On Saturday 13 August, we took a break from the swimming action at the Victorian Open SC Championships to celebrate the 2022 Swimming Victoria Awards in the Champions Room at MSAC.
Hosted by Swimming Victoria’s Performance Pathways Manager, Nic Baker, the awards recognised swimmers, coaches, technical officials and volunteers for their outstanding achievements and contribution to Victorian swimming throughout the 2021/22 season.
After winning Bronze in the Men’s 400 IM at the Tokyo Olympics, it was no surprise that former Nunawading swimmer, Brendon Smith was awarded the Nicole Livingstone Trophy for Victorian Swimmer of the Year. His performance also saw him receive The Rob Woodhouse Trophy for Individual Medley.
Of course, Brendon couldn’t have done it without the support of his former coach and current Victorian Technical Director, Wayne Lawes and that’s why Wayne was such a worthy recipient of the Jack Foster Trophy for the Victorian Coach of the Year.
In addition to Wayne, we saw a number of Victoria’s finest coaches recognised for their achievements throughout the season, including Western Melbourne Propulsion’s Sebastian Bettiol who took home the Victorian Open Water Coach of the Year and Matt King from Kew, who won the Victorian Coach of the Year – Multi Class, for coaching Col Pearse to a Bronze medal at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Col was also recognised for his outstanding performance in Tokyo and was awarded the Ellie Cole Trophy for Victorian Multi Class Swimmer of the Year for the second year in a row. Still overseas after competing in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, the award was accepted by his proud sister Ashleigh.
Young gun Isabella Boyd (Nunawading) had a fantastic season. She took home a swag of awards including the Victorian Junior Swimmer of the Year and the Judy Joy Davies Trophy, City of Melbourne Medallion and 16 Year Female Age Group Champion for her stellar performance at the 2022 Victorian Age LC Championships.
Nunawading took out the top spot in the Top 10 Club Award, ahead of Surrey Park and MLC Aquatic. The powerhouse club also claimed the VASA Relay Trophy, The Victorian Premiership Male Award and The Fred Blunt Trophy for the club scoring the highest aggregate points in the Victorian Long Course Championships.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of our sport, and our Volunteer of the Year Award recognises individuals who work tirelessly behind the scenes within the club environment. This year’s winner, Emy Simsic from Geelong Swimming Club is no exception. Emy’s energetic nature and ability to multitask helps ensure the cogs of Geelong run smoothly.
Some of our most dedicated technical officials were recognised for their outstanding commitment to swimming. The Bill Slade Trophy for Technical Official of the Year went to Jacqueline Madden, with Jenny Nguyen taking home the Best New Official of the Year Award.
Congratulations to all our award winners, to view the full list click here.
