Track and field athlete Nicholas McGill was the star of the show at the 2024 Illawarra Academy of Sport Presentation Night as he claimed the prestigious DRB Group Tobin Family Athlete of the Year award.
McGill joins the likes of previous winners Emma McKeon, Sally Fitzgibbons, Blake Govers, Sarah Carli and Kieran Woolley in etching his name into Illawarra sporting folklore.
McGill also received the IAS BlueScopeWIN Future Stars Athlete of the Year award after an outstanding year on the track, with victories at the state and national level and in an incredible result, won the Under 18s 2000m Steeplechase at the Oceania Athletics Championships and set a new Oceania Championships record.
The 16-year-old dominated the field to win by three seconds and equaled his personal best time and thanked the Illawarra Academy of Sport for their ongoing support as he aims for more success on the international stage.
“The IAS has helped me become stronger as an athlete and smarter in the way I go about my diet and recovery,” McGill said.
“My next big goal is to represent Australia at the World U20 Championships in a few years’ time.”
The DRB Group Tobin Family Athlete of the Year Award is named in honour of one of the Illawarra Academy of Sport’s founding members Ted Tobin OAM and recognises the contribution over many years made by the Tobin Family to sport in the Illawarra and specifically the IAS.
Ian Tobin, son of the late Ted Tobin OAM, said his father was passionate about opportunities being created for young athletes across the Illawarra and that sport had the ability to shape young people in a way that would lay the foundation for success, both in a sporting sense and more importantly on a personal level.
“Dad dedicated much of his life, broadly across the region, to ensuring sport was well participated in, well administered, properly funded and supported by quality infrastructure,” Tobin said.
“For the DRB Group Athlete of the Year Award to carry our family name is humbling. It provides us with a level of pride that is difficult to describe.
“The Illawarra Academy of Sport is a wonderful organisation that the communities of the Illawarra, Tablelands and South Coast should be immensely proud of and our family cherishes the small part we play through our ongoing relationship with the IAS.”
Michael Banks, DRB Group Managing Director, said the company was honoured to continue their partnership with the Illawarra Academy of Sport as he announced a significant financial investment of $10,000, an increase from $5,000, towards the DRB Group Tobin Family Athlete of the Year award winner.
“Given our very close connection with the Tobin family, it’s always made so much sense to sponsor this prestigious award. Uncle Ted was so passionate about the Academy and providing young people from all backgrounds with the opportunities to develop their sporting talents,” Banks said.
“This partnership means so much to all of us at DRB and this year it felt even better when we were able to lift the prize money for the Athlete of the Year award.
“Hopefully it makes a real difference to Nicholas’ sporting career and to those of future recipients.”
In the night’s other major award, snowboard cross athlete Marci Davis-Cook won the DRB Group Athlete Leadership Award after an impressive year on and off the snowfields.
Earlier this year, Davis-Cook was selected as the youngest female to represent Australia at the Snowboard Cross Junior World Championships in Georgia, with her selection coming on the back of her Europa Cup campaign where she competed overseas, whilst balancing her school studies in year 11.
Away from the snow, Davis-Cook displayed an exceptional level of leadership and was constantly engaged in the Illawarra Academy of Sport program over the past 12 months and delivered keynote speeches at numerous events.
Other athlete of the year winners on the night included Jack Gibson (pars sports), Alina Pasakarnis (basketball), Lucy Allen (cycling road/track), Isaac Baez (cycling BMX), Callum Crofts (cycling mountain bike riding), Zac Oyston (golf), Destiny Ferguson (hockey), Abbey Giltrow (Indigenous), Isla Waterhouse (netball), Makayla Henderson (netball umpire), Jake Barritt (triathlon) and Lewis Ebdon (volleyball), while netball coach Ashlee Scofield won the Coach of the Year award.
