Saxton Rural : ADMINISTRATOR/OFFICIAL OF THE YEAR - Sharon Clough (Tennis)

A tireless worker for the Central Park Tennis Club having administered social and fundraising events, as well as senior recorder and selector.

In more recent years Sharon has ran the AAA program and assisted with tournaments, umpiring juniors and represented the club at events and functions.

Sharon has been a member of Central Park since 1996 and was made a life member in 2007.

Sharon also is the secretary of the Wimmera Tennis Council.

Wimmera Trophies & Gifts: CLUB OF THE YEAR - Volleyball Horsham

Volleyball Horsham enjoyed great success in 2011, with an increase in membership the crowning glory. At the start of the year 135 players participated in the domestic competition and this grew to 164 by the end of the year. Horsham representative teams played off in 15 finals for 8 golds, 5 silvers and 2 bronze medals, and the beauty of this achievement is that it ranged from under 15 boys and girls through to senior men. Volleyball Horsham successfully hosted the Country Championships which had its second biggest team entries, only behind the previous time the Association hosted the titles, and saw 6 players selected as All Star Seven team members. The icing on the cake was the state league victory enjoyed by its Western Phantoms in division 2, going through the season undefeated.

A four set victory over Monash qualified the team for the grand final where they met Monash once again and won comfortably in straight sets. To cap off a great debut season Matthew Berry came runners up in the division 2 MVP award.

Shannon took up teaching at Murtoa College two years ago after spending 12 months at Eltham High School, which is the top volleyball nursery in the state. Shannon went about setting up his volleyball program, which initially saw 9 girls participate in 2010. They participated in the National Schools Cup in U17 division 2 and finished without a win. In 2011 the Murtoa College program added a boys team and Argall prepared both groups to participate in the 2011 National Schools Cup. He entered them in the Volleyball Horsham domestic competition to get them valuable match play and at the Nationals the boys team, competing for the first time, lost their bronze medal match in three sets, while their girls finished 5th. Argall’s dedication to his program has seen the expansion of the Murtoa College gym to incorporate more court space, and more players becoming involved in the sport.

Was the driving force behind the setting up of the Monday morning social golf program at the Horsham Golf Club.

Within three years Julie grew the group to a point where now over 120 golfers participate, with an average of 50 women and 20 men playing. Some of those players introduced as social golfers have now progressed into becoming full members of the club.

Julie is also active in sourcing grants and running the Pink Lady Day and raising funds for breast cancer awareness. Julie is passionate about her golf and encouraging of all the players who play social golf.

In a year where Chloe excelled at three different sports – National athletics, Vic Country basketball and regional netball, it is hard to imagine where she goes from here. Victorian U16 basketball selection beckons, Victorian U15 netball and a sports tour of Canada are all on Chloe’s agenda for 2012.

Now basketball awaits as Chloe attempts to get in the Vic Country U14 team.

At an age when most mums would be happy to sit back and relax and take up knitting Susie Ellis is defying that trend and challenging all mums to get active.

Her efforts in ironman and triathlons as a member of Tri Horsham are nothing short of outstanding.

Her goal of competing overseas in 2012 in Las Vegas is one everyone will be watching with great interest.

The Dimboola Memorial Secondary College through partnerships with the Department of Ed, Hindmarsh Shire and the Dimboola sporting community has transformed the old oval into a state of the art tennis/hockey and outdoor playing area, complete with lights, artificial turf and clubrooms. The clubrooms incorporate a gym and meeting rooms for local clubs to use. The school has appointed a manager of this complex, together with a school based traineeship for a gap year student to run the facility and help with that student’s learnings for their tertiary study. Together with their Cricket Centre of Excellence the Dimboola and wider region have facilities the envy of bigger towns and centres.

Here are the achievements for Luke:-
Dimboola Swimming Age & School Champion
Football - Under 17’s runner up best & fairest 2011, pPlays for Dimboola reserves
Basketball - played under 17’s and men’s, co-ordinated 2010/2011 Dimboola Comp, umpired men’s & women’s games
Rowing - Dimboola men’s and sculling
Represented the School in Athletics, Shooting, Cross Country, Hockey, Soccer
and Football.

Tom was a member of the Horsham team that won the Kerrie Tepper tournament. Tom captained the Red team that was runner up in the B grade where he was the second best performer in the section. Tom also competed in the Tri State Games winning a bronze medal in the pool walk. Tom is a valued and respected member of the Horsham Table Tennis Association.

Merryn has represented Woodbine in cricket and plays table tennis for the Horsham Table Tennis Association, where she helped Horsham win the Kerrie Tepper shield. Merryn also competed in the Tri State Games where she won a gold, two silvers and a bronze medal. Merryn has taken up croquet and has also played some soccer.

Find me any sport where so many members of similar ages are prepared to take time off work and coach for a week at a National Championships. The five members of Volleyball Horsham nominated above all did so to coach teams from Horsham and Murtoa Colleges at the biggest school sport event in the Southern Hemisphere. At a time when sports are struggling to get any sort of commitment out of their younger generation of members these five gentlemen defied the trend to show true sportsmanship for their Association.

Kerryn’s passion for show riding is evident as she prepares two horses to compete on the show circuit each year. Kerryn has enjoyed great success over the years and was a sports star finalist in 2006 with her horse Go For Pride.

Now with two more horses showing great ability, Allambah Pepperjack and Chandon Park Contender, Kerryn’s dream of winning a placing at the Melbourne Cup of the equestrian world – the Garryowen could well be in reach. Kerryn also coaches other riders in her spare time.