Massey’s sporting stars recognised as 2026 Blues Awards finalists announced

Blues Awards celebrate the dedication, resilience and commitment required to achieve excellence both in the classroom and on the sporting field. They are one of the highest honours a tertiary student athlete can receive in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The online Awards ceremony will take place on Tuesday 6 October at 6pm via livestream. The hosts for 2026 are Student Recruitment Advisor Māori Tania Jahnke and Associate Professor Bevan Erueti.

A total of 187 Blues will be presented for 2026. Eleven athletes will receive a Blue across two sports, highlighting the breadth of talent and commitment among this year’s recipients. Three Sporting Excellence Awards will also be presented, recognising exceptional contributions to sport in roles beyond individual competition, including coaching and officiating.

This year’s recipients have demonstrated excellence across a wide range of sports including athletics, football, hockey, canoe polo, artistic roller skating, swimming and taekwon-do.

Alongside Blues recipients are four major award categories which recognise exceptional student athletes competing at both campus and distance level: Campus Sportsman of the Year, Campus Sportswoman of the Year, Distance Sportsman of the Year and Distance Sportswoman of the Year.

The winners of these awards are selected by the Blues Selection Committee, with the overall Supreme Award winner chosen from the recipients of the four major awards.

Chair of the Blues Selection Committee, Sport Massey Manager Angela Rainham says the calibre of athletes studying at Massey University is impressive.

"The finalists have all achieved outstanding performances on the world stage in their respective sports. The hard work and dedication that they have all put in, to compete at the highest level internationally, is to be commended.”

Event details:

Time: 6pm

Date: Tuesday 6 October

Hosts: Tania Jahnke and Associate Professor Bevan Erueti

Awards recipients will have received an email with information to RSVP. Others wanting to watch the livestream will need to register to watch the Blues Awards.

Major award finalists:

Campus Sportsman of the Year 2026:

• Ben Shirley – Artistic Roller Skating
• Anthony Massarotto – Canoe Polo
• Kaiha Gilbertson – Canoe Sprint

Campus Sportswoman of the Year 2026:

• Phoenix Reid – Artistic Roller Skating
• Caitlin Kirk – Athletics and Multisport
• Georgia Wheeler – Canoe Polo
• Pepi Olliver-Bell – Futsal and Football
• Hannah Li – Table Tennis
• Millie Devine – Taekwon-Do
• Sydney Devine – Taekwon-Do

Distance Sportsman of the Year 2026:

• Nick Palmer – Athletics
• Callan Elliot – Football
• Jesse Randall – Football
• Kane Russell – Hockey
• Ben Mason – Rowing
• Ben Barclay – Skiing
• Ben Harrington – Skiing
• Lewis Clareburt – Swimming

Distance Sportswoman of the Year 2026:

• Holly Robinson – Athletics
• Prudence Fowler – Cycling
• Amelia Walmsley – Netball
• Stella Clayton-Greene – Rowing
• Alena Saili – Rugby Sevens and Rugby
• Erika Fairweather – Swimming

Supreme Award 2026

The Supreme Award winner will be announced on the evening and selected from the winners of the four major awards for 2026.