Stacey Porter

Deadly Vibe Issue 106, December 2005

Batter Up!

The awards just keep coming for this silver sister.

Stacey Porter will soon be running out of space on her mantelpiece if things keep going the way they are. This 23-year-old softballing sensation has been inundated with awards, with trophies of all kinds jostling for position with Stacey’s prize possession – her Olympic silver medal.

Stacey, who was the first Indigenous athlete to represent Australia in softball at the 2004 Athens Olympics, was awarded Female Sportsperson of the Year at this year’s Deadly Awards.

Exactly one month later and Stacey was once again accepting an award, this time for being named Australian Female Softballer of the Year at Softball Australia’s Awards of Excellence dinner held in Canberra.

Stacey was against some of Australia’s finest female softball athletes, but her outstanding year on the diamond, in which she excelled in offence play, made her the obvious choice for the award.

Stacey is a senior member of the NSW Open women’s team who are the current national champions. She was the leading Aussie batter in four of this year’s seven international tournaments. She was named most valuable player and also earned the batting award for the Grand Prix Series, with an overall batting average of .519.

She also continues to work in the area of development to ensure the awareness of the sport increases.

The awards are sure to keep on coming for this young champion, who is now setting her sights on the 2008 Olympic Games, which will be held in Beijing. Who knows, Stacey may soon have an Olympic gold medal to take pride of place on that overcrowded mantelpiece of hers.

(story date December 1, 2005 end)
Image Getty Images ©

Deadly Vibe Issue 104, October 2005

Sweet Victory

Girl power was in plentiful supply at the Deadlys in 2005.

Four supremely talented women were nominated for the Female Sportsperson of the Year Award at this year’s Deadlys, and what made the category even more interesting was the fact that all the nominees were coming off such spectacular years in their respective sports.

Netballer Bianca Franklin had just returned from the United States where she had played with the silver medal-winning Australian under 21s team at the World Cup.

After playing in the 2004 WNBL Grand Final, Michelle Musselwhite battled through injury and continued to star for Sydney Flames, while touch football star Bo de la Cruz was fresh from National Title success with the Barbarians and gaining Australian selection for the All Nations Tournament.

But in the end it would be softballer Stacey Porter’s Olympic silver medal-winning feats that would earn her the ultimate prize at this year’s Deadlys.

While it was Stacey’s first Deadlys, it was not the first time she has been in the running for Female Sportsperson of the Year. In 2004, Stacey was nominated for the same award, missing out to basketball star Michelle Musselwhite on the night.

Stacey received her first Deadly award this year after capping a sensational run; from her medal-winning success at the 2004 Athens Olympics to her involvement in the victorious Australian side which defeated the USA Elite 3–0 in the final of the Canada Cup held in Canada earlier this year.

(story date October 1, 2005 end)

Deadly Vibe Issue 92 October 2004

Stacey Porter, women’s softball

Stacey Porter of Tamworth, NSW, is the first Indigenous Australian to represent her country in softball at the Olympics.

At just 22, she has already represented Australia in the 2003 Canada Cup, in which Australia finished second, the 2003 Hobart International tri-series, where Australia was again second, and the 2004 Blacktown International Softball Challenge, won by Australia. Her performances at these competitions earned her selection for the Olympic squad.

In all, she has gained 81 international caps, making her international debut during the 2002 development tour of Japan.

Stacey and her team, Aussie Spirit, played the Games of their life – eventually coming in second after being defeated by softball powerhouse, the US. This is the highest placing of an Australian women’s softball team at the Olympics – previously, the team had won consecutive bronze medals in Atlanta and Sydney.

(Story 1/10/2004 end)

Just imagine it. Thousands of screaming people are cheering on the world’s best athletes as they walk out for the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Meanwhile, millions of people around the world tune in to watch as their country’s proudest athletes revel in their moment of glory.

Now just think how extra special this moment will be for Stacey Porter, 22, who will not only be realising her life-long dream of reaching the Olympics, but is also the first Indigenous person to ever represent Australia in softball. And while Athens may be a long way from her home town of Tamworth in NSW, you can be sure she will be walking as proudly as any athlete.

“I’ve been playing softball since I was five,” says Stacey, who grew up in the town better known for country music than home runs and catcher’s gloves. However, it is now apparent that country music isn’t the only American pastime that has produced some outstanding talent in the town.

It would be fair to say that Stacey has always been a softball natural – one of those people who were born to play the sport. In fact, although she is a talented all-rounder, it’s hard to imagine Stacey playing else.

“I think it’s just the love of playing, the friends that you make along the way and just competing at a high level – I have a big competitive edge to me,” says Stacey when asked what it is she loves about softball.

“My mother and sister were involved in the sport, so I was always around softball from a young age and I suppose my mother encouraged me to get into it.

“I played a lot of different sports and was really active when I was young but in the end I chose softball as the sport I want to focus on.”

In only a short time, Stacey, who plays first and third base, has achieved some amazing things in softball. She made her first representative team in 1997 and from there she hasn’t looked back. She made her debut for Australia in 2000 before being offered the chance to study and play softball in the United States at the University of Hawaii, where she has been living for the past three years.

In those three years, Stacey’s game has continued to improve, and while she describes the international experience as awesome, nothing quite compares with her recent selection in the Australian Olympic squad that will head to Athens in August.

“Being named in the Australian team is the biggest highlight of my career,” says Stacey. “It’s been my goal ever since I made my first representative side.”

Along the way, Stacey hasn’t had too look far for inspiration. And being the youngest in the Olympic squad means she has learned from the best.

“The most inspiring people and the ones who keep me the most motivated are my team-mates and the people around me,” she says.

“I’ve always played alongside people who I’ve looked up to and learnt from. And the support that I get from Tamworth is awesome.”

Stacey’s rise to the top hasn’t come easily and it is her fierce competitive edge, coupled with an incredible training regime, that sets her apart from the rest. At the moment, she is spending five days a week training, with two of those days devoted to gym work.

In the lead-up to the naming of the Australian squad, Stacey was playing with the NSW team. And at a recent international competition that included two Australian teams and sides from China, Taiwan, Japan and Canada, Stacey was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

“Right now I’m focusing on being as consistent as I can and working hard in the next few months so that I perform at my best during the Olympics and just give it my best shot,” says Stacey.

As for making history by becoming the first Indigenous person to compete in the sport on such a grand stage, Stacey says: “It makes me feel really happy and proud that I will be the first. I’m very proud to be Aboriginal and I make sure everyone knows it.”

The perfect place to let people know will be Athens, where Stacey will be proudly flying both the Australian and Aboriginal flags. It looks like she is already on the way to becoming one of our most high-profile Indigenous stars of the future.

Story date 1/6/2004 end.