Sport
23 March, 2024
Sports Achievement award
Jacob Fordham is the recipient of the 2024 Sports Achievement Award.
Jacob Fordham is the recipient of the 2024 Sports Achievement Award. There were two other nominees for the award, cricketer Matthew Everett and the Gilgandra District Cricket Association Representative Team. Councillor Ashley Walker read out the nominations for the award.
Jacob Fordham: “Jacob has demonstrated an outstanding performance over the past 12 months, particularly in athletics. He was named senior boy champion at the Western Regional Athletics Carnival, winning several categories. This included the senior 200-metre race, 12-years 100m, and senior boys high jump, where he set a new record by nine centimetres. Jacob went on to represent the western region at the diocesan athletics where he again won the high jump and placed third in both the one hundred and two hundred metre events. Jacob also represented the Bathurst Diocese at the NSW Catholic Primary Schools Athletics Championships, winning the high jump event with an impressive jump of 1.51 metres. Furthermore, he won the high jump on the NSW PSSA Athletics Championships by jumping a personal best of 1.61 metres. This performance placed Jacob in the NSW team to compete at the Australian School Sports Track and Field Championships held in Tasmania where he finished sixth overall. Jacob was awarded with a gold medal at the Australian titles for his performance in the multiple class relay event.” Cr Walker also personally complimented Jacob by stating “He is a very talented young sportsman.”
Matthew Everett: “Matthew Everett is a dedicated cricket player. He has won the Patron’s Trophy for Man of the Match in the Gilgandra District Cricket Association grand final, and was also joint representative player of the year for the 2021/2022 season. He has played at country level in the past, setting a new run scoring record for the carnival in November 2022. Matt was named the Male NSW Country Cricketer of the Year for season 2022/2023, and was named again for the 2023/2024 teams. He is a fine ambassador for cricket, taking time to mentor teammates as well as junior players,” commented Cr Walker.
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Gilgandra District Cricket Association Representative Team: “The Gilgandra District Cricket Association Representative Team made the semi-finals of the Brewery Shield in the 2021/2022 season, after a seven-year hiatus. In the 2022/23 season, the team went undefeated. They won the Brewery Shield, Macquarie Valley Western Zone Plate, and the Statewide Country Plate finals. For these, they played against Cobar, Bourke, Narromine, Dubbo, Mudgee, Singleton, and Griffith.” Cr Walker complimented the team, commenting that “the interest and level of sport was something not witnessed in the shire for many years.” Of the players, he said “[they] upheld fine sportsmanship and skill throughout and are a credit to our region.”
