2012 ACT Sporstar of the Year Winners

SUSAN POWELL WINS SECOND SUCCESSIVE AWARD

For the second successive year, cyclist Susan Powell has won the Tradies ACT Sportstar of the Year. Powell fought off strong competition to claim the award for 2012, including NBA star Patty Mills, Kookaburra Glen Turner and BMX champion Caroline Buchanan.

She enjoyed another stellar year on the bike, being crowned a World Champion in 2011 and then winning a gold and silver medal at the 2012 London Paralympic Games. In the C4 Pursuit, Susan broke the World Record.

Sue started competitive cycling at age 39 and has gone on to dominate the C4 classification of para-cycling internationally.

The inaugural ACT Sports Hero was awarded by Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith to Wests Cricket Club member Steve Luby. Steve’s passion for cricket and the supportive environment of his cricket club has helped him cope with long-term chronic depression. This challenge made his achievement of taking all 10 wickets in an innings, including a hat trick, even the more remarkable.

Other award winners included:

Volunteer of the Year: Michael Pini [Rugby Union]

Michael (Mick) has made an enormous contribution to junior rugby over 19 years at state, school and club levels. He currently fills the key post of Secretary for ACTJRU and also holds the Presidential post with St Edmunds College Rugby Club. Mick is considered the face of junior rugby in the Territory and has filled just about every position imaginable. Mick was recognised as the 2012 ARU National Volunteer of the Year at the John Eales Medal in Sydney.

Official of the Year: Glen Munday [Hockey]

Glen has made a long and important contribution to officiating hockey in the ACT, umpiring at representative level for over ten years. Starting at underage tournaments, Glen quickly began umpiring first grade hockey in the ACT and was rewarded for his good work with an opportunity to officiate international practice matches in 2007. In 2012, Glen was appointed to the Men’s AHL umpire panel and was awarded the 3 v 4 final. He was named the HACT Umpire of the Year in both 2011 and 2012.

Community Award: Scott Ballard and Terry McInnes [Lawn Bowls]

After a first-round scare, Scott Ballard and Terry McInnes successful defended their 2011 title to win back to back the 2012 ACT Champion of Champions Pairs. After winning his Club event, Scott also competed in the ACT Champion of Champions Singles Event and proceeded to defeat David Templeton in the final to add the Singles title to his Pairs victory.

AIS Sportstar of the Year: Alicia Coutts [Swimming]

At the 2012 London Olympic Games, in the first three days of competition, Alicia Coutts had won Gold, Silver and Bronze medals. The quartet of Alicia Coutts, Cate Campbell, Brittany Elmslie and Melanie Schlanger have won Australia’s first gold of the 2012 London Olympic Games with a stunning performance in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay. On the second night she was back on the dais after storming home over the last lap to win bronze in the 100m butterfly. Alicia claimed her third medal of the Games by winning silver in the 200m individual medley and in the process become just the seventh Australian to win a full set of medals at a single Olympic Games. Alicia also won silver medals in 4x200m relay and the 4x100m relay, elevating her to only the third Australian ever to win five medals at a single Olympics.

Masters Sportstar of the Year: Ros Balodis [Tennis]

After having a great Australian Seniors Championship in January where she won the 50 Women's doubles, singles and Mixed doubles, Ros went as captain of the Australian Womens 50 team competing in the World Senior Teams Championship. Putting a semi-final singles loss behind her, Ros won the 50 Women’s doubles capping off a great year.

Coach of the Year: Jitka Klimkova [Football]

In her first season with Canberra United, the unheralded Jitka Klimkova became somewhat of a household name after leading the club to an inaugural W-League championship title. Her tactical ability combined with charismatic leadership galvanized the United squad to complete the season without recording a defeat. In front of almost 2,000 fans, the Canberra side defeated Brisbane 3-2 in a nail-biter to top-off the perfect season. Jitka has returned to Canberra guide United’s title defence.

Team of the Year: Canberra United [Football]

In a record-breaking season, Canberra United swept all before them to, for the first time, bring the W-League championship to the nation’s capital. After a tight battle with Melbourne in the semi-final, only Brisbane stood in the way of premiership glory. The weight of being undefeated going into the final did not seem to affect the team on the biggest day of the season, with Golden Boot winner Michelle Heyman scoring twice and Ashleigh Sykes also finding the goal. In a fantastic game of football, Canberra United prevailed 3-2 and by doing so maintained an undefeated record for the entire W-League season.

Junior Sportstar of the Year: Nick Kyrgios [Tennis]

Nick Kyrgios won not only one, but two junior grand slam titles in 2012. In June Nick combined with Andrew Harris to win the French Open boys double title and he then backed this up with victory at Wimbledon. This drew immediate comparisons with the ‘Woodies’ who were the last pair to achieve such a feat. Nick and Andrew did not drop a set on the grass.

Female Sportstar of the Year: Susan Powell [Cycling]

In September 2011 Susan continued her rich vein of form and won gold in both the C4 Individual Time Trial and the Road Race at the UCI Para-cycling World Championships in Denmark. This laid the foundation for her exceptional performance at the 2012 London Paralympics where Susan won Australia’s first gold medal in the Women’s C4 Individual Pursuit, setting a new world record in the process. Susan also won a silver medal in the Women’s Time Trial C4.

Male Sportstar of the Year: Patrick Mills [Basketball]

2012 was the year Patty Mills firmly established himself on the world basketball scene. Playing with the San Antonio Spurs, Patty made the most of the situation setting a record with a 34 point haul – the highest single game score by an Australian in the NBA. Patty was given the responsibility of starting for the Australian Boomers at the Olympics and thrived. He averaged 21 points per game across the tournament, including a 39 point game against the Brits and making a game-winning three-point shot to seal an upset victory against eventual medalists Russia. 26 points against the USA Dream Team was another stand out.