The Parramatta Advertiser finalists for the 2018 Local Sports Star awards have been selected
Meet the nine Parramatta Advertiser finalists for the 2018 Local Sports Star awards.
Parramatta
Don't miss out on the headlines from Parramatta. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Meet the finalists in our 2018 Local Sports Stars Award. The winners in each category, and the overall Local Sports Star chosen from all our mastheads across Sydney and the Central Coast, will be announced at a gala ceremony held on Tuesday, October 30.
Congratulations to all our finalists and good luck!
JUNIOR SPORTS STAR
Carissa Uno
Carissa has managed to carve a name for herself at the very top of aerobic gymnastics.
She has been undefeated in the aerodance intermediate female category this year, taking out the state trials and state championships before claiming gold for NSW at the national championships.
Carissa was then selected to represent Australia at the International Aerobic Championships where she once again took out the gold to defend her international champion title from 2017.
Sophie del Popolo
After falling in love with rhythmic gymnastics during the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010, Sophie quickly started rising through the representative level of the sport. She is now one of the best young gymnasts in the country. She finished second in the all-around competition at this year’s Australian Gymnastics Championships by claiming gold in ball, silver in hoop and bronze in freehand. Sophie was also invited to train at the Australian Institute of Sport as a member of the National Team Future Training squad.
Nicholas Dang
Nicholas has consistently been one of the best sprint hurdlers in the country over the last four years. After a string of podium finishes at the state and national level, Nicholas opened 2018 with a gold medal at the NSW Junior Championships in February before earning silver at the Australian Championships. His stellar results then saw him selected in the under-18 Australian team to compete at the Oceania Melanesian Athletics Championships, where he claimed silver in the 110m hurdles.
YOUNG SPORTING SPIRIT
Ky Woods
Ky was born to compete in motocross. He started riding motorbikes when he was three-years-old and has competed at competitions all over the country ever since, racking up trophy after trophy along the way. The peak of Ky’s young sporting career came earlier this year when he overcame a crash at the Australian trials for the Junior Motocross World Championship to earn a wildcard entry to the event.
Ky says that it’s the challenge of motocross that keeps him coming back to it.
Sam Stephenson
Waking up at 5.30am is all part of the job for gymnastics star Sam. Earlier this year she finished second on the beam at the NSW Senior State Gymnastics Championships.
She went on to win a silver medal alongside the NSW team at the Australian Championships in May. Sam’s success is all the result of her hard work.
She trains for an incredible 31 hours a week before and after school with the Womens Artistic Gymnastics High Performance Program at Sydney West Gymsports.
Christopher Nilon
Christopher has only missed one little athletics competition day in the past six years and his passion and commitment is paying off big time.
In June he took out the under-9 boys’ 1200m division at the NSW Little Athletics State Road Walks Championships.
This came after he also claimed the state title in 700m in March.
The dual state champion is the fastest under-9 boy walker in NSW. Despite all of his success, Christopher’s dad John says he is “very conscious of being a good sportsman.”
JUNIOR SPORTS STAR TEAM
Parramatta Touch
The Parramatta under-14 girls touch football team’s victory at the NSW touch state titles in February was two years in the making. The then under-12 squad suffered a devastating defeat at the same competition in 2016, losing in the last 15 seconds of the grand final.
All but one of this year’s winning squad featured in that heartbreaking loss.
Since then they have claimed two state titles in a row, including a dominant 11-6 grand final victory at this year’s tournament.
SERVICE TO SPORT
Tania Itaoui
For Tania Itaoui’s under-6 Granville Waratahs football team, she’s not just a coach — she’s a superhero.
Tania’s coaching stretches far beyond the confines of the football field.
Her role includes everything from tying shoelaces to picking up and dropping off kids from training and bringing healthy snacks along to games.
Tania’s impact has been so positive that she has lifted the spirit of not just the team, but the entire Granville Waratahs club.
YOUNG SPORTING SPIRIT TEAM
Two Blues Rugby
In 2017, the then under-12 team won the state championships for the first time in 15 years in the under-12 competition. This year, the boys went into the state tournament as favourites and were crowned champions for the second year in a row after going undefeated.
The side has also helped to turn around the wider perception of western Sydney rugby, building a reputation of fairness, discipline, commitment to the game and outstanding sportsmanship.