| MEDIA RELEASE |
Winners, contributors, retirements and a moustache – Volleyball WA’s 2014 Awards Night
Saturday, 20 September 2014
Volleyball WA honoured its own at the Rendezvous Grand Hotel Perth, Scarborough in an awards night where the major focus was the volleyball community. Most Valuable Players were named across all three codes of volleyball, coaches and referees of the year were awarded as was the Volunteer of the Year and several Orders of Merit. The night’s hosting duo Tara West and Jen Day were recognized following their previously announced retirement from the Australian Volleyroos Indoor Volleyball Team, and the Women’s State team coach, Pauline Manser was made a Life Member.
Jen Day and Tara West
West and Day need not worry about what to do after volleyball, as they showed that they have a future in stand-up comedy. Sam Halley was awarded both the Male Beach Volleyball Player of the Year and Junior Male Beach Player of the Year. After announcing his sporting achievements, Halley was asked if he was more concerned about his moustache or his upside-down visor when he is on the beach. It seemed as though his evidently well-groomed moustache would win out but Halley named the visor.
Sam Halley
Female Super League MVP, Celine Haederli was interviewed on stage in French, her native tongue, interpreting her answers for herself. With this mixture of comedy and acknowledgement the awards were presented.
The major sporting award winners were:
Male & Junior Male Beach Player of Year – Sam Halley
Female Beach Player of the Year – Tara Banks & Carrie-Anne Cairns (Joint winners)
Indoor Super League Male (Geoff McIntyre Award) – Mark Petersen (Balcatta)
Indoor Super League Female – Celine Haederli, UWA
Indoor beach MVP female – Senga MacLaughlin, Jenna Valentin (Osborne Park)
Indoor beach MVP men’s – Sam Kingston, Fremantle
International Player of the Year – Luke Perry
Luke Perry
Marty Suan was named as 2014 Coach of the Year. Suan spent four months travelling with the Beach Volleyroos as Performance Analysis coach for Isaac Kapa & Chris McHugh on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. Kapa/McHugh won the AVC Asian Beach Volleyball Championship and claimed a bronze medal at the highly coveted Klagenfurt Grand Slam. Suan is also one of the coaches of WA’s squad at the Australian Junior Beach Volleyball Championships.
Marty Suan
The Referee of the year award went to Danni Francis. Francis is WA’s only accredited international referee, and was a referee for the qualifying games in the recently held World League series, and was scorer at the Final, held in Sydney.
Irene Alonso Chartier and Dani Francis
The Trevor Williams OAM Volunteer Administrator of the Year was Rossmoyne Club President Peter Batty. During his eight years as club president, Batty has supported junior development and re-established a women’s Super League WAVL team. He sits on numerous committees and as at 2014 the Rossmoyne club has 27 teams playing in divisions from Spikezone to Super League.
Peter Batty
In receiving her Life Membership Pauline Manser talked about her career, which started as accidental attendance at a high school coaching course and reached its peak at the Sydney Olympics where she was part of Australia’s indoor squad. She talked about spending time on a sports scholarship in the USA, being isolated and overcoming one obstacle after another and each time making a conscious decision to stay in the sport.
Manser played more than 100 games for Australia. She was coach of the Australian Women’s team from 2009 – 2013, and since becoming coach of the state team, the Pearls, has achieved success after success. In five years, the WA State women’s team won 3 gold medals, 1 silver and a bronze in the Australian Volleyball League.
The night clearly showed that Western Australia has a very rich and deep well of talent within its Volleyball community – Not the least of which is in stand-up comedy!
Full results below.
Please follow this link if you would like to see some photo’s from the evening;
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.776886902375837.1073741851.144107898987077&type=1
Full list of awards winners:
| BEACH AWARDS | ||
| 2013/14 Alcohol. Think Again Beach Volleyball Tour | Male Individual Player of the Year | Sam Halley |
| 2013/14 Alcohol. Think Again Beach Volleyball Tour | Female Individual Player of the Year | Carrie-Anne Cairns &Tara Banks (joint winners) |
| 2013/14 Alcohol. Think Again Beach Volleyball Tour | Junior Male Beach Player of the Year | Sam Halley |
| 2013/14 Alcohol. Think Again Beach Volleyball Tour | Junior Female Beach Player of the Year | Kate Ganz |
| 2013/14 Alcohol. Think Again Beach Volleyball Tour | Male Beach Team of the Year | Sam Delany & Simon O’Donnell |
| 2013/14 Alcohol. Think Again Beach Volleyball Tour | Female Beach Team of the Year | Tara Banks & Carrie-Anne Cairns |
| 2013/14 Alcohol. Think Again Beach Volleyball Tour | Male Regional Beach Player of the Year | Matt Newbold / Heath Lintern (joint winners) |
| 2013/14 Alcohol. Think Again Beach Volleyball Tour | Female Regional Beach Player of the Year | Amber Moule |
| INDOOR AWARDS | |||
| 2014 Western Australian Volleyball League | Geoff McIntyre Most Valuable Player | Superleague Men | Mark Petersen |
| 2014 Western Australian Volleyball League | Most Valuable Player | Superleague Women | Celine Haederli |
| 2014 Western Australian Volleyball League | Most Valuable Player | Division 1 Men | Christopher Prior |
| 2014 Western Australian Volleyball League | Most Valuable Player | Division 1 Women | Gabrielle Whittington |
| 2014 Western Australian Volleyball League | Most Valuable Player | Division 2 Men | Mubin Syed |
| 2014 Western Australian Volleyball League | Most Valuable Player | Division 2 Women | Jenna Gallagher |
| 2014 Western Australian Volleyball League | Most Valuable Player | Division 3 Men | Benjamin Allen |
| 2014 Western Australian Volleyball League | Most Valuable Player | Division 3 Women | Jasmyn Fullgrabe |
| 2014 Western Australian Volleyball League | Most Valuable Player | Division 4 Women | Jessica Kilpatrick |
| 2014 Western Australian Volleyball League | Junior Male Indoor Player of the Year | Trent Mounter | |
| 2014 Western Australian Volleyball League | Junior Female Indoor Player of the Year | Shelby Maher | |
| INDOOR BEACH | |||
| 2014 Super League | Most Valuable Player | Female | Senga MacLachlan & Jenna Valentin (joint winners) |
| 2014 Super League | Most Valuable Player | Male | Sam Kingston |
| 2014 Super League | Team | Mixed | Bunbury Indoor Beach |
| 2014 Super League | Team | Female | Fremantle Indoor Beach |
| 2014 Super League | Team | Male | Malaga Indoor Beach |
| VOLLEYBALL WA | |
| 2014 International Player of the Year | Luke Perry |
| 2014 Rookie Coach of the Year | Gareth Bowen |
| 2014 Coach of the Year | Martin Suan |
| 2014 Rookie Referee of the Year | Irene Alonso Chartier |
| 2014 Referee of the Year | Danielle Francis |
| 2014 Trevor Williams OAM Volunteer Administrator of the Year | Peter Batty |
| Orders of Merit | Mitchell Collins, Dave De Angelis, Deb De Angelis, Stephen Page, Derek Scales, Joan Strikwerda-Brown, James Taylor and Don Tregenza |
| Life Membership | Pauline Manser |