AWARDS JUDGING PANEL

Living on the Sunshine Coast for his entire life, Ashley has represented the region in cricket, water polo, AFL and rugby league. Currently CEO at Alex Surf Club for the 12th year running, Ashley has a keen interest in surf sports. Ashley was President of Sunshine Coast Rugby League for a period of eight years and has been Chairman of the Sunshine Coast Falcons since 2014. Ashley has also been a board member at Reed Charity Foundation and the Events Centre, Henzells Foundation. He was the Chairman of Gambling Community Benefit Fund for four years, a State Board delivering around 13 million per quarter around Queensland. With a passion for helping kids with disabilities and their families, Ashley is also a co-founder of the Island Charity Swim.

Maureen was Head of Primary Sport at Sunshine Coast Grammar for 19 years and is currently a board member for the June Canavan Foundation, which is responsible for the provision of grants to numerous organisations including sports. With an involvement in sport over a 40-year window, Maureen has experience as a selector for the year 2000 Olympics triathletes and was on the panel for Triathlon Australia up until the Covid pandemic. Maureen has personally represented Australia for triathlon over past 30 years, reaching a World Champion and Commonwealth Games standard. She is honoured to have the opportunity to support Sunshine Coast Sports as a program working towards helping the next generation of athletes reach their potential.

Samantha is a 10-year Sunshine Coast resident with a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science as, well as a PhD in assessing the workloads of swimming officials. These qualifications have allowed Samantha to develop an incredible understanding of grassroot sports in our region. Over the past 6 years Samantha’s involvement in grassroot sports has progressed further by using her sports science background to assist coaches, officials and athletes with servicing and administration. Samantha’s daily agenda constitutes collaborative work with a multitude of different sporting organisations to be conducted in a confidential and professional matter. Samantha is thrilled to be a part of the rebirth of Sunshine Coast Sports as an excellent community sporting initiative.

Tanya is a 19-year Sunshine Coast resident with 15 years’ experience as a Coastal District School Sport Administrator and has previously worked as a HPE teacher (Mt Creek SHS and Chancellor College). Tanya currently organises the representative school sport program across 14 team sports in 6 age groups, as well as Swimming, Athletics and Cross Country. Managing 75 coaches/managers from 26 schools across the Sunshine Coast, Tanya co-ordinates all district trials events/teams. She works with the SSC School Sport Office, organising regional carnivals and team selection. Tanya has coached/managed school sport teams, junior club teams, and is a touch football participant/officiator. Tanya also has experience working on sports talkback show media with local commercial radio and ABC radio.

As Triathlon Queensland’s Technical and Sanctioning Manager, Carol recruits and develops Technical Officials for Triathlon and Multisport events, organising major QLD teams on the Field of Play. Carol also has 6 years’ experience as a Triathlon Technical Official, sanctioning events and providing insurance for race organisers. She provides guidance to a small team that is passionate about grassroot sports and is responsible for the development of the Sunshine Coast MOV3. Carol personally represented Australia in the 2014 Triathlon Worlds, is a proud mum of three National Triathlete/Cross Country daughters and is involved in several clubs including Caloundra Triathlon, Sunny Coast Darkrunners and Caloundra Aquatic Centre.

Janene is currently the Sunshine Coast regions Surf Lifesaving Queensland’s Community Awareness Coordinator and has been an active patrol Surf Lifesaver for over 11 years. Janene has 3 years’ experience as a development level swim coach and has also volunteered as the junior and intermediate board coach for Dicky Beach SLSC and secretary of the JAC. With a family passionate about sport, Janene has developed an appreciation for the immense dedication and commitment involved in becoming a successful athlete. Janene is grateful to be a part of celebration of Sunshine Coasts sports stars.

Melissa has experience with parkrun Australia, involving the support of local communities to encourage more people to take part in regular physical activity and volunteering. Melissa has been a volunteer for the Sunshine Coast Parkruns since 2012, as both a Run Director and Event Director. After launching the Nambour parkrun in 2015, Melissa is now responsible for the management of, park official communication, volunteer teams, results, social media, and health/safety issues. In 2016, Melissa was appointed as a Parkrun Ambassador where she provides support for all Parkruns operating across the Sunshine Coast, Maryborough and Hervey Bay, as well as prospective Parkruns in the South East region.

Natalie has lived on the Sunshine Coast since 2000 and has been extensively involved in grassroots, youth and emerging talent platforms. Natalie has a background of team management and coaching experience in community, regional and state Surf Life Saving and netball. She is currently a board member at Maroochydore Marketing and Junior Activities, Regional Netball and Surf Life Caving Queensland Junior Activities. As a strong advocate for grassroots emerging talent, Natalie is enthusiastic about the benefits of sport and physical activity amongst kids and adolescents.