19 April 2023 | Tennis Victoria

Congratulations to the below individuals, organisations, clubs and Local Government Authorities for progressing through to the finalist stage of the 2022 Victorian Sport Awards (VSAs). Winners will be announced when the VSAs are held at Marvel Stadium on Wednesday 7 June, 2023.

Tennis Victoria congratulates the eight tennis finalists at the Victorian Sport Awards!

See the finalists below:

Gallagher Coach of the Year: Vicky Lee

Coaching at Doncaster Tennis Club and Eastern Region Tennis Association (as well as at 19 schools throughout Melbourne’s east), Vicky is determined to make tennis a sport for all, for life. She has run several initiatives including PWII tennis (for persons with an intellectual impairment), deaf/hard of hearing tennis, blind/low vision tennis, Evelyn’s Tennis (for seniors), Changing Ends (for shift workers and emergency service workers) and Advantage Autism which won the Victorian Tennis Award for Most Outstanding Inclusion Initiative in 2022.

AFL SportsReady Young Team of the Year: Saalim Naser and Riley Dumsday

Saalim and Riley paired up to help Australia win the Junior World Team Cup, the wheelchair tennis equivalent of the Davis Cup. Not dropping a set through the singles all tournament, Riley won the opening rubber in the final against world number 22 Joshua Johns (representing top seed Great Britain) before teaming up with Saalim to win 6-1, 6-4 in the deciding doubles rubber. The victory was the second time Australia have secured the Junior World Team Cup.

Love the Game Community Sporting Club of the Year: Coburg Tennis Club

Striving to create a safe, inclusive and thriving tennis venue that caters to their entire community, Coburg Tennis Club offers a variety of playing opportunities including Tennis 4 Teens, Girls Let’s Play and open court sessions which has helped grow their participation by 37% on the previous year for a total of 1,284 contacts. Keen to trial a new program and expand their participation, the club has worked with Tennis Victoria to integrate a player with autism as well as their local NDIS Office to offer come and try days for 14 to 17 year-old clients. Sport4All has also asked them to relay their insights and learnings from these initiatives.

GameDay Sports Administrator of the Year – Eunice Gill Award: Danielle Lowerson

By championing inclusion and diversity education and initiatives, Danielle has enabled more Victorians to engage with tennis regardless of the barriers they may face as players, coaches and Australian Open ball kids. In collaboration with Buldau Yioohgen, Danielle delivered multiple Culture on Court events across Melbourne for 150+ participants while she helped 21 tennis clubs deliver initiatives through the Accessible, Community, Equality Grants aimed at enhancing access to tennis for underrepresented groups. Danielle also assists more young people to engage as volunteers and leaders at their local club by integrating diversity and inclusion into Tennis Victoria’s Future Leaders program.

Leasexpress Sport Initiative of the Year: Women Leaders in Tennis – Tennis Victoria

Targeting senior leaders, club volunteers and administrators, the Women Leaders in Tennis initiative opened opportunities for women and girls on and off the court with the aim to remove any limits for them within the sport. The four-month program was delivered in three modules of leading self, leading others and leading change with all 64 participants engaging an Action Learning Project within their club. One highlight was the generation of the Macedon Ranges Girls Tennis Academy which addressed the participation drop-off of girls by supporting them to attain a coaching certificate and employing them as assistant coaches for girls’ squads; creating role models and nurturing a supportive culture

VicHealth Active Recreation Initiative of the Year: Victorian Blind Tennis Program – Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria

In 2022, Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria (BSRV) engaged nine ambassadors who are blind or vision impaired to play a key role in increasing awareness and participation in blind tennis. The program expanded beyond a social Friday evening format to create competition pathways at all levels with BSRV helping participants find a local club. A key focus was BSRV’s dedicated children’s blind tennis program which responded to declining participation numbers following COVID-19. As a result, 40 regular participants with vision loss were engaged as well as an additional 80 through metropolitan and regional come and try days.

Involve Masters Athlete of the Year: Jarrod Broadbent – Tennis

Jarrod’s year began with two victories at the Australian Seniors Championships, winning both the Men’s 50’s Singles and Doubles before following up with another Singles win at the Oceania/Asia Pacific Championships in March and finishing Runners-Up in Doubles. Heading overseas to Florida in May, he captained the men’s Australian Teams to a bronze medal and came runners-up in the Singles World Championships. Ranked number one in 50+ Men’s Singles in the world, Jarrod was awarded Most Outstanding Tennis Senior at the 2022 Victorian and Australian Tennis Awards.

Polytan Peter Norman Inclusion Award: Culture on court – Tennis Victoria

A partnership between Tennis Victoria and Anglicare Victoria’s Aboriginal Youth Leadership Academy, Buldau Yioohgen, Culture on Court (CoC) is a program connecting community through the joy of tennis and enabling marginalised groups to comfortably participate under the leadership of Aunty Kellie Hunter and Uncle Les Corlett. Events were run in Bendigo and Castlemaine while 150 attendees were involved in an event at Melbourne Park. In addition, 12 Victorian Aboriginal young people participated in the National Indigenous Tennis Carnival in Darwin, incorporating Buldau Yioohgen Northern Experience on Country and creating unique and memorable cultural experiences for the entire team.