2024 Victorian Sport Awards Finalists Announced
Finalists for the 18 categories at the 2024 Victorian Sport Awards (VSAs) have been announced, an event that recognises and celebrates the achievements of our home-grown sporting heroes at both a grassroots and high-performance level.
A record 330 nominations were received from the Victorian sporting community, honouring those who have made an exceptional contribution to sport and recreation in Victoria during the previous calendar year.
Individual and team athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, administrators, media personnel and the initiatives that promoted participation from both metropolitan and regional areas were acknowledged as well as the elite sportspeople who shone at events such as the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics.
Learn more about the finalists' achievements here.
In order to select the finalists and eventual winners from these nominations, 45 highly qualified people from the Victorian sport and recreation industry were invited to constitute this year’s judging panels.
Judges included four-time Olympian Steve Moneghetti AM OLY, General Manager of High Performance & Pathways at Netball Victoria Sharelle McMahon, Australian 110m Hurdles record holder Kyle Van Der Kuyp as well as CEOs from Girls Sport Victoria (Michelle Barry), Swimming Victoria (Jason Hellwig), Softball Australia (Sarah Loh), Calisthenics Victoria (Jennifer McIntyre), Netball Victoria (Andrea Pearman), Disability Sports Australia (Ayden Shaw), Bowls Victoria (Tony Sherwill) and Hockey Victoria (Andrew Skillern).
At this year’s VSAs, Scotty James (Snowboarding) and Jakara Anthony (Mogul Skiing) will be aiming for three consecutive Frank Wilkes and Kitty McEwan Awards respectively as they have again been nominated for their achievements in 2024. The only person to achieve a three-peat is skier Kirstie Marshall who won the Kitty McEwan Award from 1990-1992.
For outstanding results achieved at a national or international level in a male category, Scotty will be up against Paris Olympic gold medallists Kelland O’Brien (Team Pursuit Cycling) and John Peers (Doubles Tennis) as well as World Champion swimmer Sam Williamson (breaststroke). Jakara’s competitors for outstanding results achieved nationally or internationally in a female category are Grace Brown (Cycling) after she won gold at the Paris Olympics, Emily Petricola (Para-Cycling) who claimed a world record to win gold at the Paris Paralympics and Para-Table Tennis’ Qian Yang who finished her Paris Paralympics campaign undefeated to win gold.
Other notable finalists include Proud 2 Play’s Pride Hub which is a world’s first pride activation at the Australian Grand Prix (Peter Norman Inclusion Award), Masters Athlete of the Year candidates Glenn Busby (Tennis) and Nadene Gole (Golf) who are ranked number one in the world for their age classes and the Victorian Institute of Sport’s ‘The Moment’ series which explorers the rich history of the VIS through the lens of six former athletes and coaches (Outstanding Media Coverage of Sport Award).
Presented by the State Government of Victoria and Vicsport, the VSAs will be held on Wednesday 14 May 2025, in the Members Dining Room at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
In addition to the 18 awards nominated by the Victorian sporting community, the most prestigious honour of the night, the State Government Outstanding Contribution to Victorian Sport Award, will be bestowed to an individual for their lifelong commitment to sport in Victoria.
Previous recipients of the award include Dr. Peter Brukner OAM, Neale Daniher AO, Cathy Freeman OAM and Cadel Evans AM.
Vicsport Chair Jason Hellwig says:
“It is a wonderful achievement and a credit to the Victorian sporting industry that the nominations records was shattered this year. Combined with the calibre of the nominations, these Awards are a true showcase of the successes throughout the Victorian sport and active recreation community.
“I thank all the judges who took on the challenging but rewarding task of deciding this year’s finalists and winners and I look forward to honouring those recipients at the 2024 Victorian Sport Awards in May.”
The Hon. Ros Spence, Minister for Community Sport says:
"Congratulations to all nominees and finalists. Vicsport set a new record for nominations in 2024, which shows the high calibre of athletes, coaches, and administrators across Victoria.
“It’s fantastic to see this group of outstanding Victorians nominated by their communities for going above and beyond at all levels of sport. We're delighted to shine the spotlight on these local icons at the 2024 Victorian Sport Awards."
Event details:
Wednesday 14 May, 2025
6.00pm – 9.30pm
Members Dining Room
Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased through the Vicsport website or on (03) 9698 8100.
Finalists in the 18 nominated categories of the 2024 Victorian Sport Awards are as follows:
Leasexpress Coach of the Year
- Ian Ewing - Bowls
- Gerard Murphy - Netball
- Prateeti Sabhlok - Artistic Swimming
- Jimmy Soufis - Futsal
Gallagher Community Coach of the Year
- Samantha Batty - Sailing
- Madelaine Braekspear - Football
- Connor Drysdale - Netball
- Tim Watson - Life Saving
Sports Accounting Australia Official of the Year
- Joshua Burt - Hockey
- Alan Hopkins - Table Tennis
- Matthew Quick - Tennis
- Cynthia Tam - Badminton
etrainu Community Official of the Year
- Peter Boulter - Cricket
- Stephen McLennan - Athletics
- Sarah Pinkerton - Life Saving
- Liam Smith - Life Saving
AFL SportsReady Young Team of the Year
- Henri and Miles Levenspiel - Sailing
- Joshua Garner and Jack Benyan - Sailing
- Tri-Series Team – Swimming
- U14 Boys Casey Cavaliers - Basketball
AED Authority Team of the Year
- Queen's Cup Crew - Rowing
- U18 Victorian Baseball Team - Baseball
- Victorian Intellectual Disability Team - Cricket
- Victorian ISSF State Team - Target Pistol Shooting
My Sport Live Community Sporting Event of the Year
- Junior State Championships - Hockey Victoria
- National Sports Tournament - Queer Sporting Alliance
- Statewide Senior Football Netball Carnival - VACSAL
- Victorian Cup of Nations - Football Victoria
Love the Game Community Sporting Club of the Year
- Bendigo Hawks Aquatic - Swimming
- Fitzroy Lions Soccer Club - Football
- Rise Netball Club - Netball
- Sorrento Cricket Club - Cricket
revolutioniseSPORT Victorian Sports Administrator of the Year – Eunice Gill Award
- Meaghan Densley - Sailing
- Scott McNaughton - Rugby League
- Natalie Pafralis - Football/Futsal
- Sarah Simpson - Basketball
Bunnings Trade Local Government Initiative of the Year
- Active Holidays - Wyndham City Council
- Active Kinders - Wyndham City Council
- GO Family - Maribyrnong City Council
- Water Safety with Derrimut Weelam Gathering Place - City of Kingston
Vicsport Volunteer of the Year
- Samantha Dwyer - Life Saving
- Kelly Godfrey - Hockey
- David Kearsley - Little Athletics
- Louise Thornton - Tennis
VicHealth Sport and Active Recreation Initiative of the Year
- CaliStars - Calisthenics Victoria
- Junior West Softball League - Softball
- Specialist Hoops Victoria - Basketball
- Victorian International Optimist Dinghy Association - Sailing
Involve Masters Athlete of the Year
- Ashley Braszell - Cycling
- Glenn Busby – Tennis
- Nadene Gole – Golf
- Cindy Rella - Kettlebell
rebel Young Athlete of the Year
- Brock Batty – Trampolining
- Tahlia Denham - Basketball, Cricket, Netball
- Jack Howell – Para-triathlon
- Joshua Jolly - BMX
Victoria's Container Deposit Scheme Outstanding Media Coverage of Sport Award
- Leah Keh - Sailing
- Ocean Racing Club of Victoria - Sailing
- Victorian Age Short Course Championships - Swimming
- Victorian Institute of Sport's 'The Moment' Series - various
Polytan Peter Norman Inclusion Award
- Big Issue Community Street Soccer - Football
- Inclusive Sports Training - Triathlon
- June Bamblett - Basketball, Football, Netball
- Pride Hub - Proud 2 Play
Frank Wilkes Award
- Scotty James - Snowboarding
- Kelland O'Brien - Cycling
- John Peers - Tennis
- Sam Williamson - Swimming
Kitty McEwan Award
- Jakara Anthony - Mogul Skiing
- Grace Brown - Cycling
- Emily Petricola - Para-cycling
- Qian Yang - Para-table tennis
