2021 Tamworth Regional Council Sports Awards: BMX star Jack Davis wins top gong and inducted into Sports Hall of Fame

Davis was also named senior sportsperson of the year and was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame at the annual Tamworth Regional Council Sports Awards at the Tamworth Memorial Town Hall on Thursday night.

In 2017, the 19-year-old was named sportsperson of the year and junior sportsperson of the year for his exploits in BMX and weightlifting.

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This year, however, he was honour solely for his riding process after competing in the 2021 UCI BMX World Championships in the Netherlands in October.

Competing in the elite men's category, he was eliminated from the event after finishing fifth in his opening race. He finished 44th overall.

Also this year, he had three wins in the superclass men's category at the NSW State Series, and placed second in the third round of the NSW State Series (superclass men).

Internationally, he rode in the USA Pro Series in the men pro category - placing seventh and fifth in the Nashville round, and seventh and third at Rockford.

He also placed fourth at the French Cup, and fifth at the 3 Nations Cup in Germany.

Davis has competed at multiple BMX world championships including making the quarter-finals in the junior elite category in 2019.

He is currently overseas competing in the World Cup so his mother, Katrina, accepted the awards on his behalf on Thursday.

"Jack has developed his skills on a bike for many years," the awards citation said.

"And with the support of the local Tamworth [City] BMX Club, friends and family, [he] has been able to continue to train and compete in a time where [sic] many have not been as fortunate."

The junior sportsperson of the year is Abbie Peet.

The 13-year-old cerebral palsy suffer is classified by Athletics Australia to compete in para athletic events as a T36.

Peet has set three under-15 national records.

At the 2021 Australian track and field championships, she competed as a 12-year-old in four under-15 events - placing first in the 1500m, second in the 800m, fourth in the 400m and seventh in the 200m.

However, amid the elation was grief - with Peet's coach, Wally Warner, passing away in 2021.

The Ken McKenzie Award for services to sport was won by Jodie McGinnity.

McGinnity holds a number of gymnastic roles including serving as administration manager and as a senior coach at the Tamworth Gymnastics Club.

She is also a judging co-ordinator for Gymnastics NSW, and a member of the sport management committee for women in NSW.

In 2021, she represented Gymnastics NSW as a coach and a judge at the Australian championships on the Gold Coast.

McGinnity mentors a number of judges. As a judging course presenter for Gymnastics NSW, she holds numerous judging courses around the state.

"Possibly Jodie's greatest achievement has been made locally with the creation of the annual Country Capital Cup" at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre, the citation said.

"This competition started with just 200 competitors, and she has overseen and driven the growth of the event to over 1,000 competitors and some 2,000 to 3,000 spectators from NSW in 2021."

The coach of the year is Alex Barton, who was honoured for his work with two men's teams and three junior teams at Hillvue Rovers Football Club.

Both men's teams were in finals contention before the 2021 season was aborted due to COVID-19.

Barton is also Rovers president.

The Tamworth Basketball Association's 16M junior premier team was named the junior sports team of the year.

"This team was the first local side in four years to play at the elite basketball level in the NSW Junior Premier League," the citation said.

"The team demonstrated great sportsmanship at all times and were in a strong position to make the Junior Premier League finals and then the State Championships, before the pandemic prematurely ended the competitions."

The senior sports team of the year is the Tamworth Netball Association's open representative team.

The team finished third at the Netball NSW Hart Senior State Titles.

Olivia Earl won the Cara Hickson Award.

The intellectually disabled 11-year-old excels in athletics and is a "great advocate" for children with special needs - championing their inclusion in sport, the citation said

In January 2021, Earl competed at the Little Athletics regional championships.

Competing in javelin in the able-bodied event, she placed first and progressed to the Little Athletics state championships.

"Olivia competed in multiple events at the Little Athletics NSW State Championships and won the Ben Easter Award for dedication at the 2021 Tamworth Little Athletics presentation," the citation said.

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