With The Examiner's Junior Sports Awards done and dusted it presents as an ideal time to reflect.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Reporting on the nominations and awards ceremony gave me insight into Tassie's sporting landscape given I arrived in the state for the first time in January.
The athletes nominated came from a host of different sports, including unique disciplines such as race walking, tenpin bowling, snooker and pool, tumbling, orienteering and trampolining.
The variety suggested Northern youngsters can try a host of sports and there are clubs, coaches and facilities on offer for them to prosper.
I wrote about sport leaders being desperate for action on Launceston facilities earlier this year so realise there's a push to improve venues or create more through the Northern Tasmania Sport Facility Plan.
Having lived in sports-mad regional towns like Albury/Wodonga and Warrnambool in Victoria, my take is there are some great facilities and opportunities on offer in the North.
Having not been to nearly all of them, so far I've been impressed by venues such as UTAS Stadium, Invermay Park, the Northern Athletics Centre track and Launceston aquatic centre.
It's exciting the community is passionate about improving facilities across the board.
Something else I've noticed while covering junior sport was the number of national events Tasmania has hosted and will hold this year. I've come to realise the state is the home of mountain biking and it was a stellar year for competitors Maya Martin and Lacey Adams at Maydena.
In February, Martin became the mountain bike cross country under-17 women's national champion and Adams finished third in the under-17 national downhill championship.
Gun hockey players Arb Lockhart and Oliver Stebbings didn't have to travel far to take on the nation's best.
Lockhart was vice-captain of Tassie's under-13 side which took on other states in Hobart in October.
Stebbings was captain of the Tassie under-16 side which claimed a bronze medal at the Hobart-based School Sport Australia tournament in August.
Meanwhile, Launceston is getting prepared to host the BMX Racing National Championships later this month.
Maybe it was just Tassie's year with the nation coming out of COVID, but hosting these events proved the state has national-standard facilities.
And it indicated young athletes don't necessarily have to move to the mainland to play their sport at a high level.
While there were serious competitions to enjoy on home soil this year, Northern athletes also showed they are prepared to travel to achieve their dreams.
Launceston cyclist Hamish McKenzie won a silver medal in the junior men's time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong in September.
It came after a busy few months in Europe, gaining experience with a Belgian team as well as training with Team Jumbo-Visma.
The 18-year-old plans to spend at least another three months in Europe in 2023.
McKenzie also spent a week with fellow Launceston cyclist Richie Porte in Monaco this year.
It was a excellent mentoring opportunity and another example of a valuable resource for a Tassie athlete.
McKenzie spoke about that experience at the awards ceremony last week.
"I was staying with my agent in Monaco, right on the water, so it was a pretty surreal experience," he said.
"Monaco has always been my dream place to go to and it was just good to see where Richie has been pretty much hiding all of these years.
"You see him when he comes home for a two or three-month stint but never really get to see where he's been through all of his career. To see where he's been living and all the roads he's been training on was a pretty cool experience."
Tassie continues to produce world-class athletes.
It's a nod to their dedication and support teams as well as the facilities and development opportunities on offer in their home state.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.examiner.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @examineronline
- Follow us on Instagram: @examineronline
- Follow us on Google News: The Examiner