The Victorian swimming community came together to toast the 2018/19 season at the annual Swimming Victoria and asctaVIC Awards on Sunday 2 June. Held in the Champions Room at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC), the occasion also celebrated the 125th anniversary of Swimming Victoria.
In a fitting nod to Swimming Victoria’s history, we once again welcomed Olympian and Swimming Victoria Life Member, Matt Welsh OAM to host the celebrations.
Nunawading’s Jessica Hansen had a stellar season, highlighted by a Silver medal at the 2018 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships and Bronze at the World SC Championships. These performances saw her take home a swag of awards, including the Linley Frame Trophy for Breaststroke, the Nicole Livingstone Trophy for the Victorian Swimmer of the Year and the prestigious President’s Trophy.
Hansen’s coach, Scott Talbot was the worthy recipient of the Jack Foster Trophy for the Victorian Coach of the Year. Not only was he recognised for his work with Jess, he was also named the Victorian Multi Class Coach of the Year for coaching Madeleine Scott to Gold at the 2019 Australian Championships.
Young gun Brendon Smith was awarded Victorian Junior Swimmer of the Year for his gutsy Silver medal winning performance in the 400m Freestyle at the 2018 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. The Nunawading swimmer was also presented with the Rob Woodhouse Trophy for Individual Medley.
It didn’t stop there for Nunawading, the juggernaut club again finished first in the Top 10 Club Award for the fourth year running. They also took home the VASA Relay Trophy, the Male and Female Victorian Premiership Awards and the Fred Blunt Trophy for the club scoring the highest aggregate points in the Victorian Long Course Championships.
Our sport would not happen without our dedicated officials and volunteers and it was great to see so many of them acknowledged at the Awards. The Bill Slade Trophy for Technical Official of the Year went to Harold Gusdorf. A regular at State and National Championships, Harold is passionate about the development of officials in Victoria.
Best New Official of the Year was awarded to Jacinta Carter and a number of our longstanding officials were presented with service pins, including an impressive 50 years’ service from one of our most dedicated officials, Lindsay Ellis – an outstanding achievement!
EC Waves made waves in 2018/19 and were rightfully crowned Club of the Year. With increased membership, successful club events and clinics and their biggest ever team of swimmers competing at National Championships, the Metro North club had plenty to celebrate.
Congratulations to all our award winners. To view the full list, click here.
