Bendigo Sports Star tickets selling fast for big night

TICKETS for this month’s Bendigo Sports Star of the Year award are selling quickly.

Since 1965-66 the awards have honoured the central Victorian region’s top sports performers.

Hundreds of competitors and so many sports feature in the awards history.

On February 28 a wide range of sporting feats from around the word and closer to home will be celebrated at the All Seasons in Bendigo.

Finalists for 2024 include Olympic swimmer Jenna Strauch, Paralympic swimmer Col Pearse, gun cyclists Alessia McCaig and Blake Agnoletto, and marathoner Andy Buchanan.

Other sports which feature in this year’s list of monthly winners are bodybuilding, golf, and gravel bike racing.

Highlights of the night will include the Faith Leech Achievement Award for outstanding contribution and dedication by an individual or group.

The John Forbes Coach/Manager Award recognises the huge commitment the Mitiamo legend gave to sport across the region and beyond.

This year’s scholarship intake of 16 will also be invited to the podium to receive their awards and speak on their year’s success and goals.

Scholarship recipients are also in the running for the Maxine Crouch and Cyril Michelsen Trust Fund awards.

Sports Star has grown to include the Bendigo Bank Community Minded Award, Fosterville Gold Mine Healthiest School Award, and Bendigo Health Young Indigenous Award.

Newest inductee to the Basil Ashman Hall of Fame is football and basketball great Tony ‘Bluey’ Southcombe.

A gun ruckman, Southcombe racked up 10 premiership victories as player, coach, or both across stints with Golden Square, Boort, Northern United, and Elmore.

Southcombe also played for Carlton in the VFL and won the Michelsen Medal as the Bendigo league’s fairest and best in 1972 and ’75.

Tickets for the Sports Star presentation night can be bought via the link on the Bendigo Sports Star of the Year website.