2023 Geraldton Guardian Mid West Sport Awards: Inaugural winners who helped shape the sporting landscape

Sports rules all in the regions and the Mid West sporting landscape has been formed by a group of stalwarts in the community. Nominations for the 2023 Geraldton Guardian Mid West Sports Awards are still open and people are urged to put forward worthy contenders in 11 categories. The first award given out was the Senior Sports Star of the Year back in 1972, which went to Rod Marsh. Marsh was an icon in the Geraldton hockey scene, as he was the captain and coach of the WA Country hockey team that toured New South Wales, and captained the WA Country side that competed in an international tournament in Perth. For seven years that would be the only award presented at the annual event, until 1979 when the Junior Sports Star of the Year was introduced and became one of the event’s focal points. Star badminton player Michael Thompson was the inaugural winner, for his efforts at local, State and national level. The award would be dominated by badminton in its early years, with Karen Jupp winning it from 1981-1984. Jupp would go on to be the first local Hall of Fame inductee in 1989. Coach of the Year was first introduced in 1989, won by Rob Houwen for his contributions as coach of the GNFL country week side that won the grand final, as well as coaching the Brigades Football Club. Since he won the award, Houwen believes coaching has evolved to become quite a different role. “Coaching in itself has probably changed, the way you deal with people back when I won the award is different to how you handle a team now,” he said. “There was a transition to the style of coaching, it was more embracing and getting everyone involved as opposed to the hard, discipline style of coaching.” In 1985, two new awards were added to celebrate efforts of people in sport for achievements off the field, with the first being the Sports Personality of the Year, which went to Judy Millward. She pushed for a dedicated facility to be built for netballers in Geraldton and without her, it might have taken many years for one to be established. The Administrator of the Year award recognises volunteers who are the backbone of a sporting community, with David Crothers symbolising that sentiment. Crothers supported hockey in Geraldton and WA for years and was instrumental in the men’s, women’s and junior associations being formed in the 1980s. “(The award) become far more professional now, when I was the administrator of the year it was a voluntary position, but now we have a permanent person,” Crothers said. “Administration is becoming a very big part of any sport, when you think about it, it’s very professional.” Volunteers are vital to the community and Crothers said they helped bring local events to life and drew money back into clubs. “Most country sports survive on volunteers … those things are so important for the foundation of the country they support,” he said. Volunteers help keep sports alive and one of the biggest awards that helps recognise these gems in the community is Official of the Year. The inaugural award, first introduced in 1999, was shared between basketball referee Ian Heberle and football umpire Murray Stevens. The ceremony celebrates not just individuals but group achievements, with the Batavia Coast Buccaneers winning Team of the Year in 1989, their debut season where they reached the grand final. Many of these winners have stayed involved or active within their community, helping shape the Mid West sporting landscape into what it is today. Sport can help boost a local economy, with events drawing people from over the State to one region as seen in Geraldton across many sports. “When you get into communities like (Geraldton), and we have a large community, but a lot of people gravitate to sport,” Crothers said. “The amount of people that Geraldton attracts to participate in sport is huge. “We wouldn’t get those people to come if we didn’t have the organisations and we didn’t have the facilities, and that is extremely important for the whole matrix of a successful community.” For many people, sports becomes their livelihood and Houwen says that it doesn’t get appreciated as much as it should. “I think it’s amazing … I think we take sport for granted sometimes,” he said. “It’s friendship, it’s team building, societal, it is safe places for kids to grow up, parents and grandparents to be involved in a way that nothing else does.” To nominate someone for this year’s awards or to find out more about the categories, visit the Mid West Sport Federation website at mwsf.org.au. Nominations close on November 5 to recognise accomplishments and contributions between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2023. This year’s Geraldton Guardian Mid West Sports Awards will be presented on Friday, November 17 at the Geraldton Yacht Club. Tickets are on sale now and can be bought at https://mtr.cool/tvucfatccw.