Emma Husar (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Friday I had the pleasure of attending the 2018 annual Sports Foundation awards dinner, hosted by the Penrith Valley Sports Foundation. It was a fantastic celebration of local athletes that have excelled in their chosen sport, together with the announcement of the senior and junior sportspeople of the year. Additionally, the Penrith Valley Sports Foundation recognised the individuals, the officials and volunteers in our local sporting scene.

Australian sport is where I believe our Lindsay values really do shine, through values like teamwork, loyalty and volunteerism. I'd like to acknowledge Rodney Watson, the President of the Penrith Valley Sports Foundation, for his continued commitment to support and foster local sporting champions and particularly for his contributions to netball. I would like to congratulate all of the award recipients and nominees. The Volunteer Award went to Petrina Pula for her contribution to rugby. The Referee/Umpire of the Year was Grant Atkins from the rugby league fraternity, and also a former schoolteacher of mine. Coach of the Year went to Chris Coleman for softball. Junior Sportsperson of the Year was David Quinn for ice hockey. Senior Sportsperson of the Year was Jacob Donaldson for fast pitch softball—I didn't even know there was such a thing. The Masters Athlete of the Year was Linda Hernando for her long-distance running. She has some incredible statistics. I'd be happy just to run to the corner! The Rising Star of the Year Award went to Ebony McLean and Matthew Alcock for aerobatic gymnastics; they were the joint winners and partners in the competition. The Team of the Year Award went to the Panthers under-18 SG Ball Rugby League team. The Jim Anderson Memorial Award, named for a former Labor state member, went to Bill Borg for his service to Rugby League, and the Administrator of the Year Award went to Josh Gately from the baseball community, who gave an outstanding speech with great humility in accepting the award.

These award recipients have spent long days and nights training and show great skill in their chosen sports. They've demonstrated strength and determination, and I look forward to seeing them continue to kick goals and achieve amazing things as representatives in my community. I'd also like to take a moment to properly recognise the families and friends of these recipients, who support their loved ones in their pursuit of realising their sporting goals. As a proud sports mum, I understand how cold Wednesday night soccer practices can be, and I want to recognise all those people that sit through those cold nights that go into fostering local sports talent.

I'd also like to give a special mention to Mikayla Kumar, who took out the All Abilities Award for her contribution to goalball, a blind sport. She participates in it at a very high level, and I'm sure we'll see her go on to compete at an even higher level. I'd like to thank the sponsors, the volunteer board and all those who support the ongoing work of the foundation. It is the tireless work of these individuals that really supports this organisation in its continued efforts to support my community of Lindsay.