Ian Holmes awarded George Churchward Medal

Football NSW’s State Dinner was held at the Novotel Sydney Norwest Grand Ballroom in what was a fantastic celebration of community football with Canterbury & District Soccer Football Association CEO Ian Holmes awarded the prestigious George Churchward Medal.
A number of representatives of Parliament were in attendance with the Member for Riverstone Kevin Conolly and the Member for Davidson Jonathan O’Dea present. Sport NSW CEO Darren Simpson and CEO of the Office of Sport Matt Miller were also part of the festivities. While FFA’s Head of Women’s Football Emma Highwood along with Football NSW Directors and Life Members all came together to recognise and acknowledge the elite few who have provided consistent and invaluable service at the community level.
Hosted by the reputable Mark Chester, the evening kicked off with the presentation of the State Award winners.
State Award winners are nominated by their Association in recognition of their tireless efforts and service to football in their local community.
State Awards formally recognise individuals who have provided consistent and valuable service at any level – Club, Association, Branch or State.    
These contributions may include services such as: committee member, coach, manager, match official, canteen manager or grounds person. 
The 2016 State Award Winners are:

• Colin Campbell – Albury Wodonga Football Association
• Kylee Freeman – Bankstown District Amateur Football Association
• Stephen Bradbury – Blacktown District Soccer Football Association
• Robert Sutton – Canterbury & District Soccer Football Association
• David Swan – Football South Coast
• Grant Walton – Granville $ District Soccer Football Association
• Mark Feltracco – Griffith District Amateur Football Association
• John Gale – Macarthur Football Association
• Tony Davies – Manly Warringah Football Association
• Gail MacLeod-Jones – Nepean Football Association
• Penny Howell – Northern Suburbs Football Association
• Adrian Jones – North West Sydney Women’s Association
• Gary Girdlestone – Shoalhaven District Football Association
• Sam & Rosanna Lentini – Southern Districts Soccer Football Association
• Craig Norris – Southern Tablelands Football Association
• Greg Storey – Sutherland Shire Football Association
• Matthew Curran – Football Riverina

Full bio of State Award Winners click here

Fair Play
The Football NSW Fair Play Award acknowledges individuals or teams playing within Football NSW who have demonstrated an outstanding example of Fair Play and good sportsmanship during the 2016 football season.

The 2016 Fair Play Award Winner was taken out by Nepean Football Association’s Springwood United FC U16/3B team.
The Springwood U16/3B team were leading their competition and by demonstrating a sense of fair play, showed they were prepared to risk their position at the top of the table along with the possibility of winning their competition in an unselfish act of sportsmanship. 
As a result of their actions, they lost the match and relinquished their top place on the ladder.
This team demonstrated by their actions that it is not all about winning.
In a top of the table clash, the Springwood United U16/3B were playing Glenmore Park and were down 2-0 at half time. Springwood had 3 reserves, but Glenmore Park had none. In the 2nd half, a Glenmore Park player was injured and had to retire from the game, leaving Glenmore Park with 10 players on the field.
To keep the game fair, and to ensure they competed on an even playing field, the Springwood coach removed one player from the field, and played the rest of the game 10 players to 10.  The final result was 4-0 win to Springwood’s opposition.
The Glenmore Park coach, and parents were so impressed that many of them came up to the coach at the end of the game to congratulate him of his sense of fair play.  The act was furthermore acknowledged within the regular Social Media platforms and served a further purpose of reminding everyone about the importance of fair play.
The award was accepted by head coach Alex Damon and team manager Debra Beechy who were both proud of what their group of players achieved on that day.

George Churchward Medal
Football NSW and the football family were deeply saddened to hear the passing of George Churchward earlier this year. It was understood that as part of George’s will, he asked that the first Churchward Medal to be returned to Football NSW for perpetuity.
Leading into this, the recipient of this prestigious award was soon announced to an individual who has exemplified an outstanding commitment to the sport, Canterbury & Districts Soccer Football Association CEO Ian Holmes.
Holmes has made a contribution to football at all levels of the game, local/community, NSW and Australia over a period of now five decades.
Ian’s involvement with Football has seen him attain senior positions across all levels of the game. At the core has been his affiliation with the Canterbury Association and community football.
He continues to serve the game in his current position as the Chief Executive Officer of the Canterbury Association.
Ian’s passion for the game took him into the Administration side of football.
He demonstrated this passion when as a very young man, took on a Committee position with his local club.
From there, he progressed to the Canterbury Association where he was elected the Association’s youngest ever President.
He then served the membership of the Association in a multiplicity of roles over a forty-year period.
In the last three years as the CEO of the CDSFA he has been integrally involved in a number of grants applications to upgrade facilities that have resulted in Commonwealth, State and Local grants in excess of $2 million towards infrastructure development within the Association.
In the period since Ian has returned to Canterbury, the Association has seen unbridled growth in both male and female registrations and has seen increasing player retention. Ian has been at the forefront of developing policies that have enabled Canterbury to achieve these milestones.
His service to the game has resulted in him achieving a number of Honours including:

• Life Membership with Canterbury & District Soccer Football Association
• Life Membership with Football NSW
• State Award from NSW

It was a fitting end of the evening as Holmes received a standing ovation by the many in attendance.
It was a fantastic evening as Football NSW’s grassroots community embraced in what was a spectacular season for all involved.
– Football NSW Media Release