Rebecca Mahoney awards a penalty in the Whanganui vs Thames Valley Heartland Championship game in 2019. PHOTO/GETTY IMAGES
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Sam Blundell won the highly competitive youth sportsperson award in 2022. PHOTO/FILE
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Dane Lett has won the Supreme Award for the past three years. PHOTO/FILE
SPORTS AWARDS
There are not many people better qualified to comment on the incredible surge in women’s rugby than two-time World Cup winner and groundbreaking referee Rebecca Mahoney.
One of Wairarapa’s very best, Mahoney, the winner of the Supreme Award in 2010 and 2017, will be the guest speaker at the Wairarapa Times-Age Sports Awards at the Carterton Events Centre on Thursday, June 8.
Mahoney played 19 tests for the Black Ferns between 2004 and 2011 and was part of the 2006 and 2010 World Cup-winning teams.
After her retirement, Mahoney picked up the whistle, achieving many milestones, including refereeing at the 2018 Sevens World Cup and Commonwealth Games and becoming the first woman to officiate a Ranfurly Shield match when she controlled the Otago-North Otago challenge in 2019.
Mahoney is only one of many outstanding sportspeople who have been etched into Wairarapa sporting history as winners at the Sports Awards, including world champions, Olympic and Commonwealth Games medallists, All Blacks, age group internationals, national champions, record-breakers, championship-winning teams, our emerging talent and those tireless administrators and volunteers.
For a small region, Wairarapa has an incredible sporting heritage and now is the opportunity to recognise the achievements of our local sports stars, teams, and those hard workers behind the scenes over the past year, with nominations closing on Thursday.
For the first time in the history of the awards, which dates back to 1968, the senior sports personality has been split into separate sportsman and sportswoman categories to recognise the greater growth in women’s sports.
The youth category, which attracts the largest number of nominations, with more than 60 in 2022, which resulted in national champions missing out on making the final four, has also been divided into sportsman and sportswoman awards, recognising the incredible depth of talent in youth sports.
Other categories are Junior Sports Personality, Para Sports Personality, Administrator, Volunteer, Official, Junior Contribution to Sport, Coach, Junior Team, Youth Team, Senior Team, and Club of the Year.
There are many stories about amazing sporting successes, and those need to be told. There’s no better avenue than the Sports Awards, which cover achievements from April 1 2022, to March 31 2023, although the Administrator and Volunteer categories can cover the years of dedication to those people who make their sport tick over week after week.
The winners of all categories will automatically become finalists for the Supreme Champion award.
There will also be a Lifetime Achievement award and a People’s Choice Award.
Nominations can be made by anyone, including the nominee, whether it be an individual, club, team, or school, on the form published in the Times-Age each day this week or online at https://times-age.co.nz/wairarapa-times-age-sports-awards/
Nominations close at 4.30pm on Friday.
