group, was awarded the Volunteer of the Year for his dedication to several UniSA Sport clubs and events, in addition to his Presidency role at the UniSA Tennis Club.
Those who achieved outstanding success while playing at both international and university level earned Blues Awards, including Caitlin Adams, Alice Gregory, Lauren Kildare and Jordan Wilson.
Dana Johnston, Sam Russell, Lachlan Eichner, Ashley Knights, Lalita Tembang, Tayla Philis, Calern Adams, Taliah Hillier and Ally Wood received Half Blues Awards for achieving outstanding sporting success at a state or national university representative level whilst also contributing to University sport.
Acknowledged for significant contributions to the development of University club sport over a period of time, Prashan Ediriweera, Luke Oswald, Claire McDonald, Annalee Alexander, Janette Galmesa, Jessica Matsumoto-Noack and Hayami Aboutaleb were presented with Club Colours Awards.
After winning the 2018 VC Cup, the UniSA School of Health Sciences received their trophy on stage, in front of 135 attendees.
Outgoing UniSA Sport Advisory Group members Helen Stone and Shane Farley were recognised for their efforts, while it was announced that UniSport Nationals Mixed Netball Team Manager Matthew Sheldon was the UniSport Australia 2018 Defence Force Recruiting Leadership Award winner for the southern region.
Team UniSA’s UniSport Nationals Team Managers and Coaches were also recognised for their work this year.
Overall it was a great night celebrating the successes and contributions of the UniSA Sport community. Stay tuned to UniSA Sport’s website and socials in the New Year as we look forward to a bigger and better 2019!