Nunawading Celebrates the Spirit of Spectres 2024

The Nunawading Spectres representative program came together Sunday to celebrate another successful year on and off the court, with their Annual Spirit of Spectres Awards being held on the show court at Nunawading Basketball Centre. The event marked the first time in recent history that both junior & senior representative programs have celebrated their award winners together, signifying the collective strength of the program.

Nunawading Spectres Representative Program Chairperson Paul Flynn opened the event, welcoming the 43 Victorian Junior Basketball League teams, 2 Big V Teams, 2 NBL1 South squads and the Boys & Girls Development Squads representing the Spectres of the future.

Some of the highlights to date, with VJBL Finals about to commence were; record numbers in the Basketball Victoria High Performance Programs & Pathway, 17 athletes & coaches named to Basketball Victoria State Teams, Taia McMechan representing New Zealand at the U17 FIBA World Cup, Alanna Smith & Rebecca Allen named to the Australian Opals Olympic team, Marena Whittle being named to the Australian Gangurrus 3×3 Olympic team, and the U16 Boys claiming Gold at the National Junior Classic.

Spirit of Spectres Award Winners
The Spirit of Spectres is awarded by the caching staff to a player that they believe embodies the values of their team & the program as a whole. 

U12.1 Boys, Bailey Rowell
U12.2 Boys, James Buultjens
U12.3 Boys, Evan Reilly
U12.4 Boys, Oliver Brooks
U12.5 Boys, Callum Dix
U12.6 Boys, Ryan An
U12.7 Boys, Xavier Belcourt
U12.8 Boys, Zachary Chan

U12.1 Girls, Collette Cuberes
U12.2 Girls, Olive Welsh
U12.3 Girls, Ella McArdle-Pickburn
U12.4 Girls, Coco Zhao
U12.5 Girls, Aavya Bakshi
U12.6 Girls, Summer Hannon

U14.1 Boys, Luke Watson
U14.2 Boys, Lachlan Gee
U14.3 Boys, Jemaine Dalais
U14.4 Boys, Albie Moran
U14.5 Boys, Aaron Leung
U14.6 Boys, Benjamin Sayce
U14.7 Boys, Mason Catto

U14.1 Girls, Zara Phan
U14.2 Girls, Charmaine Cheung
U14.3 Girls, Kaitlin Hayes
U14.4 Girls, Caitlyn Compton
U14.5 Girls, Kylie He

U16.1 Boys, Tom Dammers
U16.2 Boys, Ollie Maxa
U16.3 Boys, Cameron Rust
U16.4 Boys, Lucas Gibellini
U16.5 Boys, Matthew John Bautista

U16.1 Girls, Elise Cameron
U16.2 Girls, Zara Catto
U16.3 Girls, Amelia Di Fede
U16.4 Girls, Liberty Huo

U18.1 Boys, Ethan Kemp
U18.2 Boys, Haidyn Goldsmith
U18.3 Boys, James Edgar
U18.4 Boys, James Cavenett

U18.1 Girls, Jemimah Lees
U18.2 Girls, Tahlia Datson
U18.3 Girls, Zoe Tipping

Senior Men, Ben Hardcastle (U20 Men)
Senior Women, Lara Graham (Big V Women)
Volunteer, Ryan Rowley

Spirit of Spectres Boys Coach, Leigh Wadeson
Spirit of Spectres Girls Coach, Rachel Gill

Senior Program Awards
U20 Men Coaches Award, Jordie Watkins
Big V Men Coaches Award, Dylan Johnston
Big V Women Coaches Award, Millie Lees
NBL1 Men Coaches Award, Christian D’Angelo
NBL1 Women Coaches Award, Jordan Pyle
U20 Men MVP, Daniel Fogarty
Big V Men MVP, Dihan Wiggett
Big V Women MVP, Teagan Potter
NBL1 Men MVP, Jalen Johnson
NBL1 Women MVP, Rachel Antoniadou

Tony Carlin Excellence in Coaching Award, Casey Giles (U12.1 Girls)
Tony Carlin was a stalwart of the Nunawading Spectres program.  He coached U12-U16,  and during this time won 8 VC Championships and 5 National Junior Classic Titles.  However he was known around the country for his success in the U14 program.  Tony qualified for 7 U14 National Titles, where his teams won 3 silver, and 1 Bronze medal.  The winner of this award has displayed excellent results with their team this season.

Eddie Short Excellence in Coaching Award, Nathan Morgan (U16.1 Boys)
Eddie Short was a Stalwart of the Nunawading Spectres program.  Eddie has coached in the U12-U14 programs.  He has won 2 VC titles, and has won both Silver and Bronze at the National Junior Classic.  He too found much success in the U14 age group, guiding 7 teams to the elusive U14 National Club titles, where he won a gold and 2 Silver medals.  The winner of this award has displayed excellent results with their team this season.

Keith Jenkins Awards
The Keith Jenkins Award is named in memory of Keith Jenkins, a long time Nunawading Spectres coach.  He coached the development teams for the U12 programs.  He was one of our most respected coaches. He was passionate about Spectres and bled red, white and blue. The recipient of this award must exhibit the following characteristics: strong work ethic, loyalty, leadership, reliability, responsibility, diligence, discipline, initiative, a positive attitude and must be someone who has given back to the Spectres program and been a Spectre for the entirety of their representative career.
Girls, Gemma Patane
Boys, Lachlan Elford

Congratulations to all award winners, and indeed every member of the Nunawading Spectres program for their tireless effort & dedication to ongoing development and performances across the 2024 season.

A very big thank you to all athletes, coaches, managers & support staff, volunteers, committee, administration staff, and of course our incredible Spectres families that make everything we do possible.

Wishing all teams in upcoming finals the very best.