Decorated surf lifesaver takes out Supreme Award at 2025 Blues

It’s been an incredible year for the surf lifesaver and swimmer. After representing New Zealand with the Black Fins at the 2024 Surf Life Saving World Champs, where he set a world record in the 50m manikin carry and claimed two gold, two silver and a bronze medal, Fergus went on to win gold and bronze at the 2025 World Games in China.

The recent Bachelor of Arts graduate, who studied on the Auckland campus, received Blues for both surf lifesaving and swimming, as well as Campus Sportsman of the Year and the Supreme Award, marking the first time an on-campus student athlete has taken out the top title.

Fergus says it was a massive honour to receive the awards.

“It wouldn’t have been possible without my tutors, the fantastic support from Massey, and everyone else involved in getting me across the line. It is a huge ask to be a student athlete, juggling everything we have to do, training, academics, assignments, but thanks to Massey and the amazing support team, I got there in the end.”

Fergus is also a member of the Surf Life Saving New Zealand Senior Performance Squad and won 10 gold medals at the 2024 New Zealand Pool Rescue Championships, plus two golds at the 2024 Australian Pool Rescue Championships. This is also his third consecutive Campus Sportsman of the Year title.

The virtual Blues event, hosted by Eugene Hepi and alumna Eliza McCartney, saw 176 Blues Awards presented to Massey student athletes across 40 sports, alongside a Sporting Excellence Award and the announcement of the five major award categories.

Another historic moment came with the announcement of the Campus Sportswoman of the Year, which was jointly awarded to three recipients: Master of Clinical Psychology student Klara Richter, Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Science student Alyssa Shepherd and Bachelor of Veterinary Science student Georgia Wheeler. All three are canoe polo players and members of the New Zealand Paddle Ferns Senior Women’s team who won the 2024 ICF Canoe Polo World Championship.

Alyssa and Georgia were also part of the New Zealand team that won a historic silver medal at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, China.

“I’ve had such an amazing journey as part of the Academy of Sport, and they have been a key support system as I’ve juggled uni, canoe polo and work over the past four years. Massey’s support for canoe polo has opened so many opportunities for us student athletes, and we’re all so thankful,” Alyssa says.

Georgia also received an additional award for sporting excellence, recognising her work as the team manager for the New Zealand Under 18 Men’s B Team at both the 2025 Oceania Championships and the 2025 Australian State Championships, where the team placed second in both events.

“I want to say a huge thank you to Massey for supporting not only me, but all your student athletes. Thank you for supporting a smaller sport like canoe polo, we’re rapidly growing and we’re grateful to have you backing us,” Georgia says.

Klara shared the sentiment, expressing in her acceptance speech:

“2024 was a huge year for canoe polo and I feel very privileged and lucky to be part of the Paddle Ferns team and represent New Zealand. I wanted to give a huge shout out to Massey’s Academy of Sport for their ongoing support in my academic and sporting endeavours.”

The Distance Sportswoman of the Year went to Bachelor of Sport and Exercise student Olivia McTaggart. Olivia who won the 2025 London Diamond League pole vault event at London’s Olympic Stadium in July with a lifetime best jump of 4.73 metres. She’s had multiple podium finishes across Europe, including first place at the Meeting Stanislas Nancy event, and second at the 2025 New Zealand Track and Field Championship.

Olivia, who has been studying with Massey for seven years, says it was incredible to be recognised.

“Massey has been the most incredible university to deal with. I’ve been able to get extensions and have lecturers really help me out with assignments. It’s been an amazing time, and I’ve got one more year left to go – I’ve been dragging my degree out because I just love it that much, clearly! It’s been an amazing year on the track, and I just want to say how grateful I am to have the opportunity to study at Massey University and go for my degree alongside my career.”

The Distance Sportsman of the Year went to another surf life saver, Oska Smith, a Bachelor of Business student who also represented New Zealand with the Black Fins at the 2024 Surf Life Saving World Championships. There, he won gold in the Men’s Open Beach Sprint and silver in the Open Oceanman relay. Oska also placed first and fourth in events at the Surf Life Saving New Zealand National Championships and earned a bronze medal at the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships in the Open Male Beach Sprint.

Bachelor of Business student Moana Courtenay was another standout of the night, taking home three Blues for rugby, rugby league and rugby sevens.

While not part of the Blues Awards, the Tertiary Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year winners were also announced, recognising performance, achievement and growth through representing Massey at the University and Tertiary Sport New Zealand (UTSNZ) National Tertiary Championships.

Fourth-year Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) student Zalika Clarke was the recipient of the Tertiary Sportswoman of the Year after captaining Massey’s team in the UTSNZ Tertiary Netball Championships and being named in the 2025 UTSNZ Tertiary Netball Tournament Team. Quinlan Huff, a second-year Bachelor of Arts student and the UTSNZ Ultimate Frisbee Tournament’s male MVP, was named Sportsman of the Year.

Missed out on the action? Watch the 2025 Blues Awards.

2025 MASSEY UNIVERSITY BLUES SPORTS AWARDS MAJOR AWARD WINNERS

Massey University Blues Sports Award - Supreme Award

Fergus Eadie – Surf Life Saving and Swimming

Massey University Distance Sportswoman of the Year

Olivia McTaggart – Athletics

Massey University Distance Sportsman of the Year

Oska Smith – Surf Life Saving

Massey University Campus Sportswoman of the Year

Klara Richter – Canoe Polo

Alyssa Shepherd – Canoe Polo

Georgia Wheeler – Canoe Polo

Massey University Campus Sportsman of the Year

Fergus Eadie – Surf Life Saving and Swimming

2025 MASSEY UNIVERSITY BLUES SPORTS AWARDS RECIPIENTS:

ARCHERY: Logan Dittert, Chisora Hada; ARTISTIC ROLLER SKATING: Ben Shirley, Jessica Shirley, Claudia McLean, Phoenix Reid; ATHLETICS: Olivia McTaggart, Nick Palmer, Kiana Pohe-Bright, Zach Saunders, Maddi Wesche; BADMINTON: Cynthia Fan; BAREFOOT WATER SKIING: Emma McKenzie; BASKETBALL: Matt Foss, Johnny Helu, Liam Judd; BMX: Megan Williams; CANOE POLO: Hayley Austin, Scott Gray, Anthony Massarotto, Klara Richter, Alyssa Shepherd, Georgia Wheeler; CANOE SLALOM: James Senior, Oliver Puchner; CANOE SPRINT: Jessica Cleghorn, Kaiha Gilbertson, Alicia Hoskin; CLAY TARGET SHOOTING: Ashling Welch; CRICKET: Bella Armstrong, Ethan Campbell, Curtis Heaphy, Ella Hogan, Jessica Ogden, Hanu Rana, Gemma Sims; CYCLING: Lola Bryson-Boe, Ethan Craine, Finn Wilson; FOOTBALL: Kenya Brooke, Brooklyn Browne, Mackenzie Butler, Manaia Elliott, Helena Errington, Milla Green, Olivia Ingham, Ellie Johnson, Darren Juru, Anna Leat, Pepi Olliver-Bell, Olivia Page, Adam Paulsen, Gabrielle Rennie, Moh Renyolds-Hatem, Malia Steinmetz, Addison Stewart, Campbell Strong, Kate Taylor, Joe Wallis; FUTSAL: Aiden Foster, Milla Green, Olivia Harding, Darren Juru, Breanna Keenan, Pepi Olliver-Bell, Adam Paulsen, Liam Percy-Fysh; GOLF: Yuki Miya; HOCKEY: Sabine Benson, Nikayla Bradley, Roimata Brown, Ethan Campbell, Hannah Cotter, Kaitlin Cotter, Katie Doar, Briar Duncan, Kaea Elliott, Holly Hilton-Jones, Jemma Jones, Matthew Kennedy, Katharine Kominik Fraser, Aimee Mitchell, Franca Morrah, Charlotte Roxborough-Judd, Olivia Shannon, Georgie Shotter, Molly Williams, Kat Winter, Nic Woods; ICE HOCKEY: Hannah Cross; INDOOR CRICKET: Bayley Latter; INDOOR HOCKEY: Jarryd Russell; MOUNTAIN BIKING: Toby Meek; NETBALL: Natalya Bissell, Claudia Brown, Zalika Clarke, Aliyah Dunn, Chloe Gunn, Brooke Hamilton, Atareta McCausland-Durie, Tiarna Oliver, Chantelle Smith, Amelia Walmsley; POWERLIFTING: Alice Davies, Leo Cromie, Stephen Gittos; ROWING: Stella Clayton-Greene, Kathryn Glen, Kate Haines, Juliette Lequeux, Ben Mason, Joshua Vodanovich; RUGBY: Sam Coles, Moana Courtenay, Holly Greenway, Anahera Hamahona, Cameron Howell, Niko Jones, Elinor King, Orbyn Leger, Matt Masoe, Reuben Nelley, Oscar Ritchie, Rangimarie Sturmey, Sam Taylor, Harono Te Iringa, Te Rangatira Waitokia, Taylor Waterson, Alesha Williams; RUGBY LEAGUE: Moana Courtenay, Tyla King, James Marriott; RUGBY SEVENS: Moana Courtenay, Holly Greenway, Anahera Hamahona, Tyla King, Manaia Nuku, Alesha Williams, Hunter Yarrall; SKIING: Ben Barclay, Alec Jackson, Toby Jackson, Mikayla Smyth; SNOWBOARDING: Tiarn Collins; SQUASH: Leonie Marshall; SURF LIFE SAVING: Sam Brown, Louis Clark, Laine Creighton, Fergus Eadie, Kaiha Gilbertson, Phoebe Ozanne, Oska Smith, Milana Tapper, Maja Tyne, Olivia Corrin; SWIMMING: Sam Brown, Louis Clark, Fergus Eadie, Chelsey Edwards, Erika Fairweather, Gina McCarthy, Milana Tapper; TAEKWON-DO: Millicent Devine, Sydney Devine, Brenna Greene; TENNIS: Sasha Situe; TOUCH: Kaitlyn McIntosh, Zoe Sosich; TRIATHLON: Eva Goodisson; ULTIMATE DISC: Amy Slogrove; UNDERWATER HOCKEY: Georgina Shrapnell; WATER SKIING: Chris Lincoln, Courtney Williams; YACHTING: Sam Bacon, Blake McGlashan, Molly Meech.

2025 SPORTING EXCELLENCE AWARD RECIPIENT:

CANOE POLO

Georgia Wheeler