Sports Minister praises volunteers
“Australians love their sport but without the contribution of volunteers it just simply wouldn’t happen,” Mr Annesley said.
“From coaches to committee members, referees to fundraisers, volunteers make up around 80% of all non-playing roles in the industry.
“In fact sport volunteers make up nearly 30% of all volunteers in NSW.
“I’m very passionate about getting more people involved in physical activity and volunteers are essential in making sport and recreational activity as accessible as possible,” Mr Annesley said.
Minister Annesley will be a guest presenter at the NSW Sports Federation 2013 Community Sports Awards tonight at Parliament House. AFL NSW/ACT will be in attendance to support their nominees, who are finalists in eight of the ten categories.
“The awards recognise individuals and organisations across ten categories demonstrating the commitment and passion volunteers bring to sport in NSW,” Mr Annesley said.
“On behalf of the Government and the people of NSW I congratulate and thank every sports volunteer for the invaluable contribution they make to their local community,” Mr Annesley concluded.
AFL NSW/ACT State Operations Manager Joseph La Posta said the volunteers of the AFL community were vital to the health of Australian Rules in New South Wales, and their recognition was well-deserved.
“Tonight promises to be a fantastic night and a great way for the NSW sporting industry to recognise its volunteers. It is fantastic to have AFL representatives as finalists in 8 of the 10 awards categories,” he said
“We wish all of our nominated finalists the very best of luck tonight.”
Of the individuals nominated are Matt Hard and Max Enders who are both up for coaching awards, Mick Barnes who has been nominated in the Administrator category, Judy Mustard who is a finalist for the Volunteer Support award, and Jim Woodlock who has been recognised for his distinguished long service.
Also nominated in the Community/Regional Media category is The Daily Advertiser, the key daily newspaper serving Wagga Wagga and the surrounding districts.
A proud supporter of Australian Football, this regional Fairfax publication has a readership of over 34,000.
Selected as a finalist for the Community/Regional Event award, the Bluebell Cup is an Australian Football and netball competition run to raise awareness and funds for mental health community support group Bluebell Riverina.
Junior AFL club, the Willoughby Wildcats, have also been recognised for their efforts with their nomination in the Volunteer Management category.
Established in 1984, the Willoughby Junior Football Club is run by a large base of dedicated volunteers and in 2011 Wildcat volunteer Andrew Kitchen was announced as the AFL Auskick Volunteer of the Year.
The 2013 Community Sports Award Categories are:
· Sports Official
· Young Sports Official
· Coach
· Young Coach
· Sports Administrator
· Volunteer Support
· Volunteer Management
· Community/Regional Event
· Community/Regional Media
· Distinguished Long Service.
