Tennis superstar Ash Barty was the night’s big winner, with her French Open and season-ending world number one ranking earning her Female Athlete of the Year, Sport Personality of the Year and Sporting Moment of the Year.

Sailing champions Mat Belcher and Will Ryan were named Team of the Year, with their fifth World Championship as a pair capping off an incredible season. Mat and Will’s stellar year also saw them become the first athletes officially selected for the Tokyo 2020 Australian Olympic Team in September 2019.

Snowboarder Scotty James’ incredible unbeaten 2019 season earned him the Male Athlete of the Year, with an unprecedented third straight World Championship gold to go with five other competition victories. The Pyeongchang 2018 bronze medallist is undefeated since the Games in Korea, and kicks off his 2020 season this week in Colorado.

2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympian hockey player Amy Lawton was named Emerging Athlete of the Year, after a season which saw her make her Hockeyroos debut and play a key role in the Hockeyroos’ qualification for Tokyo 2020 through the Oceania Championships and Olympic Qualifier playoffs.

The Hockeyroos also picked up the Sport Australia award for a special moment in a game against Belgium in the 2019 FIH Pro League.

In a tight game, Australia were incorrectly awarded a goal by the referee, with the video referee also ruling a goal in Australia’s favour. Despite this, co-captain Emily Chalker made it clear that she had not touched the ball before it hit the back of the goal and ensured the referee and video ref decision was overturned.

Australia went on to lose the game but won the respect of the hockey community for displaying the true spirit of sport.

Australia’s Olympic programs were also well represented, with Rowing Australia winning High Performance Program of the Year and Sailing Australia’s Michael Blackburn winning Coach of the Year.

Australian rowers won 15 gold, 13 silver and nine bronze medals during the 2019 season, including world championship-winning performances from the women’s four.

Australian rowers have already qualified eight boats for Tokyo 2020 based on their fantastic performances at the 2019 World Championships.

Laser coach Michael Blackburn was rewarded for a stellar season, with Australians Tom Burton and Matt Wearn finishing the season ranked number one and two in the world.

The pair also took the top two spots at the 2019 World Championships in Japan, with Wearn also winning the Laser European Championships. At least one of the pair finished on the podium at the majority of 2019 races, making Australia the dominant force in world Laser sailing under Michael Blackburn’s coaching.

Basketballer Jenna O’Hea won the inaugural Athlete Community Engagement Award for her tireless work to promote mental health. O’Hea initiated the WNBL “Lifeline Round”, with every 3-pointer made prompting a $100 donation that was matched by the league, providing more than $15,000 to Lifeline Australia to assist in the training of crisis staff.