Armidale’s Road Cycling Elite crammed into the prestigious Bowlo earlier this evening in huge numbers to witness one of the highlights of the Northern NSW sporting calendar, The Armidale Cycling Club 2014 Christmas Party and Annual Awards.
In his second year as Club President, Rob Tindale chose to host the ceremony in 3 phases interspersed with the serving of a range of premium organic, high-protein cycling snacks which were rapidly consumed by the eager crowds. The first phase saw Rob hand over to Karlee McMillan who delivered the Junior Awards, topped off with the crowning of Hugh Munday as 2014 Junior Club Champion. Showing the depth of the juniors this year, an impressive 6 riders received medals and Shaun Butler also received the Coaches Award from our ever-present Junior Coach, Karlee McMillan.
Winner of the now infamous and fiercely competitive RROTY league award which ran for 28 rounds throughout 2014, and which will be back again in 2015, was Luke Milan with Jo Wauch being given special mention for her place as runner-up and as the rider who has completed more individual time trials than any other Australian rider in 2014 (maybe).
Also recognised for outstanding performances away from home were Col MacIver (for a clean sweep of gold medals at State and 2 more at National Masters), and Andrew Devenish-Meares for his Australian Para-Cycling B-Class tandem Gold, assisted by pilots Dave Rubie and Phil Thomas.
The outgoing President of 2013 Andrew Swan, received the Presidents Award for providing continued support and assistance and Rob Hale received the Club Person of the Year Award in recognition of improvements to racing schedules, timing and website reporting (but unfortunately and notably not in recognition of any actual riding performance).
2014 was again formally recognised as a year when just about all riders managed to stay upright at all times and as such nominations for the Broken Wheel Award were non-existent. As a result, the award stays with the previous incumbent – Peter Wilkinson who was more than happy to retain the trophy.
In the Senior Club Champion Awards Dave Jenner took out the C-Grade Winners medal from runner-up Clint Bourke. The title of B-Grade winner went to our very own mountain biking star Holly Harris, who still clearly manages to perform well even when the surface isn’t muddy and strewn with rocks, and Phil Thomas added to his Para-Cycling trophy with the B-Grade runners-up medal.
The A-Grade Winner and 2014 ACC Club Champion went to NRS rider Sam Jenner who gets his name on the coveted trophy for another year, and yet again, Johnny finds himself runner-up for a record fourth time.
After another quick healthy snack break, the most prestigious award of the night was made when Mark Bullen became only the fourth person to receive Armidale Cycling Club Honorary Life Member status. Formally recognising the major contribution he has made to Armidale Cycling Club and the sport of cycling in general over many years, Bullo joins three other club legends, his dad Jock, Col MacIver and Peter Wilkinson. A fitting way to bring the curtain down on a great evening and a true celebration of club achievement.
We’ll get the photos from the night up on the site as soon as we can but in the meantime, a big thank you to everyone who came along on the night, to the team who put the awards together (Karlee and Deb) and to all the riders, families and supporters of Armidale Cycling Club. We look forward to riding with you in 2015.
| Award Category | Award | Recipient |
|---|---|---|
| A-Grade | Winner and Club Champion 2014 | Sam Jenner |
| A-Grade | Runner-up | John Scott-Hamilton |
| B-Grade | Winner | Holly Harris |
| B-Grade | Runner-up | Phil Thomas |
| C-Grade | Winner | Dave Jenner |
| C-Grade | Runner-up | Clint Bourke |
| Road Racer of the Year | Winner | Luke Milan |
| Road Racer of the Year | Runner-up | Jo Wauch |
| Frog Awards | Representing ACC Away, Seniors | Col Maciver |
| Frog Awards | Representing ACC Away, Seniors | Andrew Devenish-Meares |
| Frog Awards | Representing ACC Away, Seniors | Phil Thomas |
| Frog Awards | Representing ACC Away, Seniors | Dave Rubie |
| Junior A-Grade | Winner and Junior Champion | Hugh Munday |
| Junior A-Grade | Runner-up | David Cook |
| Junior B-Grade | Winner | Sam King |
| Junior B-Grade | Runner-up | Isabella Hoskins |
| Junior C-Grade | Winner | Shaun Butler |
| Junior C-Grade | Runner-up | Zach Hale |
| Club Awards | Presidents Award | Andrew Swan |
| Club Awards | Club Person of the Year | Rob Hale |
| Club Awards | Coaches Award | Shaun Butler |
| Club Awards | Broken Wheel Award | Peter Wilkinson |
| Club Awards | Honorary Life Member | Mark Bullen |