Football Canterbury’s Cec Barlow Awards dinner took place on Saturday night, recognising volunteers from clubs across the association for their tireless work behind the scenes.
Photographs: Photographed with Love by Mariam Johari
16 Cec Barlow Awards were presented, along with the prestigious Vince and Val Laws Medal, the Bert Harvey Fair Play Award and the 2023 Crystal Cup.
The evening also featured a presentation to celebrate 100 years of the Canterbury Lions Football Club.
Vince & Val Laws Medal
The recipient of the 2023 Vince and Val Laws Medal for outstanding contribution to football in the association was Vicki Belton-Crowe from Earlwood Wanderers.
Belton-Crowe joined the club 30 years ago, coaching her son’s team and even obtaining a coaching accreditation to better understand the game and help develop the players she had.
From there, she took on roles organising the canteen roster and looking after all food and drink supplies, before soon joining the committee at Earlwood and becoming Competition Secretary.
Since then, Belton-Crowe has taken up the mantle of Club Secretary at Earlwood four times, and President twice, amongst time assisting the Association as a member of the Disciplinary Committee and Appeals Committee.
Bert Harvey Award
Russell Lea Women’s Soccer Club were announced as the Bert Harvey award winners for 2023, beating out Leichhardt Saints, Marrickville and Hurlstone Park.
The Bert Harvey Award is the perpetual trophy awarded to the annual Fair Play winners of Football Canterbury, in honour of its namesake who embodied the spirit of fair play.
Crystal Cup
The Crystal Cup is the perpetual awarded to the Football Canterbury Club Champions annually.
This year, APIA Leichhardt JSC were crowned Crystal Cup Champions for the first time in their history, with the top five eligible clubs including Canterbury, Concord, Cooks River and Strathfield.
Cec Barlow Awards
16 Cec Barlow Awards were presented on the night, recognising the hard work these volunteers have put in to keep their clubs moving through the season.
Abbotsford - Nick Ancona
Ashfield - Jane Sanchez
ANS - Radwan Sabbagh
Balmain - Keith Irving
Burwood - Peter Turner
Canterbury - Jack Sciara
Cooks River - Nicholas Boscov
Earlwood - Yianni Bontzouklis
Enfield - Tony Santangelo
Hurlstone Park - Terry Wong
Lecihhardt Saints - Frieda Maher
Marrickville - Michael Marta
Russell Lea - Frank Vidovic
Strathfield - Michael Vertsonis
Sydney Rangers - Sherif Mouakkassa
Canterbury Referees Association - Belal Pickering
The Board and Management of Football Canterbury extend their congratulations to all award winners, and their thanks to all members of the association who contribute to our sport.
