A NUMBER of Shoalhaven products have been rewarded for their strong 2019 seasons on the sporting field, by taking home respective prizes at Tuesday's AIS Sport Performance Awards.
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The black-tie event, held at The Star, had close to 400 people attend, to celebrate the best of Australian high-performance sport.
Nowra-born para-skier Melissa Perrine claimed one of the the 13 prestigious awards on offer, securing the the Female Para-athlete of the Year prize.
A triple Paralympian and dual medallist from Pyeongchang in 2018, Perrine partnered with sighted guide Bobbi Kelly to deliver a stand-out international season.
Together, they earned 12 medals on the Para Alpine World Cup Circuit competing in the B2 visually impaired category, while finishing second on the overall Para Alpine Standings for the year.
At the 2019 Para-alpine World Championships in Slovenia, they won four medals - gold in the Super Combined, silver in the Giant Slalom and Super G, and a bronze in Slalom.
Not to be outdone was Mollymook's Kalindi Commerford, Gerringong's Grace Stewart and their Hockeyroos, who won the Sport Australia Award.
Season one of hockey's Pro League saw both the Australian men's and women's teams enjoy success but it was one moment in a game between the Hockeyroos and Belgium that deserved celebration.
Related content: South Coast pair headline Hockeyroos 2020 squad
Just before half-time, a goal was awarded to Australia with both the field referee and subsequent video referral in agreement, however Hockeyroo Emily Chalker admitted she did not touch the ball and forced the decision to be overturned, as there was no attacking touch in the scoring circle.
Australia went on to lose the game but won the respect of the hockey community for displaying the true spirit of sport.
The final Shoalhaven connection to be acknowledged was Will Ryan, who with sailing partner Mat Belcher took out Team of the Year.
The pair continued to re-write the history books with another dominant year in the 470 class to maintain their world number one ranking.
At the 2019 Open 470 World Championship in Japan, Belcher notched his eighth world title and Ryan his fifth in what was the pair's fifth crown as a team - the most ever in the 470 class.
The Rio Olympics silver medallists were pre-selected in the team for Tokyo 2020.
The other major awards on the night were won by tennis star Ash Barty (Female Athlete of the Year, Sport Personality of the Year and Sporting Moment of the Year), snowboarder Scotty James (Male Athlete of the Year), para-canoer Curtis McGrath (Male Para Athlete of the Year), hockey player Amy Lawton (Emerging Athlete of the Year), basketballer Jenna O'Hea (Athlete Community Engagement Award), sailing's Michael Blackburn (Coach of the Year Award), Paralympics Australia's Lynne Anderson (Award for Leadership) and Rowing Australia (High Performance Program of the Year).