A local tumbler that’s gone viral on social media and a teenage sharpshooter were the big winners at the 2024 Penrith Valley Sports Foundation Awards.
Hundreds of people turned out for this year’s ceremony, which was held last Friday night at Penrith Panthers Leagues Club.
While a dozen awards were dished out overall, all eyes were on the two major category winners – Senior Sports Star of the Year and Junior Sports Star of the Year.
Scoring the coveted Senior Sports Star of the Year was tumbling gymnast Ethan McGuinness.
The Glenmore Park resident has been representing Australia for the past 13 years and, during that time, has never missed a final – medalling on multiple occasions.
McGuinness’ claim to fame is being the World Difficulty Record holder, having completed the hardest routine in the sport’s history.
The evening’s other big winner was archer Emily Griffiths, who was named the Junior Sports Star of the Year for her stunning season with the bow and arrow. A popular member of Penrith City Archers, the 14-year-old has only been competing since 2022 and was selected to represent Australia for the first time last year.
Earlier this year, Emily enjoyed her best results to-date, taking home a whopping five gold medals at the Archery Australia National Youth Championships in Canberra.
Taking out the Sports Administration Award was the hardworking Shane Northam from the Penrith Rovers Football Club.
In addition to his role as President, Northam also serves as Registrar, Treasurer and coordinates sponsorship, marketing and merchandise at the Rovers.
For her tireless efforts in charge of the Blaxland Rovers Hockey Club, Louise Regent took home the Volunteer Award.
Regent joined the Rovers in 1999 and soon turned her energies to volunteering. Regent has served as President, Vice President and is also a keen photographer.
She even finds herself helping out in the Nepean Hockey canteen some weekends.
Enjoying a wonderful season on the sideline, Penrith Touch Football’s Paul Krahe was named the winner of the Coach Award for 2024.
Along with being the current NSW Origin coach, Krahe recently returned from the Touch World Cup in England where he coached the Australian O/45’s team to Gold.
A technical official in swimming since 2001, Dave Cooper was bestowed the Referee/Umpire Award.
Cooper has officiated at many State, National and International events, including the recent 2024 Swimming Australia Paris Olympic Selection Trials in Queensland.
One of Penrith’s most inspirational young athletes, swimmer and archer Matilda Mobbs was crowned the All Abilities Award winner.
On top of her many records and medals in the pool, Mobbs competed at the National Youth Archery Championships in March where she won three Gold medals and set three National records in the female Para youth division.
Touch football veteran of 30 years, David Cheung was more than deserving as the recipient of the Masters Athlete Award.
During his three decades with Penrith Touch, Cheung has represented the Nepean region, NSW and Australia in various divisions. A two-time Hall of Famer, Cheung is the first player to surpass 100 tries for his state and currently ranks fifth in all-time scorers for Australia.
Proving she has a huge future ahead of her in cycling is Rising Star Award winner Anna Dubier.
Over the past year, Dubier has shown off her talents both in Australia and abroad, finishing on the podium on several occasions. Last April, she was selected in the Australian Junior Road Cycling Team to compete in Europe.
Two brilliant sides took out the Team of the Year Awards, with the Pendragons Senior A Team winning Female Team of the Year after being awarded the Dragon Boat NSW Senior A Women’s Perpetual Trophy for the 2023/24 season, while the Penrith City Men’s Open Softball Team was named Male Team of the Year for winning the State Championship Final.
Last but not least, local legends Sue and John Howard were named joint winners of the prestigious Jim Anderson Memorial Award for dedicating a whopping 35 years to Touch Football and OzTag in the Penrith area.
After more than three decades at The Kingsway in St Marys, the wonderful couple called it a day earlier this year and are now enjoying retirement.
Nathan Taylor
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender's Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.