Annual sport star awards officially moving to Saturday night in 2024

Organisers for the annual Goldfields sport star of the year awards will break from tradition in November when the 2024 gala event takes place on a Saturday night for the first time.

Every year since the awards were resurrected in 2002, the awards have been at Kalgoorlie Town Hall on a Friday night.

But sports star committee chairman Tony Crook this week confirmed that November 16 was set for this year’s ceremony, in conjunction with the latest inductees into the Goldfields sporting hall of fame.

“It (a Friday night program) clashed with several events, mainly summer basketball,” Crook said.

“We hope the move to Saturday will further encourage as many nominations as possible for this prestigious event and attendance support for it on the actual night.

“All local sporting clubs and organisations are encouraged to seek out their elite athletes and formally nominate them.”

Crook said the decision included a travel component, particularly for special guests and others attending the awards from outside the region.

Six categories will be recognised — sport star of the year, rising star, service to sport, masters sport star, team of the year and person with a disability.

This year’s nominations cover the sporting period from October 1, 2023 to September 29, 2024 and must be lodged by 5pm on October 4.

Hockey star Tess Rowling’s emergence as an outstanding goalkeeper at State and national level earned her last year’s sport star award.

Rowling, whose standing as the Eastern Goldfields Hockey Association’s leading goalkeeper was enhanced in the women’s A1 grand final when she was judged best-on-ground in a losing effort, also lined up in goals for Hale in Perth’s premier league second division and earned WA Country selection.

She was the No.1 goalkeeper for WA Country at the national championships and was later named in the Australian under-21 country team to play overseas.

Rowling’s dedication extended well beyond her own performances and included helping emerging goalkeepers in the region and as a specialised goalkeeping coach for the Goldfields Hockey Academy.

Terence Morton’s standing as one of Australia’s best emerging darts players earned him the 2023 rising star award.

Last June, he was named in the Australian under-18 team for a major event in Europe.

Barely four years into his darts career, Morton at the time said a rapid ascent from Tuesday night pub matches in the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Men’s Darts Association to junior State team prospect and national selection had changed his mindset.

Olys Kowal, who was last year among two inductees into the Goldfields Sporting Hall of Fame, left an indelible mark as one of WA’s greatest volunteer firefighters.

Kowal, born in Germany and raised in Norseman, underpinned a superb volunteer firefighting career with 10 WA titles between 1972 and 1983.

He was especially revered for his prowess in the ladder events and also excelled in Australian Rules.

As a footballer, he represented the Goldfields Football League before lining up for the South West Football League after moving to Bunbury.

His accolades in the South West included a fairest-and-best award for South Bunbury.

Also inducted into the hall of fame last year was champion lawn bowler Hugh Littler.

Ranked in the top-25 WA lawn bowlers in the past 120 years, Littler skippered a local team to win the Australian fours in 1952.

The same year, he won the WA State Champion-of-Champions singles title.

In 1956, Littler skippered a Kalgoorlie fours team to win the State title and during his career won a record 12 club singles at Kalgoorlie.