On Saturday, 27 May 2023, the 2022/23 Triathlon WA Annual Awards were held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Perth Waterfront. We welcomed 160 athletes, supporters, staff, partners and friends to the Waterside room to celebrate the season in style!
View the gallery of photos here: https://patrickboerephotography.pixieset.com/triathlonwaawards/
Triathlon WA would like to congratulate the below award winners on their achievements and contributions in the 2022/23 season. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in 2023/24 for another fantastic year of racing.
Community Coach of the Year Award
The Community Coach of the Year Award, now in its second year, aims to honour those who do outstanding work in coaching non-elite age group or junior triathletes. Winners of this award demonstrate outstanding engagement, integrity, community spirit and commitment to growing the sport of Triathlon in Western Australia.
The 2023 Community Coach of the Year Award was presented to Phoenix Tri Club’s Emma Moon!
Emma has been coaching triathletes of all ages and abilities for 5 years and is known for her infectious enthusiasm and incredible passion for the sport. She delivers group sessions across all disciplines working with beginners to experienced Ironman athletes. She holds a volunteer coaching position with School Sport WA, and is also a coach for the Guildford Grammar School Triathlon Squad.
Coach of the Year Award
The Coach of the Year Award recognises individuals who have coached WA athletes (Age Group or Elite) to one or more outstanding achievements in the preceding twelve months.
The 2023 Coach of the Year award was presented to UWA Triathlon Club’s Steve Gleeson!
Steve is TA Performance Accredited and has coached many athletes to reach their full potential and represent WA in National and International races. His coaching accolades in the past 12 months include Junior Sprint National Champion, Oceania Continental Para Cup Winner, numerous top ten results in Continental Cups, podiums at local events, and a Junior World Championship qualification.
Steve Barrie Technical Official of the Year
The Technical Official of the Year Award has been acknowledged since 2000. The Award was renamed in 2007 in honour of the late Steve Barrie to recognise his significant contribution to our sport.
This award is presented annually in recognition of the service and dedication of a Technical Official to the sport. Awarded to the Technical Official of the Year on the recommendation of the TWA Technical Reference Panel, the Steve Barrie Award recognises an individual’s valuable contribution to the technical program based on their regular participation in the Field of Play (minimum of five events in the season) and their contribution to the progression of the program throughout the season.
This year, the Steve Barrie Award was presented to Felicity Tyrrell-Prince!
Felicity joined the Technical Program 15 years ago and has been a consistently excellent official. Felicity is based in South West WA, and is always happy to support regional events like IMWA, Karri Valley, Busselton Festival of Triathlon and Bunbury Classic. Felicity is an active member of the local community through animal rescue, and is the only official we have that can remove snakes from the course!
Technical Service Awards
The Technical Official Service Awards are awarded in recognition of a Technical Official who has provided over 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 years of commitment and service to the sport of Triathlon. The sport would not be possible if it wasn’t for our Technical Officials, so we’d like to thank every official within our program. The following milestones were celebrated at the 2023 Awards:
5 years of Service:
- Travis Bentley
- Susan Androvich
10 years of Service:
- Damien D’Antoine
- Steve Norton
15 years of Service:
- Felicity Tyrrell – Prince
- Cathy Hoare
25 years of Service:
- Frank Stapleton
- Warren Milward
- Robyn Scott
Congratulations and thank you for your service to our sport and community your efforts are invaluable and so appreciated.
Service to Sport
The Service to Sport Award is intended to recognise an individual who has demonstrated outstanding service to the sport of triathlon at a state, club, event, or other association level. This years’ Service to Sport Winner is the true meaning of outstanding service, having been a coach since 1996, contributing to the creation of novice programs such as Tri-Mum’s, Kids Triathlon School Holiday Program, as well as junior development programs with the Junior Triathlon Academy, School Gold Program and was the Lead of the Triathlon Excellence Program from 2006 – 2009. This award winner is constantly holding events, coaching age group athletes, and working towards making the sport a community.
The 2022/2023 Service to Sport Award winner was Brian Kempson!
Brian recently had to undergo a quadruple heart bypass and whilst recovering he was still checking in with athletes and creating training plans. His passion for the sport and his athletes is undeniable, and we are so grateful for his service to triathlon in Western Australia over the last 25 plus years!
Individual Performance of the Year – Male & Female
The Individual Performance of the Year Award is intended to recognise the most outstanding performances or one-off performance of West Australian athletes in the preceding twelve months including WA athletes racing World Triathlon events.
MALE WINNER:
This year’s Individual Male Performance of the Year Award winner was Kurt Wesley for his performance at the 2023 Oceania Triathlon Cup Busselton.
Representing Australia on the World Triathlon stage since 2015, with 57 World Triathlon starts and having spent 5 months of 2022 in Europe to gain further racing and training experience, he has certainly been committed to the sport.
The 2023 Oceania Triathlon Cup Busselton was a Super Sprint eliminator format involving 3 races back-to-back, with the bottom 8 from each sprint being eliminated. Kurt won the first heat, before crossing line in 3rd place for the 2nd stage and securing his bronze medal in the final. A standout performance from Kurt.
FEMALE WINNER:
The 2022/ 2023 season has been an excellent one for our Female Individual Performance of the Year award winner. She has had an absolutely stellar run with National wins in the eastern states, and is a standout in terms of junior race results. It’s hard to single out just one performance as her best!
This year’s Individual Female Performance of the Year Award winner was Rhianna Hepburn!
Rhianna is a dedicated and consistent performer, who has had great success this season with the support of her Coach, Steve Gleeson, and the UWA tri club. This season Rhianna has achieved amazing results including:
- 2nd place at the 2023 Oceania Triathlon Junior Championships in Taupo in February and helping Australia to win the Oceania Junior Mixed relay title.
- 1st place and crowned Australian Junior Sprint Champion in Adelaide in April.
- Placed a very impressive 5th in 2023 Oceania Triathlon Cup Busselton in a very strong field of predominantly Elite and U23 competitors.
AWARD 7: Development Athlete of the Year
This award is for outstanding commitment, improvement, and performance throughout the season for an athlete in our Development Program. As well as:
- Attendance and attitude at training
- Commitment to team values and interaction
- Skills growth and continued improvement
The Triathlon WA Development Athlete of the Year Award for 2023 was presented to Ivan Nagel!
Ivan is always willing to assist and encourage others, and displays strong leadership qualities, which was reflected in his selection as captain of the WA School Sport Triathlon Team for two years in a row. He is friendly and positive and goes out of his way to engage and communicate with all members of the pathway team. He regularly attends Pathway training and education sessions, and has also recorded very strong results across the season, including stepping up to compete in his first Oceania cup race in Busselton in April.
Champion Club
The Champion Club trophy is awarded annually to the club whose financial members accumulated the most points across the Triathlete of the Year Series. This includes both the Senior and the Junior Series.
The winner of the 2023 Champion Club Award is North Coast Triathlon Club.
Interclub Series Conference Champions
- The Winner of the North Conference is North Coast Triathlon Club
- The Winner of the South Conference is Mandurah Triathlon Club
- The Winner of the Regional Conference is Busselton Triathlon Club
- The Winner of the 2023 Interclub Overall Champion is Mandurah Triathlon Club
Triathlete of the Year (TOTY) Open Winners
Awards are presented to the top five male and female triathletes in the TWA Open Category.
View the full final TOTY standings here: https://www.triwa.com.au/triathlete-of-the-year-current-standings/
| PLACE | MALE | FEMALE |
| 1st | Zeke Tinley | Aleisha Wesley |
| 2nd | Matt Burton | Rachael Smyth |
| 3rd | Reece Harris | Sian Munks |
| 4th | Nick Thompson | Herlene Yu |
| 5th | James Martin | Felicity Sheedy-Ryan |
Triathlete of the Year (TOTY) Age Group Winners
Awards are presented to the three highest point scoring male and female athletes in each age group
View the full final TOTY standings here: https://www.triwa.com.au/triathlete-of-the-year-current-standings/
FEMALE WINNERS
| NAME | AGE GROUP | PLACE |
| Ava Rodgers | 12-13 yrs | 1ST |
| Lucy Henville | 12-13 yrs | 2ND |
| Isabella Neervoort | 12-13 yrs | 3RD |
| Ava Henville | 14-15 yrs | 1ST |
| Billie Mincham | 14-15 yrs | 2ND |
| Rebecca Puccini | 14-15 yrs | 3RD |
| Erin Driscoll | 16-19 yrs | 1ST |
| Bridie Crew | 16-19 yrs | 2ND |
| Kayla Bongers | 16-19 yrs | 3RD |
| Ella Phelan | 20-24 | 1ST |
| Abbie Crew | 20-24 | 2ND |
| Carolyn Wallace | 20-24 | 3RD |
| Sarah Nisbet | 25-29 | 1ST |
| Amie Thompson | 25-29 | 2ND |
| Abigail Bygrave | 25-29 | 3RD |
| Melanie Wade | 30-34 | 1ST |
| Victoria Gill | 30-34 | 2ND |
| Janne Liebmann | 30-34 | 3RD |
| Emma Moon | 35-39 | 1ST |
| Camilla Swenson | 35-39 | 2ND |
| Naomi Bath | 35-39 | 3RD |
| Rebecca Lewis | 40-44 | 1ST |
| Nichole Pursell | 40-44 | 2ND |
| Christina Ladyman | 40-44 | 3RD |
| Kate Atkinson | 45-49 | 1ST |
| Alison Thompson | 45-49 | 2ND |
| Andrea Hopkin | 45-49 | 3RD |
| Nikki Pursell | 50-54 | 1ST |
| Susan Beattie | 50-54 | 2ND |
| Lisa Hitchcock | 50-54 | 3RD |
| Jane Hardy | 55-59 | 1ST |
| Pip Laufmann | 55-59 | 2ND |
| Sue Scott | 55-59 | 3RD |
| Lise Ashton | 60-64 | 1ST |
| Trish Vickery | 60-64 | 2ND |
| June Ward | 60-64 | 3RD |
| Vicki Kelly | 65-69 | 1ST |
| Virginia Westwood | 65-69 | 2ND (tie) |
| Audrey Hull | 65-69 | 2ND (tie) |
| Pamela Williams | 70-74 | 1ST |
| Anne Blatchford | 70-74 | 2ND |
MALE WINNERS
| NAME | AGE GROUP | PLACE |
| Luke Williams | 12-13 yrs | 1ST |
| Cooper Smeulders | 12-13 yrs | 2ND |
| Brodie Wilkinson | 12-13 yrs | 3RD |
| Will Cramsie | 14-15 yrs | 1ST |
| Connor Fraser | 14-15 yrs | 2ND |
| Thor Sultana | 14-15 yrs | 3RD |
| Joshua Fletcher | 16-19 yrs | 1ST |
| Ivan Nagel | 16-19 yrs | 2ND |
| Christophe Gardner | 16-19 yrs | 3RD |
| Michael Orton | 20-24 | 1ST |
| Jaxon Bilchuris | 20-24 | 2ND |
| Chad Mckay | 20-24 | 3RD |
| Aidan Clark | 25-29 | 1ST |
| Min Gao | 25-29 | 2ND |
| Lachie Tweedie | 25-29 | 3RD |
| Rhys Williams | 30-34 | 1ST |
| Claude Morris | 30-34 | 2ND |
| James O’Neill | 30-34 | 3RD |
| Joao Carlos Bernardes Neto | 35-39 | 1ST |
| Philipp Albert | 35-39 | 2ND |
| Zach Clark | 35-39 | 3RD (tie) |
| Iain Miller | 35-39 | 3RD (tie) |
| Andrew Malatios | 40-44 | 1ST |
| Daniel Wedge | 40-44 | 2ND |
| Mark Oakshott | 40-44 | 3RD |
| Barry Williamson | 45-49 | 1ST |
| Peter Brozicevich | 45-49 | 2ND |
| Matt Genevieve | 45-49 | 3RD |
| Russell Harris | 50-54 | 1ST |
| Matt McKay | 50-54 | 2ND |
| Jason Bonser | 50-54 | 3RD |
| Andrew Johns | 55-59 | 1ST |
| Lucky Phil Monks | 55-59 | 2ND |
| Phillip Hays | 55-59 | 3RD |
| Darryl Harris | 60-64 | 1ST |
| Barry Silverlock | 60-64 | 2ND |
| Geoff Large | 60-64 | 3RD |
| Richard Burnell | 65-69 | 1ST |
| John Hook | 65-69 | 2ND |
| Edmund Kerr | 65-69 | 3RD |
| David Whiteley | 70-74 | 1ST |
| Geoffrey Grose | 70-74 | 2ND |
| Dave Scott | 75-79 | 1ST |