Commander Centre North Queensland Sportstar Awards in Normanton
On a night that has been described as simply fantastic, the winners of the Commander Centre North Queensland Sportstar Awards were honoured on Saturday 4 April in front of a large and appreciative audience at the historic Burns Philp building in Normanton. Nobody would have thought about holding a Sportstar Awards evening in this “tin shed” when the building was constructed in the late 1800’s. Similarly the impressive airconditioning unit that was hired for the evening was unthinkable all those years ago!
The North Queensland Sports Foundation was once again proud to acknowledge its many talented sportsmen and sportswomen, from a very strong and impressive list of 35 nominees from all over North Queensland. Hosted by the Carpentaria Shire Council, the audience enjoyed the atmosphere generated by the uniqueness of the occasion. After the difficulties that were encountered due to the recent floods in the region, the people of the Gulf of Carpentaria rose to the occasion and presented a simply superb night, of “Sportstars in the Outback”. Coordinator for the night, Anne Pleash ensured that the attention to detail was impeccable and was the deserved recipient of very appreciative comments and gratitude.
The special guest for the evening, Rugby League legend, David Peachey, no stranger to the Gulf region, gave a passionate insight to his life as a player with the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Cronulla Sharks. and his work in the community with the David Peachey Foundation in his insightful interview with compere, Trevor Roberts from WIN Television. At the end of the Awards section of the evening, the crowd partied on thanks to entertainment from Troy Cassar Daley and his band.
Representing Commander Centre was Townsville’s Josh Rushton, who presented the trophies and the cheques to the various winners and runners up.
The results of the Commander Centre North Queensland Sportstar Awards:
Senior Winner Ashleigh Stebbeings Mackay
Senior Runner Up (tie) Penny Palfrey Townsville
Senior Runner Up (tie) Grant Patterson Cairns
Junior Winner Corey Jensen Whitsunday
Junior Runner Up Daijah Martens Cairns
Winner of the Services to NQ Sport Daren Wolfe Townsville
Runner up, Services to NQ Sport Liz Fleischfresser Cairns
Winner of the Senior Award was Mackay’s Ashleigh Stebbeings who is the world champion in barefoot waterskiing. She received a cheque for $2000 from Commander Centre’s Josh Rushton. The judges found it very difficult to decide the runner up in the senior category, and the result was a tie, between last year’s winner Penny Palfrey from Townsville and Grant Patterson from Cairns, both receiving $500. Both are swimmers, with Penny excelling in long distance swimming, and Grant a wonderful example of how to achieve in paralympic swimming.
The Winner of the Junior Award, who received $1000, was Whitsunday athlete Corey Jensen who has a great future in the sport, and a name to look out for. Runner up in the Junior category and receiving $500 was fellow athlete, Daijah Martens from Cairns.
A very popular winner of the Alan Ticehurst Memorial Award for Service to North Queensland Sport was Daren Wolfe representing the Townsville City. Daren has worked in a voluntary capacity for over twenty years in the sport of gymnastics, and has been an official at Commonwealth and Olympic Games. Daren who couldn’t attend the evening due to gymnastics commitments was still there on the night due to a previously recorded interview by WIN television and will subsequently receive a voucher for $400 from Sportscene in Townsville.
The Runner up in the Services to NQ Sport was Liz Fleischfresser from Cairns who has worked hard over many years in the sport of gymnastics.
Following another very successful Awards evening, the Carpentaria Shire Council is to be congratulated for the organisation of a very high standard evening.
The North Queensland Sports Foundation looks forward to hosting the next Commander Centre North Queensland Sportstar Awards in Ayr on 13 March 2010.
For further information: Phone Stuart Gibson (Manager) on 0419 681 053
