Top honours for sport volunteers

Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres has paid tribute to the extraordinary contributions of volunteers to community sport at a special awards ceremony last night.

The annual Sport NSW Community Sports Awards celebrates the vital role that volunteers play in ensuring that sport operates efficiently across the state.

“More than 2.1 million people give up their time to volunteer across the state, with an incredible 500,000 volunteers contributing to local sport every week,” Mr Ayres said.

“Volunteering is the backbone of many communities and contributes more than 240 million hours of service and over $5 billion to the NSW economy every year.

“Sport, in particular, relies heavily on volunteers to ensure the smooth running and operation of clubs to support 2.5 million people participating in grassroots sport each week.

“So we are talking about the mums, dads and volunteers young and old alike getting up early or staying late and giving generously of their time to help their local clubs.”

Sport NSW Chairperson Joseph La Posta said: “The 2018 NSW Community Sports Awards named winners across 10 categories, highlighting contributions to coaching, officiating, and by teams, events and clubs.”

“The night recognised 23 Distinguished Long Service recipients for their exceptional loyalty to their sport, with award winners travelling from as far as Gunnedah, Cootamundra and Tamworth.

“We witnessed a sell-out crowd with over 280 people representing a variety of sports, including Australian Rules, Cricket, Football, Squash, Judo and Dragon Boats.”

More information at: www.sportnsw.com.au/news/11003