Pat Conroy (Charlton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I take this opportunity to acknowledge and pay tribute to the fine young athletes who were recently awarded Local Sporting Champions Awards for the electorate of Charlton. I extend my sincere congratulations to: Callan Meir, Yasmin Skene, Stephanie Scigala, Griffin Lea, Joshua Milford, Kathleen Young, Matteo Mazzantini, Edwin Nicholson, Kimberley Russell, Reece Papadimitious and the Macquarie Shores Swim Club. The Charlton sporting champions have excelled in gymnastics, athletics, football, hockey, sailing, cricket and swimming.

I was very impressed by all the Charlton sporting champions. They were a confident and engaging young group of people, fine ambassadors for their sports and a credit to their families, friends and school communities. I am sure that many of these champions will battle it out with other young sports stars from Australia and around the world in the upcoming 48th International Children's Games, which will be held in the electorate of Charlton in December this year. Congratulations to all these sporting champions.

I also pay tribute to their families. Their parents often have the joy of getting up at five in the morning to take them to swimming lessons or swimming comps before school. The families also get to spend their weekends travelling around country New South Wales, going to sporting carnivals, and families often sacrifice their own financial interests to subsidise trips away and trips overseas. It is a great tribute to the families of these young athletes, and I look forward to seeing their exploits in newspaper headlines in the years to come.

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