The youthful smiles, the sporting excellence, the snazzy outfits, the appetites and all that hair.

It would be enough to make a 40-something baldie with no significant sporting achievement to his name quite jealous if he was the bitter sort. But he's not, no sir.

Many of the bumper crop of achievers that squeezed into Country Club Tasmania for The Examiner's annual awards presentations seemed to complete more sporting commitments in a week than some kids manage in a year.

This was a night when few of the "chocolate marquis and raspberry coulis" desserts went unscoffed and the char-grilled beef fillets were looking decidedly nervous.

It was a night for acknowledging how lucky the lucky country really is.

Swimmers, athletes, footballers, rowers and netballers rubbed sun-tanned shoulders with pistol shooters, horse-riders, highland dancers, orienteers, gymnasts, sailors, martial artists, archers and a multitude of other sporting opportunities denied to less fortunate kids from what comedian Shaun Micallef refers to as "countries that aren't Australia".

It left you wondering why any kid would find PlayStation or Minecraft appealing.

Overseeing proceedings was a guest speaker who has 11 national and two world titles before turning 20.

Riverside triathlete Jake Birtwhistle proved a perfect role model to his young audience, not only by sharing his globe-trotting tales of international achievements but by recalling that just a few years ago he too was a winner at the awards.

After detailing his training, diet and relaxation secrets - partial to an afternoon nap apparently - the reigning duathlon world champ happily mixed with his new-found fan club and even tried his leg at band marching.

Birtwhistle continued a theme begun by previous guest speakers including champion rowers Scott Brennan, Ali Foot and Anthony Edwards, Tour de France cyclists Richie Porte and Wes Sulzberger, Test wicket-keeper Tim Paine and Olympic hurdler Tristan Thomas that coming from Tasmania presented no impediment to making it on a world stage.

On the contrary — as Porte said last year, if you can confront and conquer the worst terrain and weather Tasmania can throw at you, you're not going to get many tougher tests elsewhere.

And even those Tasmanian sportsmen who relocate elsewhere to chase better facilities or competition still wear their home state badge with pride.

Athletes like Nunawading-based swimmer Sharni Burleigh, Sydney-based boxer Daniel Geale, Perth-based hockey player Tim Deavin, Michigan-based cyclist Karl Menzies and Colorado-based triathlete Joe Gambles seem to invariably follow the course being taken by Carolina-based NASCAR racer Marcos Ambrose and complete their career journey back where it started.

Don't be fooled by Main Event promoting Geale's latest fight against former national teammate Jarrod Fletcher as being "New South Wales v Queensland".

Judging by the already impressive resumes of many of those present last week, there will be no shortage of fellow Tasmanians setting out on similar paths.

In a world where the global bodies of sports like soccer, cricket and cycling can get mired in tales of corruption, bullying and allowing sport's greatest drug cheat to go unpunished for a decade, here was a roomful of sporting optimism.

Being a teenager, Birtwhistle naturally took to social media to share his thoughts on the evening.

"Just a few years ago I was a nominee for the award and now back as the guest speaker," he wrote. "Well done to all, it was great to see a room full of talented junior athletes from Launceston, all with bright futures ahead of them ?#?launniemade?."

And in the same week another nationally-recognised multi-sport specialist visited Launceston with a similarly upbeat message.

Midway through an agenda of catching drills, selfies and laughs with some schoolkids on Friday, Australian soccer and cricket representative Ellyse Perry preached a sporting philosophy which all ruling bodies could do well to remember.

"It's just important to get out there and have a go, learn the values of sportsmanship and teamwork and have fun with your friends," she said.