Finalists for the Massey University Blues Sports Awards have been announced, with athletes qualifying in a range of sporting codes, from para-swimming to aerobic gymnastics.
The University is presenting 170 Blues to students, with eight receiving awards for competing in two sports. Blues are awarded to high-achieving students who have also excelled in their sporting codes.
The awards recognise students from all campuses, as well as those studying via distance. There will also be acknowledgement of team achievement and service to sport.
Additionally one student will receive the Sport Achievement Award, which recognises high achievers in sport who are not athletes, such as managers, coaches or referees. They must have achieved at the same level as an individual athlete would to receive a Blues Award.
The combined Manawatū and Wellington ceremony will be hosted at the Sport and Rugby Institute at the Manawatū campus on October 15. The Auckland campus ceremony will be held on October 10.
The guest speaker for both ceremonies will be Bachelor of Communication graduate Hannah Rowe, who recently completed her studies while balancing an international cricket career with the White Ferns. She has impressed the cricketing world since her debut as a teenager against England in February 2015.
Finalists
Auckland Campus Sportswoman of the Year
Zoe Hobbs – Athletics
Hannah Wilton – Aerobic Gymnastics
Pia Tapsell – Rugby
Vanessa Ouwehand – Swimming
Auckland Campus Sportsman of the Year
Edward Lau – Badminton
Chris Arbuthnott – Para-Swimming
Timothy Waller – Canoe Sprint
Brad McNaughten – Rugby
Manawatū and Wellington Campus Sportswoman of the Year
Georgia Atkinson – Cricket
Tiana Davison – Rugby Sevens and Rugby
Georgia Wheeler – Canoe Polo
Casey Hales – Canoe Polo and Canoe Slalom
Manawatū and Wellington Campus Sportsman of the Year
Felix Murray – Cricket
Finn Brown – Judo
Tom Biggs – Taekwon-Do
Matthew O'Connell – Basketball
Distance Sportswoman of the Year
Luuka Jones – Canoe Slalom
Lisa Carrington – Canoe Sprint
Brooke Donoghue – Rowing
Tyla Nathan Wong – Rugby Sevens
Distance Sportsman of the Year
Finn Butcher – Canoe Slalom
Regan Gough – Cycling
Nicholas Kergozou De La Boessiere – Cycling
Cory Taylor – Surf Life Saving
Zac Reid – Swimming and Surf Lifesaving
Marcus Daniell – Tennis
Event details
Auckland event details
Date: Thursday, October 10
Time: 6pm drinks and canapes followed by award presentations at 7pm.
Location: Atrium Round Room, Gate One, Massey University Auckland campus in Albany
Host: Hamish McKay
Manawatū event details
Date: Tuesday, October 15
Time: 5.30pm pre-award drinks and canapes followed by award presentations at 6pm.
Location: Sport and Rugby Institute, Massey University, 56 Albany Drive, Palmerston North
Host: Head of the School of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition, Associate Professor Andrew Foskett