In just under a week the Softball Australia Awards of Excellence dinner willget underway to recognise athletes and officials’ contribution towardsthe top softball nation in the world.

 

In its sixth year, the national awards dinner will be heldon Saturday 20 October 2007 at the Chifley at Lennons in Brisbane.

 

Forty-two finalists across 11 categories will vie for awardsat the 2007 Awards of Excellence, that will officially recognise those who havecontributed to the sport and its successes on and off the diamond.

The finalists are:

Female Athlete of the Year – Sandra Allen (Qld), Kylie Cronk (Qld), Tracey Mosley (Qld) and Belinda Wright (NSW), sponsored by The Dugout.

 

Male Athlete of the Year – Neal Delpero (WA),Adam Folkard (ACT), Andrew Kirkpatrick (ACT) and Nick Shailes (NSW), sponsoredby Easton.

 

Junior Female Athlete of the Year – ClareCurrie (ACT), Chelsea Forkin (WA), Leigh Godfery (WA) and Brooke Spence (Qld),sponsored by Boronia Travel Centre.

 

Junior Male Athlete of the Year – Cameron Bint(NSW), Andrew Evans (Vic), Corey Jong (Vic) and Heath Wells (ACT), sponsored bythe Australian Sports Commission. 

 

Coach of the Year – Leanne Evans (Vic),Michelle Nancarrow (NSW) and Lachlan Thorburn (Qld), sponsored by theUniversity of Queensland (School of Human Movement Studies).

Spirit Award – Marissa Carpadios (Qld), Nicole Deegenaars (NSW),Mike Harrow (ACT), and Kate Quigley (Vic), sponsored by the Australian SportsCommission.

Administrator of the Year – Rodney King (ACT), Sue Nisbet (Qld),Keith Sampson (SA) and Shirley Schneider (WA), sponsored by Sport EmploymentAustralia.

Local Association of the Year – Toowoomba Softball Association(Qld) and Waverley Softball Association (Vic), sponsored by St George Bank.

Statistician of the Year – Kaye Greggs (NSW), Michael Hannelly(NSW), Ngaire Huston (Qld),  Lindy Rattigan (SA) and Mary Walkinshaw(Vic), sponsored by Bellevue IT.

Vivienne Triplett Award, Umpire of the Year -  Debbie Grove (Vic),Sue Itzstein (NSW), Yvonne Kahler (Qld), Mike Sandford (ACT) and Diane Waller(Vic) and, sponsored by McKenna Hampton Insurance.

Indigenous Athlete of the Year – Renee Gloss (NSW), Jeff Goolagong(ACT) and Stacey Porter (NSW), sponsored by Sportswear Queensland.

The award winners are selected by an awards panel and will be announced on thenight.