Sailing Success at the NSWIS Sport Awards

8:03 AM Wed 2 Dec 2009 GMT

'Outteridge & Jensen at 2009 Australian 49er Championship' Craig Heydon Click Here to view large photo

Held annually, the 2009 NSW Institute of Sport Awards Dinner was held at on Thursday 26 November 2009 at the Australian Jockey Club, Randwick. The awards are held to recognise outstanding sporting achievements of NSWIS athletes, coaches and sport programs.

Iain Jensen and Nathan Outteridge won the Team Athlete of the Year Award while the NSWIS Sailing Program won Program of the Year under the guidance of NSWIS coach Erik Stibbe.

Geoff Davidson president of Yachting NSW said 'the performances of the sailors and coach reflect the hard work and dedication the athletes and coach put into the sport every day. The sailing community should be proud of their performances'.

Competition for the awards is always tough as all athletes are World Class. Some of the athletes from various sports striving for the NSWIS Awards were Matthew Mitcham (Diving) whom was the first Australian diver to win four gold medals at a national championship. Dani Samuels (Track & Field) at the Athletics World Championship won gold in the Women's discuss with a throw of 65.44m.The throw smashed her personal best by over two meters and became the youngest ever female discus world champion.

Sailing had eight finalists nominated in the twelve NSWIS Award categories, an excellent achievement The categories included Academic Excellence - General, Academic Excellence, Career Development, Outstanding Achievement, Junior Athlete of the Year, Most Memorable Moment, Regional Excellence, Team Athlete of the Year, Program of the Year, Coach of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year.

Iain Jensen was a finalist in the following categories; Regional Excellence, Team Athlete of the Year, Program of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year. Iain sailed with partner Nathan Outteridge at the 49er World Championships where they won Gold then teamed with Nathan's sister Hayley to take the Bronze at the 29er World Championship.

Nathan Outteridge was also a finalist in the following categories; Regional Excellence, Team Athlete of the Year, Program of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year. Similarly Nathan also won Gold at the 49er World Championship as well as gold medals at the 49er ISAF World Cup, 49er World Championships and the Delta Lloyd Regatta. A versatile sailor Nathan also claimed silver medals at the 29er and Moth world championships.

Darren Bundock was a finalist in the Male Athlete of the Year category. Darren was nominated for this award as he recently won his seventh Tornado world championship. Darren's achievements include two Olympic silver medals, three formula 18 world championships and five European championships

Nicky Souter was a finalist in the Female Athlete of the Year category. Nicky won gold at the match racing world championships. It was Nicky's third world championship appearance, but first victory by defeating her Swedish competitor in the finals three races to nil

The final award Sailing was nominated for was Program of the Year. 2009 was a remarkable year for the NSWIS Sailing program. Athletes within the program won three world championships as mentioned above. To further the outstanding achievements of the senior athletes, Lisa Darmanin and Jason Waterhouse picked up a youth world championship winning gold in the Hobie 16, an outstanding result for the youth sailors.

by Daniel Williams

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Sailing Success at the NSWIS Sport Awards

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