Cricket Australia celebrates the outstanding contribution of grassroots volunteers across the country with the announcement of the winners of the Awards.
Announced during National Volunteer Week, two finalists were selected in 13 categories with the nominees all demonstrating the amazing support thousands of volunteers across the game provide for their local clubs and associations.
The most significant of them is the National Volunteer of the Year, which went to Glenorie District Cricket Club’s president Amanda Fraser, the first female present in the club’s 130-year-old history. Fraser has demonstrated amazing leadership and dedication restoring the fortunes of the Glenorie Cricket Club in NSW by creating a diverse, inclusive and vibrant experience for cricketers and families in the local community.
The Women & Girls’ Initiative of the Year was won by Dubbo Junior Cricket Association and the Young Leader of the Year was won by Elysa Oliveri of the Blowfly Cricket Club in Northern Sydney for her amazing contribution to all-abilities cricket.
CNSW volunteers and venues have also bagged the titles of Community Coach of the Year, Community Cricket Association of the Year, Inclusion & Diversity Initiative of the Year, and Indoor Facility of the Year.
Roy Binks, who has been coaching at the Griffith District Cricket Association for over 20 years and is a lifelong volunteer to the sport, was awarded the Coach of the Year Award. The Community Cricket Association of the Year went to Cricket Albury Wodonga (CAW) while the Indoor Facility of the Year went to the John Mackay Sport Centre, a new, purpose-built multi-sport facility at Bankstown.
The Inclusion & Diversity of the Year award went to West Pennant Hills CherryBrook Cricket Club (WPHCCC), which has a long history of being inclusive and welcoming – 59% of their playing base has a parent born overseas and a record 14% of the club’s players are female. The last season, WPHCCC moved away from the traditional all-white playing uniform for its female players and volunteers to adopt a club-specific Indigenous uniform.
CNSW’s initiatives were also highly commended in three other categories. Blacktown City and District Cricket Association were hailed as a Partnership of the Year, while Parramatta District Cricket Association found a special mention for their initiatives with technology and media, as they created a great system to navigate the transition to the PlayHQ scoring platform.
The Cowra Junior Cricket Association received a commendation as the Junior Initiative of the Year for garnering an amazing turnaround in participation the last season through come and try days.
Supported by CommBank, the awards recognise excellent performance and outstanding initiatives in all areas of community cricket volunteering, club administration, officiating, participation, diversity and inclusion and program development.
Awards partners CommBank, Toyota and Gatorade provided valuable support this season.
Lee Germon, CEO, Cricket NSW, said:
I would like to congratulate all volunteers, clubs and associations that have won the awards, and all others who have worked tirelessly to make the 2022-23 season a memorable one for Cricket in NSW. The fact that we have been considered for so many of these accolades is testimony to our commitment to growing the game in New South Wales. Cricket NSW is aligned to and united in our ethos with Cricket Australia, and every club and association in the state, and the awards reflect our efforts to work towards a common goal – that of inspiring everyone to play and love cricket.”
For a full list of the awards, go here