The Newcombe Medal, Australian Tennis Awards celebrates and recognises the performances, achievements and contributions made by members of the tennis family each year, and yesterday, five West Australians were named among the finalists for this year’s event.
Held Monday 24 November in the Palladium Ballroom at Melbourne’s Crown Entertainment Complex, the Newcombe Medal, Australian Tennis Awards presents a unique opportunity to celebrate the year in tennis with legends of the past and the greats of today, culminating in the presentation of the Newcombe Medal, with Australia’s top ranked tennis players, Samantha Stosur and Lleyton Hewitt, alongside the resurgent WA favourite Casey Dellacqua and rising star Nick Kyrgios, named finalists for this year’s Medal.
Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said the event would celebrate all levels of achievement within the tennis community.
“As well as recognising Australia’s most outstanding tennis player, the awards celebrate the exceptional accomplishments and contributions of tennis communities, coaches, clubs and schools around the country,” he said.
The 2014 finalists were honoured to learn of their nomination for the sport’s top gong.
Dellacqua said: “It’s a great honour to be nominated as one of the finalists for the Newcombe Medal. It’s always a great night with all the current and past Australian players together in one room, and I’m looking forward to getting to Melbourne next month. Since the award was introduced in 2010 it has been highly regarded by the Australian players, particularly since Newk was such an icon of the game.”
In the Most Outstanding School, Most Outstanding Australian Ranking Tournament, Most Outsanding 35+ Senior, and Coaching Excellence – Club categories, four WA nominees were given the nod to attend the Awards Ceremony as Finalists.
Kingsley Primary School in Armadale was named among two other finalists in the Most Outstanding School Category, which recognises schools that have aligned with a Tennis Australia qualified coach, have a dedicated staff member assigned to tennis, have strong links with the local club and coach and have incorporated tennis part of the curriculum. Deputy Principal of Kingsley Primary School, Mike Devlin, will represent his school at the Awards Ceremony. Devlin has been the key driver in creating a love and passion of tennis among his students. All students at Kingsley Primary from years 1 – 7 take part in an 8 week course in ANZ Tennis Hot Shots as part of their physical education program. Outside of these classes, children are encouraged to play tennis in their recess and lunch breaks three times a week. In Term 4, Kingsley Primary School will also be taking part in interschool tennis tournaments with the neighbouring schools.
The Busselton Junior Tournament was named as a finalist in the Most Outstanding Australian Ranking Tournament Category. This award is selected from an Australian Money Tournament or Optus Junior Tour event. These events are the stepping stones for players to develop their games. The Busselton Junior Tournament has been operating for more than 14 years and attracts up to 190 participants each year. The tournament is an Australian Ranking Tournament for 12-16/U juniors, in both singles and double competitions. This year they also introduced a non-Australian Ranking 10 & under boys and girls competition for the juniors who are just starting out.
In the Most Outstanding 35+ Senior Category, Moira Durkin from Mount Lawley Tennis Club was named alongside two other finalists. This award recognises involvement in 35+ seniors tennis as a player or administrator or both. Durkin has been a member of the Mt Lawley Tennis Club since 1987. Her love of tennis is undiminished and she continues a very active involvement into her eighties. Durkin has made a major contribution to Senior Tennis as an administrator and as a very successful player in veteran’s tennis tournaments over the last 15 years.
Head Coach of Cottesloe Tennis Club, David Culley, was named as a finalist in the Coaching Excellence – Club Category. This award recognises the coaches that work within their local communities to provide quality coaching programs. All finalists are actively involved in growing the game and provide competition opportunities for players to progress their game. Culley has been the head coach at Cottesloe Tennis Club for the past 20 years and has a very strong relationship with the club and local tennis community. David provides the opportunity for player to move from coaching programs to competitions and tournaments, which is evident in the 56 pennant teams that he overseas at Cottesloe, the largest number of teams of any WA Club.
David is committed to the development of our junior player and holds School holiday Tennis Camps in which over 100 children attend. Culley also has a close relationship with North Cottesloe Primary, who have recently become part of The National Schools Participation Program.
The full list of Australian Tennis Award Categories and finalists is available at: http://www.tennis.com.au/news-and-events/events/newcombe-medal
For more information about the Newcombe Medal, Australian Tennis Awards please click here.
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