Two gold medal winners, a State Division President, and a group of lifelong servants to their sports at grassroots level joined CGA CEO Craig Phillips as 2021 Queen’s Birthday award recipients.

Four-time Delhi 2010 gymnastics gold medallist Lauren Mitchell, Melbourne 2006 basketball gold medallist Erin Phillips, Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) Chief Executive Officer Craig Phillips, Commonwealth Games Australia’s South Australia State Division President Joe Stevens, along with a number of grassroots Commonwealth Sport coaches and administrators have been honoured in the 2021 Queens Birthday awards for their service to sport.

Lauren Mitchell OAM

Australia’s most successful and decorated gymnast, Lauren Mitchell was awarded an OAM ‘for service to gymnastics’,

The West Australian competed at the Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, winning four gold and three silver medals across both Games.  In Delhi in 2010 she won the individual all-around, team, uneven bars and beam gold medals.  Just weeks later she became Australia’s first female world gymnastics champion, winning the floor apparatus at the 2010 world championships. She also competed at two Olympic Games – Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

Erin Phillips OAM

South Australian basketballer turned AFLW star Erin Phillips was honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) ‘for service to Australian rules football, and to basketball’.

Phillips had a decorated career in basketball, winning a world title in 2006, playing in two Olympic Games, including the silver-medal winning 2008 Beijing team, along with the gold medal winning Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games outfit.

She also played in the championship winning WNBA sides and won WNBL titles and following the Rio 2016 Olympic Games she made the move to Australian Rules football, playing for the Adelaide Crows to win the best and fairest and inaugural AFLW premiership in 2017, a feat she repeated in 2019.

It made of a pair of ‘Phillips’ from the Commonwealth Games family in the Queen’s birthday honours, with CGA CEO Craig Phillips honoured as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia, ‘for significant service to high profile sporting organisations through executive roles’.

Commonwealth Games Australia’s South Australia State Division President Joe Stevens was honoured with an OAM ‘for service to athletics’.  The former Athletics South Australia President and current Vice-President has long been a leading technical official and also race director of the City to Bay fun run in Adelaide.  Stevens was an athletics official at the Melbourne 2006 and Gold Coast 2018 Games

The quartet joined several grassroots Commonwealth Sport volunteers who were recognised for their lifelong commitment to their respective sports and communities, including:

• Current Netball Victoria CEO Rosie King OAM ‘for Service to Sports Administration’.

• Melbourne 2006 Assistant Competition Manager for Squash and long serving Squash Victoria Executive Director Paul Vear OAM ‘for service to squash’.

• Olympians Former Victorian Institute of Sport and Cycling Australia coach Donna Rae-Szalinski OAM ‘for service to cycling’.

• Former racewalker, cyclist, Australian National Walks Coach and President of the Victorian Race Walking Club Harry Summers OAM ‘for service to athletics’.

• Former Australian badminton singles champion, Barcelona 1992 Olympians and now coach Anna Lao OAM ‘for significant service to badminton, and to the multicultural community’. 

• Former Queensland Cycling CEO Wendy Sanders OAM and Queensland Cycling Life Member Ron Donnellan AM both ‘for services to cycling’.

• Queensland Gymnastics Life Member Dr Trevor Dowdell AM ‘for significant service to artistic gymnastics through a range of roles’.

• Hockey NSW Life Member Mavis Randle AM ‘for significant service to hockey, and to the community.

• Former Bowls Victoria President and Victorian State politician The Honourable Rosemary Varty OAM ‘for service to the community, and to lawn bowls’.

• Former Hockey Tasmania President and Life member Alison Monk OAM ‘for service to hockey’.

• Former Athletics Australia high performance manager, Australian Coaching Council Director and AIS Elite Sport Program Manager Laurie Woodman OAM ‘for service to sport coaching and development’.

• Grassroots club volunteer, the late Robert Ryan OAM of Wallsend Athletics Club in Newcastle ‘for service to athletics’ who also officiated the Melbourne 2006 Games.

Channel 7 Sunrise sports presenter Mark Beretta OAM was honoured ‘for service to the community through charitable organisations; The Age and The Australian sportswriter Patrick Smith OAM ‘for service to print media as a journalist; and Channel Nine reporter Simon Bouda AM ‘for significant service to the television and print media, and to the community’.  All three have covered the Commonwealth Games in various roles.

Commonwealth Games Australia congratulates all for their significant service to sport and the Australian community.