Josh McCulloch's feelgood ascent to the upper echelons of Tamworth sport has reached a new high point, after the teenage Muay Thai fighter was named the Tamworth Regional Council sportsperson of the year for 2019.
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McCulloch, 19, who defended his 60kg East Coast Australian title this year, was also named senior sports star of the year at the Tamworth Regional Council Sports Awards at Wests Leagues Club on Wednesday night.
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He is one of Tamworth's most appealing sports stories, having wandered, at age 14, into Chaffey's Black Belt Academy. He was overweight and looking for a confidence boost, after a science-lab accident at Tamworth High School left him with third-degree burns.
He turned out to be somewhat of a Muay Thai natural, and formed a close bond with his trainer, multiple karate world champion Scott Chaffey, in pursuit of a world title.
The KFC manager has fallen head over heels in love the ancient combat sport. "I went to so many different sports, and I found Muay Thai and it just clicked," he said after receiving the awards."And, like, I was willing to give up every other sport just to focus on the one sport to be the best."
Earlier this month, McCulloch's 11-fight winning streak ended when he drew with fellow New South Walshman Nathan Jones, in a 61.24kg NSW title fight at Sharks League Club in Cronulla.
His record now stands at 14 wins, two losses and two draws, and includes two wins over Thai opponents on Phuket.
The junior sports star of year award was won by tennis player Kaecia Beattie.
In 2019, Beattie competed in both national and international competitions including the Fiji Open as a member of the Evonne Gooloogong Foundation (she reached the semi-finals for her age group, from an unseeded position).
The Tamworth Thunderbolts were named senior sports team of the year, after finishing second in the Waratah League's division one this year.
North Tamworth - undefeated in 2019 en route to a sixth-straight premiership and a third Clayton Cup - was "highly commended" by the judges.
Thunderbolts coach John Ireland was named coach of the year, having earlier been named the Waratah League's best coach.
McCarthy Catholic College's junior girls hockey team landed the junior sports team of the year gong after this year being crowned champions, for the second straight year, at the Combined Catholic Colleges state carnival in Newcastle.
The other award winners were Manilla Tigers captain-coach Mitch Doring (the local achiever award); multiclass para athlete Abbie Peet (the Cara Hickson Award); mountain bike administrator Jeff Benson (the Ken McKenzie Award for Services to Sport); and the Tamworth Swans (the sport development award).
Paul Kelly, council's manager of sports and recreation, said: "It's incredible to see such a level of community involvement across the sports here in the Tamworth region, and it's fitting to have acknowledged the dedication, commitment and sportsmanship that our sportspeople have demonstrated this year at last night's ceremony."
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