Sporting excellence and sporting achievement was celebrated on Thursday 26 October at the Prince Henry Centre in Little Bay, as we applauded the recipients of the Randwick City Awards for Sporting Achievements 2023.

“Sport is a vital part of our City – it brings people together and it creates community. These awards help to encourage and inspire the young, up-and-coming sportspeople of Randwick City, and recognise our most dedicated athletes and coaches. A huge congratulations to all the winners and nominees,” said Mayor Philipa Veitch.

The Bradley Matthews Memorial Award for Sporting Excellence (Winner) - Lucas Velasque
Lucas Velasque plays for UNSW Handball. In July, Lucas was selected to play for UNSW Handball at the Australia Club Championship on the Gold Coast at the age of just 16. Luke represented Australia in the Under 18s State Championship, where he started to take a leadership role, supporting teammates, cheering them up and leading by example. Luke was then asked to lead the Under 18s team at the International Handball Federation Oceania trophy in the Cook Islands. Luke is now captain of the NSW U18 Handball, runner-up at the 2022 Australia State Championship and caption of the Australia Under 18 team.

The Bradley Matthews Memorial Award for Sporting Excellence (Highly Commended) - Luke Newrick
Luke Newrick is a local member of South Maroubra Surf Club and is a Surf Life Saving Branch and State Representative Team Member. Up until this year, Luke had never won State title let alone a National title in Surf Life Saving. He had always been in he finals right through his nipper career with his best finish being a silver medal. This year, Luke won 7 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 1 bronze medal across local, state and national champtionships – outstanding result for this talented 15-year-old! Plus, this year, Luke broke a 40-year-old school sprint track record in the 200m. Well done Luke!

Award for Sporting Achievements (junior female) – Kathryn Jordan
Kathryn is an extremely talented swimmer and iron woman. She shows determination and resilience and was recently named the most successful competitor in the Sydney branch winning many medals, including a 3-medal haul at the Surf Lifesaving NSW State Championship in 2023. Kathryn excels in both swimming and athletics, training seven times a week. She also volunteers her time as a junior lifesaver at Coogee Surf Club. In December 2022, Kathryn was awarded a ‘Community Service Award’ and she was names Surf Life Saving Sydney Athlete of the Year in 2021-22 in the 11-12 year group. Kathryn was awarded DUX at her school, Kensington Primary and she was named her School Champion for Swimming in 2022.

Award for Sporting Achievements (junior male) - Jaggar Phillips
Jaggar Phillips has achieved outstanding results for surfing in the past 12 months. Jaggar has received sponsorships from Billabong, Ocean & Earth, Future Fins and Channel Island Surfboards due to his excellence in surfing. IN 2022, Jaggar competed in five different events and was ranked 2^nd under 12s Australian rankings. This year, Jaggar won the under 14s NSW state Championships in Maroubra. Jaggar is been invited to represent NSW in the Australian Titles at Philip Island, Victoria. In June 2023, he placed 4^th in the under 14s Skull Candy Oz Gromets Open at Lennox Head, an international event. Earlier this year, Jaggar won first place in the Under 14s NSW Junior Regional Titles Southern Beaches.

Award for Sporting Achievements Junior with a Disability – Emmeline Giraud
Emmeline is swimming has gone from strength to strength since her multi-class classification in October 2022. Emmeline was selected to be part of the NSW para development squad and the Matt Levy Futures squad. She holds an Australian national title and five state titles. Emmeline is an enthusiastic young competitor and she assists the coaches from the poolside as she takes younger teammates under he wing, sharing her skills. Emmeline’s goal is to represent Australia at the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

Randwick City Council's Award for Sporting Achievements Coach Of The Year Award - Sharon Deans
Sharon Deans coaches both the Coogee Netball and Coogee SLSC beach teams, who through her leadership, won 13 Australian, 11 State and 19 Branch medals. Sharon is the Coogee Netball President, SLSS Beach Advisor and Coogee SLSC’s Compliance & Public Officer. Without Sharron, Coogee Beach would not be in the top 3 in Australia, with 7 Coogee SLSC members becoming Australian Champions for the 2022/23 Season. In addition, Sharron has taken on a role to help coach all the nipper beach competitors in the whole Sydney Branch through the clinics held at Maroubra beach. Sharon Deans is not just a local beach and netball coach but still competes on the sand that saw her win National, State and Branch medals in 2023.

The Randwick City Hall of Sporting Champions Winner - Gemma Dooley
Gemma Dooley has is an all-round female sporting talent with an Australian and NSW State representative sporting career spanning three decades across three sports, including Women’s outdoor cricket, indoor cricket and golf. Her first win was in Cricket in 1992, her most recent, the triumphant 2022 Australian Women’s Senior Golf Team. Over the last decade, Gemma has given her time back to the sports she loves through volunteer governance roles on the Board of Golf NSW, the Australian Cricketer’s Association and the Minerva Network.

Congratulations to all our winners and all the nominees!