Temora Shire Council’s commitment to supporting Riverina’s rising sporting stars was recently highlighted at the Southern Sports Academy’s annual Awards Dinner. Temora Shire Councillor Narelle Djukic, who is also a jetboat navigator, represented the local council at the annual Southern Sports Academy Awards Dinner, recently held at the Rules Club, Wagga. Although no Temora Shire athletes received awards, the council assisted young local athletes through sponsoring grants. “This was a really positive experience and I know the Southern Sports Academy Board and staff appreciate Temora Shire Council’s support of our talented young athletes,” Cr Djukic said. The awards night marked the Southern Sports Academy’s 34th year of developing talented young athletes throughout the region and celebrated the achievements of athletes, coaches, volunteers and supporters from across southern NSW. One of the event highlights was a presentation from Australian Winter Olympian Nick Timmings, who has represented Australia in skeleton at both the Beijing 2022 and Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Timmings shared his journey about competing at the highest level in one of the world's most demanding winter sports. The night celebrated athletes from various academy programs, including hockey, rugby, football, triathlon, golf, skate, basketball and netball. It was the inaugural season for both the triathlon and skate programs. Major award winners included Ben Devries (future champions, triathlon), who was named Southern Sports Academy Athlete of the Year and rugby athlete Jethro Fenton, who received the Jenny King Chairperson's Award. Other major award winners included: Coaching Leadership & Excellence Award: Sam Donelan and Adam Mokotupu (Rugby) – Joint Winners Volunteer of the Year: Troy Pietsch UAA Indigenous Athlete of the Year: Owen Dinsdale (Hockey) Para Athlete of the Year: Jackson Gray The Athlete of the Year in each program were: UAA Hockey Athletes of the Year: Owen Dinsdale and Lucy Bolton Total Ag Solutions Rugby Athletes of the Year: Cooper Gersbach and Indiana Prince Triathlon Athlete of the Year: Chloe Milne Future Champions Athlete of the Year: Ben Devries Football NSW Athlete of the Year: Atticus Pavitt Jack Newton Junior Golf Athlete of the Year: Henry Molloy Skate Athlete of the Year: Manu Quaglio The Rules Club Wagga Basketball Athletes of the Year: Mac Cullen and Abby Crawford Wagga RSL Netball & Netball Officiating Athletes of the Year: Halle Baggio and Isabella Suttie The Southern Sports Academy officials thanked volunteers, sponsors, families and supporters for their continued contribution to developing the next generation of local athletes.
