By Brendan Rees
Casey’s sporting community has cleaned up at the 2019 Victorian Sport Awards night, taking home three individual awards on Wednesday 26 February.
In front of 500 people at Marvel Stadium, Casey Stadium was honoured after taking out the Local Government Initiative of the Year Award while the Victorian Sikh Games Organising Committee won the Community Sporting Event of the Year after hosting the Victorian Sikh Games at Casey Fields.
Natasha Moody of Narre Warren East was also presented the Young Team of the Year Award on behalf the Victorian Equestrian Interschools Team, of which she is the team captain.
They were among 19 winners on a night that recognised athletes, coaches, clubs, officials and volunteers from grassroots levels through to elite ranks across Victoria.
Casey Stadium celebrated its $7.3 million final stage of its major redevelopment last year, which includes new and upgraded multipurpose courts for basketball, netball, badminton and volleyball, including a mini-show court. The stadium has attracting some fantastic sporting events to the region, including Big V games, college basketball games, Victorian Netball League games, the Sikh Games, and the National Indoor Cricket Championships.
The Australian Sikh Games was held over the Easter Long Weekend at Casey Fields with about 200,000 people attending over the three days – the biggest the event has seen in its 32-year history.
The Games have become a staple sporting and cultural event for the Australian Sikh community which is held in every year in capital cities around Australia.
Parliamentary Secretary for Sport, Danielle Green congratulated all achievers on the night.
“We’re seeing growing numbers of girls and boys, women and men signing up to play sport at local clubs. Home-grown heroes play a big part in inspiring that growth,” she said.
“The hard work and dedication of athletes, coaches, officials, administrators and volunteers at all levels of sport is truly outstanding”.
The night was attended by all finalists, family, friends, sporting organisations and clubs to celebrate the successes of elite and community sport.
Thirty-nine highly qualified people from the Victorian sports industry were invited as judging panelists to pick the finalists across the categories.
