MANNING Valley's most prestigious sporting award enters its 60 year in 2020.
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The 59th Manning River Times Sportstar of the Year for achievements in 2019 will be announced on Sunday as part of the Taree Australia Day celebrations to be held at Queen Elizabeth Park.
Winner of the Ken McDonald Memorial trophy will join a stellar list of Manning sporting champions dating back to the inaugural year of 1960 when test cricketer Johnny Martin was crowned. Earlier that year Martin had made his test debut against Frank Worrell's West Indian team in Melbourne.
He celebrated this by dismissing three of the world's best batsmen - Rohan Kanhai, Gary Sobers and Frank Worrell - in four balls. Martin made 55 in Australia's first innings.
In the years that followed the Times award was won by Olympians Johnny Fahey and Ian Ruff; Australian league and union representative Geoff Richardson; Hockeyroos Robyn Fernley, Kristen and Julie Towers and Brooke Morrison; champion bowlers Con Hogan, Barry Robinson and Noel Osborne, world superbike champion Troy Bayliss and Australian champion cyclist Nick Gates.
Hockey players have been the most prolific winners, starting with Robyn Fernley in 1974 (as Robyn Leggatt she captained the Australian team), followed by Lea Sheather in 1984, Kristen and Julie Towers in 1990, Brooke Morrison in 1995, Kate Harris 1997, Maddison Rosser 2011, Sam Mudford in 2015 and Wade Harry in 2017.
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But plenty of other sports have been represented - rugby league, cricket, tennis, water polo, rowing, triathlon, boxing, indoor cricket, gymnastics, martial arts, squash and shooting. There was a poignant moment in 1968 when Alan 'Tate' Taylor won the award posthumously. He was one of the founding fathers of hockey in the Manning Valley and was also heavily involved in cricket and other sports.
In 2009 trap shooter Russell McCloy was named sportstar of the year. Keeping it in the family, the following year his sister, Teegan, also a trap shooter, was the winner.
Champion motor cyclist, Josh Hook, was named the winner for 2018 at last year's Australia Day awards.
There are three finalists in the 2019 award - golfer Quedesha Golledge, motor cyclist Hayden Nelson and hockey's Priya Bourke.
Quedesha won the Australian junior 13-14 years golf championship at Royal Pines Golf Club on the Gold Coast. Hayden won the Australian Supermoto championship in the junior lite class. Priya has just returned from Borneo where she was a member of the Australian Country under 21 hockey team.
Sunday's celebrations will start with breakfast at 8.30. The awards will be underway from around 9.30.