Diving young gun Sam Fricker has taken out NewsLocal’s Junior Sports Star award for 2018
A 16-year-old elite international diver has topped the list of young athletes who have been honoured at the 2018 Local Sports Stars gala awards night. Find out all the local winners.
Local Sports Stars
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After representing the Australian diving team as the youngest competitor at the FINA International Grand Prix, Sam Fricker was named the Junior Sports Star winner at last night’s 2018 Local Sports Star gala awards dinner at Bankstown Sports Club.
The 16-year-old Trinity Grammar School student is at the pinnacle of diving in Australia, claiming gold and two silvers at this year’s Australian Open Championships.
Sam trains up to 27 hours a week as he chases a spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
“I’ve got to give a big thanks to my Mum,” Sam said.
“We moved to Sydney when I was in year seven and Mum’s really supported me all the way. She took a risk ... and we’re just going to keep risking it all the way.”
In taking out NewsLocal’s overall individual award, Sam received $1000 cash and put his name alongside a star-studded list of former winners including canoe slalom world champion Jessica Fox and Matildas star Ellie Carpenter.
Now in their 14th year, the Local Sports Star awards — sponsored by Your local club and Featherdale Wildlife Park- turn the spotlight on outstanding young athletes with nominees publicised each week in NewsLocal’s community newspapers across Sydney and the Central Coast.
In other categories, the Rouse Hill Rams under-14 div 1 squad took out the Young Sporting Spirit Team award while the Young Sporting Spirit Individual award went to footballer Jacob Trzecinski for his efforts in raising $300,000 for brain cancer research after being diagnosed with brain cancer.
“I’ve been playing football since I was very young and it’s a real passion of mine stepping out on the field each day,” Jacob said.
“While I was in hospital receiving treatment for my brain cancer diagnosis, football played a huge role in motivating me to get through my treatment and I’m extremely grateful to have made a full recovery.
“It was very difficult at times but I found what helped me was having a positive attitude, just taking things day by day and knowing that I had the support of my friends and my family and everyone in the community.”
Meanwhile Abbotsleigh Senior School’s cross country team claimed the Junior Sports Star Team award and Sally Maaliki was honoured with the Service to Sport award.
On top of the awards themselves, the event also saw a host of current stars from all walks of the sporting landscape gather to meet the stars of the future and their families.
The special guests in attendance included:
Nathan Hindmarsh (rugby league)
Jarryd Hughes (snowboarding)
Brandon Starc (athletics)
Josh Mansour (rugby league)
Jess Thornton (athletics)
Youcef Abdi (athletics)
Steve Mortimer (rugby league)
Sarah Klau (netball/ NSW Swifts)
FULL LIST OF AWARD WINNERS
JUNIOR SPORTS STAR INDIVIDUAL
Sam Fricker, diving (Inner West Courier)
JUNIOR SPORTS STAR TEAM
Abbotsleigh Senior School, cross country (North Shore Times)
SERVICE TO SPORT
Sally Maaliki, rugby league (Canterbury-Bankstown Express)
YOUNG SPORTING SPIRIT INDIVIDUAL
Jacob Trzecinski, football (Manly Daily)
YOUNG SPORTING SPIRIT TEAM
Rouse Hill Rams under-14 div 1, football (Rouse Hill Times)
JUNIOR SPORTS STAR
Cienna DeLuca, dancesport (Blacktown Advocate)
Jack Greaves, athletics (Canterbury-Bankstown Express)
Oska Cruz Davis, fishing (Central Coast Express Advocate)
Malcolm Matthes, boxing (Fairfield Advance)
Felicity Chan, swimming (Hills Shire Times)
Jonathan Adji, karate (Hornsby Advocate)
Sam Fricker, diving (Inner West Courier)
Holly Saunders, kickboxing (Liverpool Leader)
Blake Hunter, softball (Macarthur Chronicle)
Stella Rae Campbell, cricket (Manly Daily)
Georgia Stewart, mogul skiing (Mosman Daily)
Donovan Boney, rugby league (Mt Druitt Standard)
Annika Lynch, athletics (North Shore Times)
Rinky Hijikata, tennis (Northern District Times)
Matilda Elliott, netball (Northern NSW Region)
Carissa Uno, aerobic gymnastics (Parramatta Advertiser)
Mikayla Kumar, goalball (Penrith Press)
Liam Christie, trampolining (Rouse Hill Times)
Will Cooley, sailing (Southern Courier)
Tyson Condor, boxing (Southern NSW Region)
Noah Havard, surf life saving (Wentworth Courier)
Hayley Silver-Holmes, cricket (Western NSW Region)
YOUNG SPORTING SPIRIT
Joshua Papsdorf, dancesport (Blacktown Advocate)
Matilda Richards, cross country (Canterbury-Bankstown Express)
Noah Roy Stephenson, netball (Central Coast Express Advocate)
Arias Vang, kickboxing (Fairfield Advance)
Emmanuel Missak, football (Hills Shire Times)
Joshua Fishwick, baseball (Hornsby Advocate)
Makayla Belle Ward, rugby league (Inner West Courier)
Jack Orchard, taekwondo (Liverpool Leader)
Cody Turner, triathlon (Macarthur Chronicle)
Jacob Trzecinski, football (Manly Daily)
Liam Dempsey, rugby union (Mosman Daily)
Kyle Pont, dancesport (Mt Druitt Standard)
Max Chen, Brazilian jiu jitsu (North Shore Times)
Aria Watson, surfing (Northern District Times)
Indyana Ross, AFL (Northern NSW Region)
Ky Woods, motocross (Parramatta Advertiser)
Holly Gavin, netball (Penrith Press)
Kieren Ben Morson, nippers (Rouse Hill Times)
Indy Gibson, athletics (Southern Courier)
Saskia Roberts, surf life saving (Wentworth Courier)
James Robinson, lawn bowls (Western NSW Region)