Some of the top sports people in the federal electorate of Wannon were recognised at the annual sports awards ceremony on Thursday afternoon.
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Wannon MP Dan Tehan was at the ceremony at Alexandra Oval in Ararat presenting the award winners with their certificates.
“The Australian Government Sport Awards present an excellent opportunity to recognise and celebrate the tremendous efforts and achievements within the Wannon sporting community,” Mr Tehan said.
Great Western harness racing driver and sporting icon Kerryn Manning was a guest speaker at the ceremony.
Sports people from all over Wannon picked up awards, with a handful coming from Ararat.
Ararat’s Ebony Burton and Ella McLoughlin picked up individual achievement awards for under-18 females.
McLoughlin was recognised for her commitment to javelin and gymnastics while Burton’s leadership role in various organisations was also commended.
Cyclist Alice Culling picked up an award in the individual achievement open age female category.
Ararat’s Megan Shea and Armstrong’s Patricia Ruthven were both presented with awards for community contribution by an individual.
Shea and Ruthven were recognised for commitment to their respective groups – Shea for a long-time dedication to the Ararat Rats and Ruthven for helping introduce Ararat parkrun.
AWARD WINNERS’ BACKGROUNDS
Patricia Ruthven – Ararat parkrun organise free, weekly, 5km timed runs around Alexandra Gardens. They are open to everyone, free, and are safe and easy to take part in. But behind every parkrun, there is someone making these events happen, and in Ararat this is Patricia. Patricia worked tirelessly to introduce Parkrun to Ararat and is part of the weekly core team who ensure the event is setup and packed away each week, the results published, the tokens resorted, event reports are written and so much more.
Megan Shea – Starting her career as a basketballer in her junior years and playing representative, Megan was then asked to tryout in year eight or nine for netball and then found her way to the Ararat Football Netball Club in 1986. Megan has certainly made her mark in the netball world. She is the recipient of five Wimmera Netball Association A Grade best and fairest and has taken to the court for more than 400 senior games. Megan has also played for Victorian Country and has been involved with the Victorian Institute of Sport. She was also the captain of the winning Mobil Cup team in 1996. Despite her Victorian accolades, incredibly important to Megan is loyalty to her home club – the Rats (Ararat).
Ella McLoughlin – Ella trains independently in Javelin as well as juggling her commitment to Gymnastics. .During her primary school years she also competed in the National Skipping Championships in Sydney and has also successfully competed in the State Pennant finals in gymnastics. Ella always works hard, demonstrates good sportsmanship and enjoys a challenge. She is positive role model amongst her peers.
Alice Culling – Alice Culling, a year 12 student at Marian College Ararat, has represented Australia in seven national campaigns of cycling. She is a member of the Australian team which competed in the 2018 UCI Junior Track World Championships in Switzerland. Following her success in Brisbane in the 2018 Cycling Australia Track National Championships in August 2018, Alice earned her place in the Under 19 Squad, winning gold in the Team Pursuit and silver in the Madison and Individual Pursuit. She was 2017 Victorian Cyclist of the Year and is one of two cyclists with the second chance at the Junior Track World Championships. Alice is currently 5th in the world for the point͛s race. The future looks promising for our young champion as she moves to elite racing in 2019. Alice hopes to qualify for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK.
Ebony Burton – Ebony completed the Korin Gamadji Institute & Richmond Football Club. She has then used her skills to take on a positive leadership role and encourages those around her. She has facilitated a group of Ararat College students and Clontarf Academy students which has lead to positive interactions through the two groups of young people via sporting activities. Ebony is an excellent student who supports her school community through her involvement in extracurricular activities, as well as being a positive role model in the wider indigenous community.