Finalists have been announced for the 2021 Victorian Sport Awards (VSAs) and Table Tennis Victoria are proud that two members of our community have been recognised as finalists. Coach Alois Rosario and young gun Nicholas Lum will have their contributions to table tennis highlighted at the night of nights for the Victorian sporting community where we recognise and celebrate the achievements of our home-grown sporting heroes. Our new CEO Gen Dohrmann is also a finalist for the Volunteer of the Year award for her contribution to the Women Sport Australia Board.

Honouring those who have made an exceptional contribution to sport and active recreation in Victoria, this year’s Awards acknowledge individual and team athletes as well as coaches, administrators, volunteers and the initiatives that promoted participation from both metropolitan and regional areas during the 2021 calendar year.

Southern Cross Trophies Coach of the Year Finalist - Alois Rosario

After representing Australia as a player from 1986-1991 and working for Table Tennis Victoria for 18 years, Alois joined the Para Coaching team in 2011. Now the national Para Coach for Table Tennis Australia, Alois spearheaded the country’s Tokyo Paralympics campaign which brought home the highest number of medals ever for a campaign (two golds and four silvers) while one of his athletes, Qian Yang, was named the 2021 Australian Para Player of the Year. Playing a major role in state and national coaching courses, Alois’ training tutorials are made available via the Ping Skills website and he devotes time to establishing better Para programs across Victoria.

Global Tracking Wellness Young Athlete of the Year Finalist - Nicholas Lum

Nicholas earned a career-high world ranking for his age group in 2021, placing himself inside the top ten for the first time. He won five state titles and numerous competitions on the Table Tennis Victoria state tournament circuit which saw him regularly compete against the best in the country. Internationally at the World Under-17 Table Tennis Youth Contender events, he won gold in Italy and Slovakia and a silver in Hungary while also claiming a bronze in Slovakia in the Under-19’s. Topping off his fantastic year, Nicholas was named the Table Tennis Victoria Junior Male of the Year.

Presented by the State Government of Victoria and Vicsport, this year’s VSAs will be held on Wednesday 15 June 2022, at CENTRPIECE at Melbourne Park.

A full list of the finalists can be found here.