Her Sport Her Way Winners 2021/22

Winner: Chloe Dalton OAM, Olympian, The Female Athlete Project, Change Maker

Chloe Dalton has competed professionally in three sports at an elite level having won Olympic gold in Rugby Sevens, competed in the Women’s National Basketball League and AFLW.  Off the field, Chloe’s level of influence and efforts to showcase women’s sport and more broadly, athletes with disability demonstrate she is a sports leader and change maker.

Last year Chloe created the {female} athlete project, a powerful platform with a community of over 30,000 followers where she has extensively promoted the stories and performances of female athletes. Through these stories she has shone a light on issues around equality and participation in sport as well as increasing access to news and information of women’s sport.

In the year of the Tokyo Games, Chloe successfully lobbied government and instigated crowd funding to ensure medal bonus equality for Paralympic athletes. She has also established a merchandising line which has raised $17,000 to fund causes that support women and girls' access to sport, including Indigenous athletes and Paralympians.

Winner: Casey Dellacqua, Olympian, NSW Women and Girls Lead, Tennis NSW

Casey Dellacqua is a phenomenal voice and advocate for women and girls in tennis across NSW. She has leveraged her profile and involvement in the Australian Open and close connection with Ash Barty to champion change and advance women’s participation in tennis both on and off the court.

Casey works closely with the Tennis NSW Youth Advisory Group and Future Leaders Program providing support and inspiration to other women and the next generation of leaders in areas such as participation, volunteering, coaching, personal development and talent development.

In 2021, the Olympian worked in Tennis Australia’s taskforce to develop the women and girls strategy and vision for NSW. She managed and grew the Sheroes network to over 220 women across NSW and ran online participation workshops for women to learn, develop and grow as leaders in tennis. She also launched the Gender Equity Pilot program, an academic partnership to explore cultural change within tennis club environments.

Winner: Gemma Burns, Club Services Officer NSW/ACT, Australian Sailing

Twenty-five-year-old Gemma Burns is breaking down barriers and perceptions in sailing, a sport traditionally male dominated. She is the only female qualified instructor and coach in all four disciplines of sailing in the state and the youngest Keelboat Senior Instructor in Australia.

In 2021, Gemma formed a SheSails networking group to support and grow women’s skills in governance in the sport. She organised a national SheSails leadership conference which amassed 235 live viewers and, when COVID hit adapted the course syllabus for the Australian Sailing Instructor Courses to be online - a first for Australian Sailing.  The SheSails group now boasts participants from 47 clubs across NSW from the Tweed Valley to Jindabyne.

Gemma strongly believes “you can’t be what you can’t see”, and leads by example in her instructing, sailing career and administrative role with Australian Sailing.  Through her influence Gemma has been a positive role model and increased the number of women and girls involved in the sport in sailing, instructing and administration.

Winner: Vikki Weston, Founder, She SUPs

Vikki is the founder and coach of She SUPs, a female-focused stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) organisation based in Sydney. Learning to SUP can be a vulnerable place for a woman, with fear of falling, body consciousness and self-doubt being the main barriers.  Vikki helped women overcome these barriers by talking through the issues, providing education and informative videos on social media, by promoting paddler diversity in her use of imagery, and by cultivating a no-judgement, no-pressure environment and ethos.

In the Covid-19 lock downs, Vikki worked to remove barriers and increase participation opportunities for women and girls by providing a range of paddle styles and experiences to cater for all abilities and interests.

In 2021, Vikki personally coached 697 women and girls from 16 to 70 years of age.  Over 276 women took part in the virtual SUP challenges. Participation of  trans and non-binary groups,  women with clothing sizes 18+ and aged 65+ also increased.

Winner: Surfing NSW

In 2021, Surfing NSW (SNSW) committed to their first ever women’s surfing strategy, Her Wave, to support gender equity and make surfing more inclusive, accessible and enjoyable for women and girls. Her Wave programs and initiatives are state-wide and 85% of the surf schools and clubs involved are in regional areas.

In 2021, the focus was on increasing participation, leveraging investment and facilitating leadership. Through participation programs, such as the Her Wave Grants Program and the ROXY Get Her Onboard campaign more than 2,000 women and girls had the opportunity to learn to surf and the Her Wave community grew from 200 to 2,800 females.

Her Wave worked with networks, partners, brands and role models to help sustainably grow, nurture, and encourage females in the sport, which resulted in a $400,000 investment from sponsors and government grants. A female marketing and communications manager was employed to further unlock female surfing with Her Wave and an equal prizemoney policy was introduced in the national surfing rule book.

The strategy also highlighted clear pathways and development opportunities for new and current leaders both in and out of the water. An online Masterclass Series empowered 250 women across 120 Clubs and 50 surf schools to take on or upskill in leadership roles. Female coaches increased by 37 and female judges increase by 22, while a grassroots leadership camp hosted 16 women to connect, collaborate and learn how to develop inclusive sporting cultures in their community.

Winner: Karen Dalton, Olympian, General Manager Sydney Flames

Two-time Olympian Karen Dalton has been at the Sydney Flames as a player, coach, manager and now General Manager since 1981.  Karen represented Australia on 342 occasions as both a player and coach at the junior and senior level and was a member of the 1984 Opals team -  the first women’s basketball team to represent Australia at an Olympic Games.

At all times in her coaching and management career, Karen has been passionate about player development both on and off the court, creating supportive and growth driven environments for all players. She has always had the growth of women’s and girls’ basketball at the forefront of everything she does.

Karen's legacy is undoubtedly the Sydney Flames and as the General Manager, Karen has worked tirelessly to keep the club funded and on the court.  Her responsibilities include finding sponsors, government grants, signing players, coaches, creating pathways, designing uniforms, organising travel and accommodation and everything in between. She knows that by having a professional team creates a pathway for all NSW female basketballers and inspires women and girls to participate by playing, coaching and refereeing. 

Now at Hoops Capital, the ownership group of the Sydney Kings and the Sydney Flames, Karen is driving parity and the two teams one club message, ensuring women and girls are at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

Winner: Tyan Taylor, Paralympian, Board Member, Coach, NSW Goalball

Tyan Taylor began playing Goalball in 2009 at age 19 and has been an active coach, referee, team captain and Executive Board Director for 12 years. Across her 12-year playing career, Tyan has represented Australia at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Paralympics and was selected to be the face of Goalball in the Channel 7 coverage of the Tokyo Games.

Tyan’s legacy is twofold.  Through her education of NSW primary, high school and university students, she has reduced barriers for future women and girls looking for a local club or coach across NSW.  As a pivotal role model, she has motivated students with disabilities such as hers, to participate and succeed in Goalball.

Tyan’s inspirational presence has been felt through her involvement in shaping and delivering the Goalball 4 Schools program, which has provided thousands of students across NSW with an opportunity to develop foundational disability awareness, empathy, and physical literacy. She has also contributed to the successful delivery of the inaugural University 4 All program, in which hundreds of university students learnt inclusive coaching practices, which is integral to the growth of adaptive sports delivery and participation. And at a competition level she has been fundamental in maintaining  successful competitions at metro and state levels.  

Winner: Molly Taylor, Professional Rally Driver, Extreme E Champion

Molly is a trailblazer in motorsport and arguably Australia’s best female motorsport competitor.  She has won the FIA European Ladies Rally Champion and the Australian Rally Champion Driver and most recently with her co-driver Johan Kristofferson was recently crowned Champion of the inaugural Extreme-E Series.

Molly has been an Ambassador for the FIA Girls on Track program with Motorsport Australia since 2018. In this role, Molly encourages and inspires girls to get involved with motorsport in its many different forms whether as a driver, broadcaster, engineer, mechanic or other roles. She has appeared at and supported Girls on Track workshops, talking about her experiences and providing a positive and strong female role model for girls to look up to.

In 2021 Molly assumed broadcasting roles with Channel 7 as pit reporter and presenter for the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships and Supercars coverage while this year Molly has already made history and ticked off another goal on her list, competing as the first Australian woman to compete in the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.

Winner: Sarah Stewart, Paralympian, Director, Wheelchair Sports NSW/ACT

Sarah Stewart is a three-time Paralympian in Wheelchair Basketball and has won two bronze and one silver medal at the Games as well as numerous WNWBL including multiple All-Star Fives, MVPs, Championship medals.

Sarah created the Women's Wheelchair Basketball Festival 11 years ago to encourage more girls and women into her sport. Since then, dozens of female wheelchair basketballers have emerged through the event and gone on to play competitively, inspiring the next generation of female wheelchair sportspeople.

Sarah's legacy also includes the advocacy, creation and retention of the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League, through which girls and women have the opportunity to pursue their sport to the highest level.