Ice Hockey Triumphant at Annual Newcastle Sports Awards

The Newcastle City Council Sports Awards were held on February 22nd and the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium and Newcastle North Stars Club were well represented with 6 finalists attending:

· Official of the Year - Rob Duchemin

· Volunteer of the Year - Keven Ross

· Outstanding Male under 18 Athlete - Matt Lindsay

· Outstanding Male over 18 Athlete - Adam Kimbley

· Junior Sports Team of the Year - North Stars Atoms team

· Senior Sports Team of the Year - North Stars AIHL team

The competition was quite tough, with the likes of Kurt Gidley from the NRL Knights and Matilda's Cheryl Salisbury also finalists. Two of the finalists were successful winners of their category - the Junior North Stars Atoms and Matt Lindsay.

The North Stars Atoms team had a fantastic inagural season in the IHNSW competition, tying for first place, and having seven players make the NSW State Team. Most importantly however was their dedication to twice weekly trainings, often at 6:30am, and their commitment to fair play...to the point of stepping aside to allow weaker players from the opposing team to score their first goal of the season.

Matt Lindsay has played hockey in Newcastle for 6 years and has represented at the State level 3 times. He has represented IHA at the Development camps in Verumaki, Finland and will be travelling to France to play for the National Junior Team in a few weeks time. He has also been named Most Sportsmanlike player in the local in-house competition 3 years in a row.

It is often difficult for ice hockey to get recognition when compared to footy, soccer, and netball, but the Newcastle Sports Awards have shown that it is becoming a force to be reckoned with. The Hunter Ice Skating Stadium is quite confident that it will be finalists in another category at the next awards...Sporting Event of the Year...with the IIHF World Championships being held there in April.