2018 Supreme Award winner Black Cap Seth Rance with the then Times-Age editor, Seamus Boyer. PHOTO/FILE
SPORTS AWARDS
CHRIS COGDALE
[email protected]
Since world champion roller skater Marlene MacDonald won the inaugural Wairarapa Sports Awards in 1969, many outstanding achievers have followed in her footsteps.
Black Stick Dane Lett, All Black great BJ Lochore, Black Cap Seth Rance, world superbike championship racer Aaron Slight, Olympic bronze medallist Tinks Pottinger, and the Chatham Cup winning Wairarapa United team are just some of the names that adorn the Wairarapa Times-Age Sports Awards honours board.
Wairarapa has an incredibly rich sporting history for a small region, and present-day achievements deserve their day in the sun just as much as their predecessors.
Several outstanding successes that need to be recognised come to mind instantly but have yet to be nominated.
Interclub golf champions, hockey premier championship winners, national secondary school championship finalists, international and first-class representatives, first class referees, surprise bowls semifinalists, and national age group champions, are just a few examples of what our sportspeople have achieved over the past two years.
In an oddity from previous years – because of the impact of covid-19 and the subsequent cancellation of the 2020 event – this year’s awards recognise achievements in one of two years – from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020, or April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.
That means that one success in April 2019 still has relevance and deserves a nomination, as much as an outstanding result in March 2021.
Of course, 2020 threw up its own unique set of circumstances with effectively no sport in April and May. Then getting sport back up and running became even more challenging for administrators – from compiling draws and running games without crowds to dealing with the ever-changing goalposts of a covid-hit year.
Who was calm, self-assured, and ensured sport went ahead with as little disruption as possible under such pressure?
On the playing side, who stood out on the field, the court, or the artificial turf?
Who has contributed endless hours over the years putting out the corner flags on Saturday mornings or cooking the weekly Thursday night dinner for the whole team after training?
Who won a national title, or who played in a national final?
There’s a great sports story in every club, primary school, secondary school, every gym, and every tiny little corner of Wairarapa, and we want to know so we can recognise our amazing sporting community.
There are 15 categories covering athletes, coaches, officials, administrators, volunteers, teams, clubs, and schools.
The winners of all categories will automatically become finalists for the Supreme Award. There will also be a Lifetime Achievement Award and a People’s Choice Award.
- Nominations close tomorrow and can be emailed to: [email protected]
- The winners will be announced at a function at the Carterton Events Centre on September 23.
