UTS North Sydney's 2025-26 Clubpeople of the Year

UTS North Sydney District Cricket Club | May 24, 2026

At the UTS North Sydney Presentation Night last month, the annual Young Clubperson of the Year and Clubperson of the Year awards were presented to James Edwards and Conor Hingerty, two exemplary young men who make the club a better place.

James Edwards was presented with his award by Georgia Lafford, Elite Athlete Program (EAP) Coordinator at UTS Sport, fitting as he is an EAP himself.

The Young Clubperson of the Year is awarded to person under age of 23. It is nomination-based and selected by a subgroup of the Management Committee, with factors including attitude on an off the pitch, showing a club-first approach, contribution to training, and activities behind the scenes to support operation of the club.

Nominations this year included Ellie Mann, Luke Austin, Jude Feilen and Ryan Sood, but James was the clear winner, adding the award to his Third Grade Player of the Year accolate.

One of James's many nominations sums it up: “James is very selfless, and puts the team first. He always offered to do the little things most players in teams wouldn’t do, such as scoring and sightscreens. Offered help every training session, if anyone needed extra fielding or drills, he would always put his hand up to help. And that too without a week missed.”

James also joined the Committee this year as our UTS student representative, manages our liaison with UTS including our presence at O’Days, and when he didn’t manage to find another player to help with social media he took it on himself and has reliably done a fantastic job.

Conor Hingerty received the new perpetual Cluberson of the Year shield from two of our club captains, Lily Hancock and Harry Davis.

Previous winners since 2018/19 whose names are engraved on the shield are Declan Hoare, Sarah Berman, Alan Gibbons, Lachlan Reynolds, Robbie Aitken, Jimmy Greenslade, Tim Reynolds and Chloe Blackwell.

Like the Young Clubperson award, the Cluperson of the Year is nomination-based, and the nominations received this year included Alex MacGill, Lachlan Stewart, Anu Raj, Evy McKay, Harry Davis, Lakshmi Uppil. However, Conor was a standout with multiple nominations calling out that he has demonstrated everything you would want from a club mate.

Conor supported all grades even when not selected and coming back to North Sydney Oval or Bon Andrews whenever he was and play finished early. He travelled from the Central Coast to attend Green Shield midweek matches, act as 12th man for First Grade, and support Fourth Grade in their Qualifying Final.

To quote a nomination: “He has been the heart and soul of the club this season and it has been evident in every facet of the club. He will always be at training early to set up at the nets and will always be the last one there taking them down. He would also be the first to put his hand up to throw some balls at the nets with the sidearm or hit a few catches. In his first year at the club, it’s safe to say Conor has made a huge contribution to the club both on and off the field and is a worthy recipient of the Clubperson of the Year.”