The Southern 80 Hall of Fame welcomed six new inductees at Victoria Park on Friday night.
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Each have been celebrated for their contributions to the famous ski race over its long and storied history.
The biennial hall of fame event was held for the first time in 2019, when 34 nominees were presented as candidates for induction and six received the honour.
The 28 remaining nominees from the original induction round were also eligible for induction at this year’s event after the 2021 edition was cancelled due to the pandemic. They were joined by new nominees Donna Wilson, David Edwards and Lisa Clancy.
The first hall of fame member presented on Friday night was Andrew Donehue, who was “a bit speechless” when presented with the award.
“This is awesome, guys,” Donehue said.
“This is not about me, this is about the club, because it’s been an awesome race. We’ve had an absolute ball up here, me and my team, crew and all of my mates.”
Donehue has been a long-time supporter of the event, having started skiing in 1975, and is a current Ski Racing Australia board member, maintaining involvement on race weekend as a scrutineer.
“Thank you, guys, I really appreciate it. I don’t know what to say, really.”
Joining Donehue as a 2023 hall of fame inductee was current Southern 80 race director Alan McDonald.
McDonald already enjoys life membership to the Moama Water Sports Club, where he once served as president, but was shocked by his admission to the Southern 80 Hall of Fame.
“Totally unexpected,” McDonald said of his induction.
“There are so many people. You look at that board and what they’ve done for ski racing — I’ve done it, I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, but I’m humbled to be up here, thank you.”
MWSC past president Neil Donald was recognised for his more than 30 years’ involvement in the Southern 80.
“Thank you, guys. Thanks to the committee. What can I say, very humbled by this award,” he said.
Donald is known as an encyclopedia of boat knowledge and said his love for the sport and hunger to improve ensured he always returned for another year.
“I guess I keep doing it because I love it," he said.
“We claim to be the biggest and best ski race in the world, so we have to keep improving every year, got to move with the times and changes, keep coming back, and there’s always something to improve on, so I suppose that keeps me coming back.”
An outright winner on two occasions, and having competed in the Southern 80 for several decades, Brett Dominguez was also awarded with induction into the Southern 80 Hall of Fame.
“We’ve got to this stage, and this point where I’m accepting this award, because of family and friends,” Dominguez said.
He thanked his wife Narelle before paying tribute to the close friends he has formed in his ski racing journey.
“It’s the families we meet along the way that keep pushing us to what we’ve done, and we’ve had a lot of success, but the success came from having our mates, having our friends supporting us.”
Having been awarded life membership to the MWSC on Thursday, Anthony “Noddy” O’Reilly made it two honours in two nights when he was inducted into the hall of fame.
“I think there’s more people worthy of this award than I am, but thank you to everyone that’s here,” he said.
O’Reilly’s involvement at the Southern 80 has been significant. He skied for 35 consecutive years and served as an MWSC committee member.
Speaking on his life membership to the MWSC, O’Reilly reiterated that he was humbled to receive such recognition.
“I didn’t expect it,” he said.
“It’s something you don’t think about, you just get in there and do the work, and hopefully it works out well.”
There was one final spot up for grabs at this year’s event, and it was a special one, as Pete Glanville was posthumously inducted into the Southern 80 Hall of Fame.
Accepting the award on his behalf, Glanville’s daughter Ruth was joined by her two brothers on stage in acknowledging the contribution of their father to the event.
“Dad lived and breathed the Southern 80,” she said.
“It was about family and friendships. Dad loved seeing the same faces at the start line each year.
“He loved watching the young ones grow up and go through all the different age groups, and he instilled it in the family — as you can see, three of the four kids are involved in the club still to this day.
“It means a lot to us, and it would mean the world to him.”
The six new members join 2019 inductees Campaspe Valley Motors, Fran Hynes, Jamie Oliver, Lenny Retallick, Leo Welch and Roy Turner in the now 12-person Southern 80 Hall of Fame.