Singleton’s Andrew Garvie was honoured to be among six Hunter athletes to be recently inducted into the Hunter Region Sporting Hall of Fame.
The 32nd ceremony took place at McDonald Jones Stadium last month and now includes 350 athletes from the region who haverepresented Australia or competed internationally, with roots in the Hunter region, either at the junior or senior level.
Garvie was born in Singleton and has been shooting since he was18 years of age. He says he couldn’t do it earlier because his mother, Carol Garvie, wouldn’t let him have a firearm.
He has won the NSW Senior Title several times and was a part of the team that took out third place at the World Championships in Canada in 2013.
Andrew was the overall winner at the NSW English sporting championships, receiving third off the gun and 1st in the senior category. Andrew also placed top in the NSW State Championships.
Speaking after the ceremony Andrew said he was not expecting the accolade and while honoured, he believes an honour like this should never be the reason for anyone to compete in any sport.
“Sport has to be fun and there was a period when, for me, it became a job, I have never chased being in a team but this year circumstances have given me new opportunities,” Andrew told The Hunter River Times.
As for his induction into the Hunter Academy Hall of Fame, he says it is an opportunity to show the good side of firearms opposed to the dark side.
This year he won the English Sporting State Championships, won the senior division at the State Championships a fortnight ago and will compete in the National Championships in Warrnambool at the end of the month.
Andrew made his first national team back in 2013 and has been in four Australian teams since along with several New South Wales teams.
But his determination has always about having fun, especially now. After a competition hiatus, Andrew began competing again last year and this year he was driven for higher competition and the hard work is paying off.
This weekend he is competing in Perth for the Compact Nationals and reiterates that it is about having fun.
“If you chase these kinds of awards (speaking of the Academy of Sport Hall of Fame) you are doing it for the wrong reasons, I think it is about having fun, enjoying your sport, keep at your sport and awards like this will come along,” Andrew said.
Dan Repacholi was also inducted in recognition of his outstanding results in the sport of pistol shooting.
The Federal member for Hunter is a five time Australian Olympian in Pistol Shooting. He started shooting at age 12 and made his Olympic Debut at 22. He competed in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020. Dan is also a six time Commonwealth Games representative, winning Gold and Bronze at the 2006 Melbourne Games, Bronze at the 2010 Dehli Games, Gold and Bronze at the 2014 Glasgow Games and Gold at the 2018 Gold Coast Games.
Others to be inducted were Amelia Matheson for ice hockey, Ben Demery for para-cycling, Chris Nicholson for sailing and Matthew Ryan for equestrian sports.
Brett O’Farrell, Chief Executive Officer of the Hunter Academy, expressed his enthusiasm about the event.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity to recognize and celebrate the careers of our region’s athletes with their family and friends, and to honour the significant impact that sport has on the Hunter community.”
-DI SNEDDON
