On the Sunday morning after the NSW Triathlon Club Champs, as the majority of athletes slept off a few quiet diet cokes from the previous afterparty / presentation, a number of the Triathlon community came together to bond over our other true love – coffee.
We also used the chance to reflect on the season just passed, and recognise some truly awesome volunteers in the sport, who have made a significant contribution to their local clubs and local communities.
The NSW Triathlon Board endorsed the addition of three new awards which continues to enhance our opportunity to rewards and recognise special individuals who go ‘above and beyond’ and keep the cogs of local clubs turning and working.
We are beyond thrilled to showcase our three inaugural winners!
Technical Official of the Year Award
The 2024 Technical Official of the Year Winner – Marg George – Panthers Tri Club
Marg is found officiating at many triathlon events across NSW each and every season. But demonstrates her love and passion, and connection to the grass roots by also officiating at all Panthers TC Club races.
She has displayed strong dedication to the program, having been an active member of the Technical Program in NSW for 15 years, donating huge amounts of time to the sport and success of triathlon races in NSW.
A member of the Technical Sub Committee for past 8 years, she is an experienced presenter at Local Technical Official (LTO) courses and has carried out numerous Local and Regional Technical Official Field of Play competency assessments, supporting the next generation of Tech Officials to commence their own journeys. When asked amongst her peers for some words to describe her, we were provided ‘Dependable, fair, team player and problem solver’.
Volunteer of the Year Award
The 2024 Volunteer of the Year Recipient – Fiona Thomas, Panthers Tri Club
Fiona has been involved and on the committee of her club, the Panthers Triathlon Club, for close to 10 years now.
Through the ups and downs of volunteering for 10 years, it’s her dedication and commitment that’s never waived. She is always there to help, organise and is currently the club secretary, media manager, coordinates the uniforms, setting up races for the timing system, conducting club swim sessions and ensuring they are promoted on social media, updating the website and organising presentations nights.
Fiona works tirelessly behind the scenes to make Panthers Triathlon Club work and there isn’t much Fiona hasn’t done over the last decade to keep Panthers Tri Club running smoothly.
Age Group Coach of the Year Award
The 2024 Age Group Coach of the Year Recipient – Nicole Ward, Warringah Triathlon Club
Nicole, our winner of the Age Group Coach of the Year Award, leads by example. She know what it takes to transform good to great and keeps athletes always focused on their goals. With strong affiliation through Warringah Triathlon Club she’s given so much back to community creating a strong loyal following particularly taking a leadership role and supporting the club with their ‘FLNFT’ program. Our winner is a wonderful role model and ambassador for our great sport and simply put, she gets results with her coached athletes and continues to demonstrate she loves triathlon!
