Russell Matheson (Macarthur, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Wests Leagues Club recently celebrated 15 years of supporting local sport at the annual Wests Sports Council presentation night. The presentation acknowledged sporting achievements of junior, youth and senior athletes, teams and clubs across Macarthur. The junior sportsperson of the year was Liam Marshall from the Magpies Cricket Club. Liam was part of the under-12 division 1 winning premiership team this year. He scored 161 runs at 53.57 runs per innings and 19 wickets at 5.11 runs per wicket. His best bowling figures were four overs, 1 maiden, five for six, with a highest score of 51 not out. Liam also played in the under-12 Cawsey Representative Shield. He represented New South Wales PSSA in cricket and went on to win the title in South Australia. He has been selected in the under-13 New South Wales Cricket Academy for next season. The youth club sportsperson of the year was Cormac Clissold from the Southern Districts Tennis Association. This year Cormac represented the district at the state and national levels. At the 2013 annual championships, he won the under-16 boys singles, open mixed doubles and open men's singles. His current Australian National Ranking is 267. His current men's International Tennis Federation ranking is 1487.

The spirit of sport club person of the year was awarded to Group 6 referee Kim-Maree Teale. She certainly has a story to tell. Kim has been a referee since 2003 and helps junior referees with their training, advising, videoing and paperwork. She is a mentor to four female referees and has been on the committee as secretary, assistant secretary, vice-president and president. Kim is the first female president of the referees association. To achieve recognition as president in a male-dominated sport shows the great respect, leadership and knowledge Kim brings to Group 6 Football. Kim has introduced a charity for the young referees to participate in called Save our Sons, committed to finding a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. She also received the Wollondilly Australia Day Award 2013 for Sportsperson of the Year.

The club team of the year went to Gunners Soccer Club under-18 Division 1. Team members include Joshua Allen, Jimjay Aloese, Ryan Capps, Nabil Daoud, Craig Jackson, Dylan Karan, Luke Matthews, Jordan Ormrod, Nick Pedreira, Liam Piggott, Jarrod Risby, Luke Shirley, Aiden Shortland, Cameron Wallace, Matthew Wallace, coach John Rawes and manager Tony Piggott. This team is the only team in the Macarthur Association since 2005 to reach the grand final of the mid-season New South Wales State Cup knock-out competition. They won the 2012 Macarthur under-18 Division 1 League, scoring a massive 77 goals for, with 20 against. They won the under-18 grand final at Campbelltown Stadium and the under-18 NSW Champion of Champions State Title for the second successive year.

The senior sports club person of the year went to Nicole King from Raby Hockey Club. Nicole was part of the winning Raby Hockey Club 1st Division premiership team. She was awarded representative player of the year in 2012 by the Campbelltown City Hockey Association. In 2012, the Australian Olympic Committee presented her with the Pierre de Coubertin Award for fair play and sportsmanship to celebrate the Olympic sport. She represented the Campbelltown City Hockey Association under-18 team and was the New South Wales under-18 indoor team vice-captain.

The elite sports team of the year award went to the Macarthur Baseball League MacArthur Colts under-12 representative team. Team members include Hayden Blackborrow, Ryan Boyce, Harrison Bolton, Blake Cavill, Lachlan Dean, Madison Heath, Jayden King, Jack Lee, Jackson Mannix, Connor Marsh, Josh Pearl, Ray Redman, Michael Sherry, head coach Matt Cavill, assistant coach Nick Bolton, pitching coach Scott Pearl, bench coach Brian Marsh, executive officer Rebecca Cavill and scorer Kay Cooper. The players were undefeated in 12 rounds and won the minor premiership. The team won the New South Wales Baseball under-12 competition for the first time in Macarthur's history. Seven of its players were selected in Macarthur's Little League Team as first year players. They finished second in the New South Wales division and attended the national championships on the Gold Coast.

Elite sports person of the year went to Damien Mortimer from Campbelltown Camden District Cricket Club. Damien played first and second grade in the Sydney Grade Cricket Competition. He scored 650 runs this season. He was selected in the New South Wales under-19 team as a top-order batsman with his highest score of 122. He was selected to attend the Cricket Australia Centre of Excellence in Brisbane in a squad of elite under-18 players and the Australian under-19 side to tour New Zealand in March and April. Damien was also selected in the Australian under-19 side to tour Darwin and India and was the recipient of the prestigious Alan McGilvray Scholarship. He has now been identified as an elite cricketer in Australia and I am very excited to follow his progress over the next few years as he continues to achieve great things.

Finally, I would like to thank the Western Suburbs Leagues Club and the Wests Sports Council for supporting our local athletes and sporting clubs. I congratulate all of this year's award winners for their hard work and great achievements on the sports field. The Macarthur community is certainly very, very proud of you all.

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