Massive support for sports awards for past 26 years

Warwick Credit Union has been sponsor of sports awards from the start

PAST WINNER: Olympic hockey player Dean Butler was the winner of the Daily News/Warwick Credit Union Junior Sports Star of the Year award in 1993. Picture: Contributed

Opinion - Sports View with Gerard Walsh

THE move to one sports star dinner proved to be a success on Monday night, when 180 people paid tribute to 22 sports stars and three volunteer of the year nominees at the Hawker Rd Function Centre.

This year's junior winner, Kira Holmes, was the 26th overall winner.

Senior winners Jake Wyllie and Mitch Eastwell won in what was the 25th year of the senior awards.

The one constant has been the involvement of Warwick Credit Union in the awards from 1993, the year Dean Butler was junior sports star of the year, 11 years before he was part of the first Australian men's hockey teams to win gold at an Olympics.

The Warwick Credit Union has been the major sponsor of both awards as part of a contribution of more than $100,000 each year to the Warwick and district community.

A lot of the $100,000 goes to sports clubs, associations, events and in this case, individual sports star winners. They make a massive contribution to this community.

Volunteer awards

IN THE past six years, there have been between three and six nominees from Warwick district sporting clubs in the Condamine Sports Club Volunteer of the Year award.

This year, overall winner Glyn Rees and nominees Angela Groves and David O'Leary all impressed the award judges.

It is amazing to see how many outstanding volunteers we have in this community.

If you know a worthy volunteer for next year, send me an email, gerardw@warwickdaily news.com.au and I can start a list of prospective nominees.

Originally published as Massive support for sports awards for past 26 years