FIT end of year awards

On Sunday we hosted the FIT Christmas party at the Hotel Realm, and as part of this we presented our end of year awards, and gave some special thanks.

Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations for the annual FIT Awards. These awards are a wonderful way to recognise the contributions and achievements of our members throughout the year.

Coach of the year

The nominees for coach of the year are:

    • Jill Wisbey
    • Natasha Royal
    • Di Evans
    • Nerida Clarke
    • Beth Peedom
    • Jane Grey, and
    • Emma Wensing.

The winner is Beth Peedom.

Beth has coached FIT running sessions for a number of years. She is a welcoming and encouraging coach, particularly for those women who are just starting out, returning from injuries, or coming back to training after having babies. We really appreciate the supportive training environment that Beth creates for these women, both at the formal Tuesday morning sessions and at the Saturday runs. Beth has also helped out with coaching the WTTP running and cycling sessions, and has supported the WTTP lake swims by keeping a close eye on proceedings from her kayak. Congratulations and thank you to Beth.

Volunteer of the year

FIT has a tireless group of volunteers who work behind the scenes. We’re very grateful for the time and commitment that they spend keeping the club running smoothly.

The nominees for volunteer of the year are:

    • Sue Lyons
    • Deb Wilkinson
    • Glenda Shelley, and
    • Julianne Quaine.

The winner is Julianne Quaine.

Julianne is stepping down as our Saturday run coordinator after many years in this role. She has put a huge amount of time into researching the running routes, developing a schedule, and organising the breakfasts. This took a lot of thought, consultation with FIT members and liaising with cafes willing to take such a large group of noisy women. FIT runners have greatly benefitted from Julianne’s hard work, and have enjoyed discovering the myriad of interesting and challenging tracks around Canberra, including the Centenary Trail.

Saturday runs and breakfasts celebrate the essence of FIT – socialising with likeminded women, supporting each other’s fitness aspirations and making new friends. We’re incredibly grateful to Julianne for the contribution she has made to this important club activity.

Personal achievement of the year

This award for personal achievement of the year is in line with the FIT philosophy of encouraging our members to step outside their comfort zone and to take on new challenges.

The nominees for personal achievement of the year are:

    • Di Evans
    • Michelle Weir
    • Tamzen Armer
    • Shareen Underwood
    • Bridget Quayle
    • Jane Brooks, and
    • Leanne Tennant.

This year we have two winners of the personal achievement award: Tamzen Armer and Leanne Tennant.

Both Leanne and Tamzen participated in the WTTP in 2014, and both have embodied the FIT philosophies of taking on new challenges and supporting others.

Since the WTTP, Leanne has gone from strength to strength in her triathlon performance, and makes regular appearances on the podium for her age group. In September 2016 Leanne competed in the ITU World Championships in Cozumel, Mexico. Despite very hot weather conditions on the day, Leanne persevered to complete the race in a great time. She commented afterwards that every race is an experience, and you always learn something new. As well as improving her own performances, Leanne has also been a great support to others in FIT, including our novice triathletes. 

Like Leanne, Tamzen has consistently trained in each of the triathlon disciplines. During the 2014 WTTP, Tamzen was a member of the ‘Flat Bar Cycling Group’. Since that time, she has put in lots of training hours and completed some great cycling events (and also upgraded her bike…). In April of this year Tamzen completed the very challenging Five Peaks Ride in Canberra. In October she completed the 90km Bowral Classic, and then backed it up the very next weekend with the 105km event at Fitz’s Challenge. Her improvements in running have also been considerable. During the WTTP Tamzen, like many other participants, worked hard to master the 2km run distance for the first novice triathlon. Less than 6 months later she had worked up to the half marathon distance at the Australian Running Festival, and has competed in a number of distance events since that time. It’s impressive to see how far Tamzen has come since the WTTP days, and great that she’s also been able to share her experiences by coaching the more recent WTTP participants.

Congratulations Leanne and Tamzen.

Special thanks

As we all know, FIT has a wide range of wonderful volunteers who keep the club operating from day to day. We’re incredibly grateful for their contributions. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank some of our members who are stepping down from various roles with FIT. Many thanks to the following people:

Cate Byrne – Outgoing Swim Coordinator
Jo Hall – Outgoing President

Firstly, we’d like to acknowledge Cate Byrne, who will be stepping down as swim coach coordinator at the end of the year. Cate has done a great job in keeping our swim sessions ticking over, and has been a particularly important part of our annual WTTP. Her relaxed demeanour and great coaching insights have helped many a novice overcome their trepidation about lake swimming. Thanks Cate, for all your work in this role.

Secondly, we’d like to acknowledge the work of our outgoing President for 2016, Jo Hall. Jo has done a fantastic job as FIT President, and has led a number of initiatives such as the redevelopment of the website, the creation of a new strategic plan, and guidance documents for FIT coaches and volunteers. Jo has also contributed her fabulous design skills to our 20th anniversary celebrations, including our new hoodies. We’re very grateful for all Jo’s hard work, and the committee has really appreciated her generosity with her time and her personable leadership throughout the year.