07/07/2024
𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴𝔂𝓸𝓾
DME Wollongong National DanceSport Championship, 29+30 June 2024
A massive shout out and thank you to everyone who supported DME at this weekend's Wollongong National DanceSport Championship. It was a fantastic weekend of dance for all ages and levels of competitors. We could not have managed without the help of so many people:
𝓢𝓹𝓸𝓷𝓼𝓸𝓻𝓼– Wollongong Council, Destination Wollongong, Bonjour Royale, Mark Sullivan & Myles West. Without their generosity, events like these could not run.
𝓢𝓬𝓻𝓾𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓮𝓻𝓼 Stewart and Tamar Coleman – the preparation prior to the event requires a great deal of time and attention to detail. We very much appreciate all that you do!
𝓜𝓾𝓼𝓲𝓬– Michael Gunasekera & Keith Eaton for always providing fantastic dancing tracks.
𝓔𝓶𝓬𝓮𝓮– Chris Sandison from Qld for his very professional, calm approach and Damon Sugden and Phil Lowder who gave Chris a bit of a break!
𝓛𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓰– DSNSW Chairman Darren Day for setting it all up and Paul McFarlane Qld, James Carvalho, Rachael Day and Rebecca Day for making this brilliant service available for those who cannot attend to watch from home.
𝓝𝓾𝓶𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓣𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮– Louisa Sasko, Jeff & Barbara Cameron who keep track of number collections and returns.
𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓼– Steve Wiebe, Isobel Hill, Claire le Creurer, Will & Louisa Sasko did a pretty awesome job of getting competitors lined up and ready to go as per the Run Order.
𝓕𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓗𝓸𝓾𝓼𝓮 & 𝓓𝓸𝓸𝓻 𝓢𝓪𝓵𝓮𝓼 - Lyneham Forrest, Nikita Byrne and Natalia Byrnes did a great job allocating the Reserved tickets and processing payments for ticket purchases on the day. Alan Shingler greeted people at the door and provided directions when needed.
𝓣𝓲𝓬𝓴𝓮𝓽 𝓢𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰- Zaida Gudenus for scanning tickets all day Saturday and Laura Stringfellow for doing the same all day Sunday
𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼– Donna Shingler for ensuring the perpetual trophies were returned and selecting/organising the Presenters at all Result Presentations
𝓜𝓮𝓭𝓪𝓵𝓼– Michelle Le Creurer unpacked and sorted all the medals for presentations along with a bit of everything where necessary!
𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓱𝓸𝓵𝓭𝓮𝓻 & 𝓔𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓢𝓹𝓸𝓷𝓼𝓸𝓻– Bonjour Royale – sponsoring the Junior Open Std, Junior Open Lat and the Adult Open Latin events with gift bags. offering everything from dancewear, shoes, accessories to hair and make-up services, Tina and her crew are filling a big gap in the industry locally and we thank them for their support. Remember to book an appointment before your next comp and check out their socials!
𝓐𝓭𝓳𝓾𝓭𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓼 – Pamelia Courts, Natalia Danilova, Brad Dawes, Karina Doherty, Ross Doughty, Rhett English, Stephen Farrawell, Jason Gauci, Karla Gerbes, Marlene Hallewell, Dale Harris, Ross Heidke, Marilyne Jackson, Phil Lowder, Lin McFarlane, Eamon McGrath, Kevin Morellini, Richard Morrissey, Mary Paterson, Anthony Pepers, Natalie Perry, Steven Pullbrook, Alex Schembri, Donna Shingler, Gary Soderlund, Mark Sullivan, Damon Sugden, Peter Todd (jumping in at the last minute as Chairman on Sunday), Aric Yegudkin. Our Invigilator, Marinus De Roo also did a magnificent job on both days. Thank you for allocating your time and expertise, jumping on extra panels when necessary and for your professionalism!
Our thoughts are with Adele Hyland who was unable to attend due to a medical emergency in the family.
𝓐𝓵𝓵 𝓢𝓾𝓹𝓹𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓢𝓽𝓾𝓭𝓲𝓸𝓼 & 𝓒𝓸𝓪𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓼 preparing students for a championship like this is a massive task but also to ensure they've completed their DSA rego, registered for the correct events, paid their fees so they can be found in the Proposed Run Order online, and understand all the intricacies of how things work is huge. DME would like to thank ALL the coaches who dedicate so much of their time and effort in ensuring this all happens!
𝓟𝓱𝓸𝓽𝓸𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓼/𝓥𝓲𝓭𝓮𝓸𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓼– check out Lionis Photography, Stuart Low's DancingPix, Mathew Nicholson's Refreshingly Ginger Photography on Social Media!
Co-Organisor, WNDC website, Social Media, Production, Venue Bump-in/Out – Sharon Courts, you are one of a kind! Thank you so much for all your hard work especially stepping in when things got complicated!
This year was especially challenging with Nicole, the main administrative organisor, overseas due to the sad prognosis and subsequent passing of her younger brother.
As DME President, myself and Co-Organisor Sharon Courts along numerous others jumped in to ensure it all ran smoothly. I have nothing but gratitude.
As Event Organisers we are trying to service the industry with events that motivate dancers to develop, train harder and mostly enjoy their dancing. It's a lot of work to set up and roll out but seeing so many dancers of all ages and levels perform and have fun makes it all worthwhile and we cannot express to you how much we appreciate your support.
Many thanks from us all!!!
Dance Move Engage
President Neale Byrnes
Treasurer Nicole Byrnes
Co-Organisor Sharon Courts
& Committee
