IT took a lot of culling and chopping and changing but the Western Advocate Sports Awards nominees have been announced for 2016.
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It might sound clichéd but it seems to get harder and harder each year to squeeze just five appropriate candidates into each category, and like always it is a good indicator of the quality of sporting performances to look at the people who haven't made it on the list as much as those who have.
With so much happening in Bathurst in the world of sport, there are endless combinations to go with - in almost every popular sport there seems to be a glut of good performers at local, state and national level.
But there can only be a limited number of candidates, and the list below is what we've come up with.
Voting can be done here, just scroll down to your chosen category, by handing in the voting form below at our office on the corner of George and Russell Streets, or via mail to 163 George Street.
The winners will be announced in February.
Coach of the Year:
► Ben Hurford - Led St Pat's to an undefeated season in men's Premier League Hockey culminating in a grand final win over arch-rivals Lithgow Panthers.
► Matt Chapman - Coached the Bathurst Goldminers boys under 16s side to a win in the State Cup.
► Mick Armstrong - Took the St Pat's women's league tag side to a second Group 10 title, knocking over Bathurst Panthers a couple of times along the way after their local rivals had not lost a game in a season and a half.
► Paul Masters - Coached under 14s girls side in New Zealand's Pacific Rim titles, and was appointed assistant coach for the NSW Country girls under 16s for 2016.
► Jaden Ekert/Shane Conroy - Led the Bathurst side to an undefeated title win in the NSW State League division two men's hockey championships, earning promotion back into the top grade for 2016.
Cast your vote ...
Senior Sportsperson of the Year:
► Renee Covington - Amidst a litany of state and national honours, cyclist Covington showed the value of hard work by picking up a gold medal in the sprint at the masters World Championships in Manchester.
► Mark Windsor - A borderline freak of nature given his ability on the bike compared to other athletes in their 50s, Windsor showed his versatility by finishing fourth and fifth in the 55-59 years age categories in the World Triathlon Championships in the sprint and Olympic distances respectively.
► Danielle McKinnirey- Former junior world champion cyclist who won last year's national omnium and madison titles on the track in her first attempt in open company.
► Jono Dean - Along with multiple hard-hitting centuries for his Canberra first grade teams and ACT Comets Futures League side, Dean broke through into elite exposure last summer when he played a handful of games for the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League.
► Emilie Miller - Won two World Cup gold medals in hand cycling and recorded the second-fastest time in the World Championships despite racing exclusively against athletes in a higher classification.
Cast your vote ...
Junior Sportsperson of the Year:
► Will Cranston-Lown - Helped the NSW Waratahs win the Country Cup, toured New Zealand with a NSW Country team, played at the Australian under 16s titles, and starred in the Goldminers' State Cup win.
► William Kennedy Junior - Played a major part in the Cronulla side winning the SG Ball competition as well as the National Under 18s Championship over Townsville as he aims to follow in his father's rugby league footsteps.
► Collette Lyons - Won an incredible nine swimming medals, six of them gold, at the Pacific School Games in Adelaide among a host of other podium finishes at various elite events.
► Ryan Peacock - made just about every junior representative team he was eligible for, became a fixture in the Bathurst opens team, and debuted for the Western Zone opens at the NSW Country Cricket Championships. Also starred for the Western NSW Mariners FC under 18s side.
► Ebony Robinson - She was one of the most dominant junior riders of the year, winning almost everything in the district, region and state in the under 9s on both road and track. She was awarded the 2015 Under 9 Girl NSW Cyclist of the Year
Cast your vote ...
Senior Team of the Year:
► St Pat's League Tag - Won their second Group 10 title in the increasingly competitive competition, taking down the heavyweight Bathurst Panthers team who had been on a lengthy unbeaten run
► Western NSW Mariners Women - Claimed the women's State League minor premiership and went on to make the grand final where they went down to Bankstown
► St Pat's Men's Hockey - A class above their rivals all season, they capped a sensational campaign with a grand final win over Lithgow Panthers to remain unbeaten in 2015
► CSU Women's Soccer - Were dominant to the point where the other Bathurst District Football women's first grade teams all but conceded that they were playing for second spot. Lost one match all season - when they fielded seven players for the second half of the match.
► Bathurst Men's State League Hockey - Went through their entire competition undefeated and won a close final to win the division two championship and earn promotion to the top flight for this year's tournament.
Cast your vote ...
Junior Team of the Year:
► St Stanislaus' First XI - Made it to the grand final of the Independent Schools Association first division cricket competition.
► Bathurst High Astley Cup Team - Won its fourth Astley Cup title in six years thanks to their efforts against Orange and Dubbo High Schools.
► Kelso High Volleyball - Had multiple teams at the Australian titles, their under 17s boys winning gold in the division two competition, with a girls team picking up a medal for the first time also. Their senior boys team won the NSW Knockout while their girls finished fifth at their first attempt.
► Bathurst Under 21s Netball - Finished fourth in the NSW State Championships first division competition.
► St Pat's Under 13s - Claimed the Group 10 premiership and did not lose a game from round five onwards, culminating in a 30-10 defeat of Mudgee in the grand final.
Cast your vote ...
Event of the Year:
► NRL Match - The competition returned once again to Carrington Park with the Penrith Panthers playing the Gold Coast Titans.
► First Gold Crown Carnival at new Bathurst Paceway - After bidding farewell to the Bathurst Showground the new paceway came to life in its first edition of the feature juvenile carnival.
► Women's Masters Hockey - The Hockey NSW Women's Full State Masters Championships brought over 100 teams to Bathurst.
► Bathurst 200 Track Carnival and Country Championships - The Bathurst Velodrome held its first major event which brought some of Australia's top track cycling talent to the city
► Bathurst 1000 - Craig Lowndes picked up his sixth win in the Great Race at Mount Panorama alongside Steven Richards who also added to his tally with win number four.
Cast your vote ...
Best Local Performance:
► Souths women - Annihilated Lithgow Zig Zag in a 21-0 victory in their Women's Premier League Hockey fixture.
► Chelsea Litchfield - Made easy work of the Bathurst Ladies Open Championship field as the golfer won by 23 strokes.
► Dylan Thompson - Took out the Bathurst Golf Club Championship by 19 strokes to land himself the Don O'Malley Cup.
► Pixies Parlour - The Turnbull family lands their hands on the Gold Tiara for the first time following their filly's success.
► Nick North - Picked up a strong run of finishes over the Central West Interclub Triathlon series.
Cast your vote ...
Best State Performance:
► Holy Family AFL - After falling one step short the previous year the Kelso school's girls side took out the annual Paul Kelly Cup final at the SCG.
► St Stanislaus' College 2nd XI - Dismissed Oakhill College for a total of just five runs in their ISA fixture with only two bowlers needed, Jack Cornish (5-1) and Dominic McCrossin (4-4).
► Bathurst Goldminers Under 16s - Took out the State Cup at Terrigal thanks to an 83-76 win over the Bankstown Bruins in the final.
► Kirsten Howard - Picked up a pair of state titles with the NSW Elite Women's Criterium and NSW Hill Climb prizes to her name.
► Steve Turnbull - In a close race to the NSW Trainers Premiership with Shane Tritton, Turnbull's 206 wins was enough to see him home by eight victories.
Cast your vote ...
Best National Performance:
► Jono Dean - Produced a record 278-run stand for the fifth wicket for the ACT Comets, alongside team-mate Michael Spaseski, leading to a comeback victory in their Futures League match against Victoria.
► Brad Shiels - Drove from the rear of the field up into third place at the Bathurst Motor Sport Festival in an effort that saw him go past more than 40 cars.
► Jaden Ekert - Scored the match-winning goal for NSW Country against Victoria in a shoot-out to deliver his team the Australian Country Hockey Championships title.
► Caitlin Reeves - Contested the Australian Junior Athletics Championships where she qualified for the final of the girls Under 17s 100m hurdles, finishing sixth.
► Cushla Rue - Represented NSW at the Pacific School Games in soccer. The talented all-rounders' efforts there came after runs with Polding in athletics and touch football.
Cast your vote ...
Best International Performance:
► Renee Covington - The Bathurst cyclist picked up a gold in the 200 metre sprint at the World Masters Cycling Championships in Manchester, England.
► Mark Windsor - Scored top five finishes in both the sprint and Olympic distance events at the International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Grand Finals in Chicago.
► Collette Lyons - Six gold medals, and nine medals in total, came the way of the Bathurst swimmer as she dominated the Pacific School Games at Adelaide.
► Luke Tyburski - Successfully completed the mammoth task he set for himself to complete a 2,000 kilometre triathlon from Morocco to Monaco in just 12 days.
► Casey Bayliss - Her 14 goals over the Australian Country tour of Malaysia and Singapore put her at the top of the goal scorer's list.
Cast your vote ...