20/11/2010: State Team Presentation Dinner
With the NAS Nationals being held in mid December, a change of format was decided on for the Annual Awards. Usually held in conjunction with a BBQ following the State Team Grading at the end of the year, a new format was decided on for 2010. Held at the Halfway Hotel, 70 people attended the inaugural State Team Presentation Dinner on Saturday 20th November and it was a resounding success. The exclusive venue gave competitors and families the opportunity to dress up and celebrate the year in a relaxed manner. Throughout the evening, photos and videos played on the big screen, allowing reminiscing of the year's Tournaments. State Team RM Sensei James Gray was unable to attend due to a prior engagement, but Region 9 RM Sensei Joe van Strijp and his fiancé Nina were able to and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the awards. First up, thankyou gifts were presented to Vicki Harford and Julie Lott, the Andrew and Spiteri Families who had organised fundraising activities throughout the year and to Fred Harford for his First Aid and Sports Trainer assistance at training and tournaments.
In several categories, there were a number of students in contention for the awards and careful consideration had to be made to determine the winners.
| Most Improved Junior: | Madee White | Most Improved Senior: | Tanya Tregenza |
| Most Outstanding Junior Male: | Daniel Andrew | Most Outstanding Junior Female: | Margie Hookway |
| Most Outstanding Senior Male: | Daniel Tregenza | Most Outstanding Senior Female: | Lesley McDonald |
| Most Outstanding Junior Team: | Junior Sync Team (GKR) | Most Outstanding Senior Team: | Senior Female Kumite Team (GKR) |
| International Performer: | Jeremy Thompson | Most Inspirational Performance: | Zoe Tyler |
A Thankyou Gift of a special bottling and a
personalised Photo Collage was presented to
Coaches Sensei Jeremy Thompson and Sensei Shane Bennett by
Daniel Tregenza on
behalf of the Team. Ray Spiteri also spoke on behalf of the parents of the
Junior students on how pleased they were with the time and dedication put into
the Team by the Coaches. Special humorous awards were presented to Jenny Andrew
and Peter Thompson for their misdeeds in Melbourne. The night continued into the
evening with the video from the recent GKR Australian Championships especially
viewed. Feedback was all positive and this event will become the format for
future years. A big thankyou for all those who assisted in the preparation and
on the night.
