Making it’s debut at the 2023 WA Sport Awards, the RSM Australia Volunteer of the Year Award recognises a volunteer from community sport in Western Australia who has made a positive difference to the opportunities and experiences available to others.
The WA Sports Industry thrives off a community of hardworking and dedicated volunteers, and this year we are excited to introduce our three finalists; Mathew Vine (Athletics), Renae Fussell (Football) and Connor Clarke (Kendo Renmei).
Mathew Vine (Athletics)
With the ambition of helping drive improvements at club and state level, Matthew Vine took long service leave in 2023 and dedicated his time to the improvement of athletics systems and processes. He continued to serve the Ridgewood Athletics Centre in key roles, and was a volunteer official at the Strive Program. Matt played a pivotal role in the successful delivery of Athletics West events through the past 12 months, and used his extended time of leave to support the delivery of major championships. He was team manager for the WA team competing at the Australian Little Athletics Championships in Melbourne, and even found time to travel to Poland to support delivery of the World Masters Indoor Championships.
Renae Fussell (Football)
In one of the biggest years ever for the world game of football, Renae Fussell has continued to lead the Baldivis Districts Football Club as President. The success of the “i-league” at the club to drive inclusion has seen the club and Renae as President acknowledged as a finalist for the City of Rockingham Inclusion Program of the Year. Renae also gave her time to higher levels of the sport, volunteering to support the FIFA Women’s World Cup and Asian Football Confederation Women’s Olympic Qualifiers. Renae was acknowledged for her contribution to the National Para Football Championships at the Sam Kerr Football Centre when she was named Volunteer of the Tournament for her contribution.
Connor Clarke (Kendo Renmei)
Re-elected to the voluntary State Development Officer role in 2023, Connor Clarke led the process for the sport of Kendo Renmei to be recognised as a State Sporting Association. The goal that was achieved on 17 October 2023 when Minister for Sport The Honourable David Templeman wrote to confirm the recognition after 50 years of activity in WA. Connor was also the driving force behind Constitutional reform for the organisation, and the members formally adopted new Rules in June 2023. Both of these achievements have built a strong platform from which the sport can grow in the future. Not content with these achievements, Connor has also actively fostered a relationship with the WA Japanese Consular General who formally opened the 2023 WA Kendo Championships and 2023 Laido Championships in Perth.
The 2023 WA Sport Awards will be presented on Thursday, 29 February 2024 at HBF Stadium. Tickets are on sale now, purchase your ticket HERE.
For more information
Please contact SportWest Events Manager, Hannah Lawton at events@sportwest.com.au or Communications Manager Bronte Vause at brontevause@sportwest.com.au
