Best of Australian University Sport honoured at Awards Night

AUS Award Winners

ADELAIDE – The best achievements in the world of university sport were honoured in an awards ceremony at the Australian University Sport (AUS) national conference in Adelaide last week.

Bringing together university sporting staff and athletes from around the country, the awards night recognised the champions of 2010, with eight major awards and the induction of 22 medallists and six champions to the AUS Honour Roll.

Spoils were shared across a number of sports, with match racing, rowing, flatwater canoe, triathlon and cross country featuring heavily in the list of inducted medallists and champions.

Siobhan James, AUS high performance manager is responsible for maintaining the records for the AUS Honour Roll.

“Australia’s elite sporting students had an outstanding year at World University Championships in 2010. On the back of a great medal tally we’ve been able to induct quite a few new medallists and champions. This shows the depth of talent we have in the university sport sector at the moment, and just how many of our students are competing on the world stage,” Mrs James said.

Eight 2010 AUS awards were also handed out, in categories such as team of the year, female and male athlete of the year and most outstanding sporting achievement of the year. 

Honour Roll Champions

Western Australian universities dominated these categories, with finalists in every category, and winners in five of the categories.

“2010 was the year of western dominance, with western universities winning coach of the year, female athlete of the year, most outstanding sporting achievement, per capita champion and overall university champion,” Mrs James added.

The awards night had a Chinese theme, in preparation for the 2011 Summer Universiade, to be held in Shenzhen, China in August. 

Selections for what is hoped to be the biggest and most successful Australian team are currently underway in a number of sports.

“Athletes are currently being picked for the team based on their performances at state and national championships, or in international competitions. We hope to have the team finalised by July and expect it to exceed 200 in total,” said Mrs James, who will be the Australian team deputy Chef de Mission at the Universiade.

The awards night was held as part of the Australian University Sport annual national conference, held on 12-13 May in Adelaide.

(Source: Sarah Wordsworth, AUS Media & Marketing Coordinator)

AUS Awards                                      

Overall university champion
The University of Western Australia

Per capita champion
The University of Notre Dame

Service to sport
Nathan Johnston, The University of Western Australia (nominee)
David Price, Charles Darwin University (winner)

Coach of the year
Grant Landers, triathlon, The University of Western Australia (winner)
Peter Lonergan, women’s basketball, The University of Sydney (nominee)
Andrew Walker, basketball, The University of Melbourne

Team of the year
Edith Cowan University beach volleyball (nominee)
The University of Sydney athletics (winner)
The University of Western Australia Australian Rules Football (nominee)

 Female athlete of the year
Katya Cremar, snow sports, The University of Melbourne (nominee and joint winner)
Sarah Kent, cycling, The University of Western Australia (nominee and joint winner)

Male athlete of the year
Stephen Bird, sprint kayak, Curtin University of Technology (nominee)
Liam Adams, cross country, Victoria University (winner)

Most outstanding sporting achievement of the year
Fergus Kavanagh, hockey, The University of Western Australia (nominee)
Lauren Mitchell, gymnastics, The University of Notre Dame (winner)
Prasanth Sellathurai, gymnastics, The University of Sydney

AUS HONOUR ROLL CHAMPIONS

Liam Adams, cross country, Victoria University
David Evans, athletics and cross country, Swinburne University of Technology
Eliza Stewart, cross country, Macquarie University
Hugh Tait, sailing, University of Technology Sydney
Melinda Vernon, cross country, University of Western Sydney
Janet Young, tennis, The University of Melbourne

AUS HONOUR ROLL MEDALLISTS

Stephen Bird, flatwater canoe, Curtin University of Technology
Jackson Cranfield, sailing, The University of Technology Sydney
Emily Donker, cross country, Queensland University of Technology
Peta-Lee Eddington, rowing, Queensland University of Technology
Jay Griffin, sailing, University of Technology Sydney
Carly Griffith, cross country, Australian Catholic University
Edward Hackney, sailing, The University of Sydney
Jamie Huggett, triathlon, Monash University
Tara McCall, sailing, The University of New South Wales
Joshua McHugh, triathlon, Southern Cross University
David Matthews, triathlon, The University of New South Wales
Riley Owen, rowing, Australian National University
Francesca Patterson, rowing, The University of Queensland
Jesse Phillips, flatwater canoe, Murdoch University
Jessica Pollard, sailing, The University of Sydney
Kate Redde, sailing, University of Technology Sydney
Murray Stewart, flatwater canoe, The University of Sydney
Kathleen Stroinovsky, sailing, University of Technology Sydney
Jessica Trengrove, cross country, The University of South Australia
Katie Webb, sailing, University of Technology Sydney
Lucinda Whitty, sailing, University of Technology Sydney
David Wright, rowing, Australian National University