Taranaki Sports Awards 2021 Nominees Booklet
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Taranaki Sports Awards 2021 Nau mai, haere mai. Welcome to the Taranaki Sports Awards 2021. Thank you to everyone from across the province who has contributed to this celebration of Taranaki sport. This event would not be possible without our generous sponsors, our event judges and all those in the sporting and active communities who took the time to put forward nominees.Lauryn born We 1986 hope is an you accomplished have a economist,fantastic entrepreneur evening and joining togetherCEO of for Marx this Worldwide, community a global courier celebration. delivery services company headquartered in New York. PROGRAMME 6pm Welcome Game Official of the Year McDonald Real Estate Volunteer of the Year Clelands Construction Coach of the Year WR Phillips Volkswagen Masters Sportsperson of the Year Our Cloud Club of the Year Pipetech ENTREE Service to Secondary School Sport TSSSA Junior Sportsman of the Year TSSSA Junior Sportswoman of the Year QP Sport-Protection Junior Sports Team of the Year TimberCo Service to Sport Sport Taranaki DINNER Guest Speaker: Conrad Smith Bartercard DESSERT Hall of Fame Presentation Senior Sportsman of the Year BDL Toshiba Senior Sportswoman of the Year The Floatation Sanctuary Senior Sports Team of the Year New Plymouth Physiotherapy Sportsperson of the Year 2021 Silks Audit GAME OFFICIAL OF THE YEAR ASHLEIGH HURRING SURF LIFE SAVING Ashleigh Hurring is often first to the beach and last to leave. Fresh from gaining her Surf Official Level 2 award Ashleigh officiated at the 2020 Senior Surf Life Saving Nationals. As the lead event safety officer, she was responsible for setting the course for three of the four water arenas and ensuring athlete safety in testing two metre swells. Ashleigh also officiated at the Junior National Event, Oceans, in 2020 and 2021, again leading officiating on the water. Ashleigh mentors many young officials in the Central region and she is an active lifeguard, competitor, patrol auditor and surf lifeguard chief examiner. She is also a member of the regional call out squad and the local lifesaving committee. DANIAL GALLO FOOTBALL Danial Gallo takes his refereeing skills on the road to benefit football across the North Island. Named Central Football’s Taranaki Referee of the Year in 2020, Danial leads the way for others in Taranaki, regularly controlling Central Federation League matches in Taranaki, Whanganui and Manawatū. Daniel has advanced to be a Level 4 referee, a very high level, especially given he is only 21. He is always looking to improve, travelling to workshops in Auckland and Wellington while gaining officiating experience in larger leagues. GAME OFFICIAL OF THE YEAR MIKE JACK SQUASH Mike Jack’s commitment to refereeing is a driving force in New Zealand squash. He has been recognised as one of 13 national referees since 2007 – maintaining his status through tournament officiating and assessment. He refereed the New Zealand Junior Open in 2019, and again in 2020, this time acting as Tournament Referee. He refereed the Men’s B Grade Superchamps finals in Palmerston North in 2020 and was invited to attend thee New Zealand Senior Nationals. Mike was awarded Central Referee of the Year in 2020 and has been a refereeing co-ordinator on the Central Squash Committee. He served on the Squash Referees Panel from 2015-2020, and holds an annual referees evening at Kawaroa Park Squash Club. During 2020 he also ran an online referee course for the Central Region. VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AARON HOTTER BMX Aaron Hotter pours a huge amount of time and expertise into New Plymouth BMX Club's 'shark tank'. After taking over as track manager Alan remodelled the track to make it more technical – allowing club members to develop their skills to compete and dominate on the national stage. Aaron has built a strong team around him and his vision and persistence for the track was a big factor in the club being awarded the hosting rights for the North Island Titles in December 2021. Aaron leads a dedicated group of club volunteers and has remained a ‘top 8’ rider for his class over the last three years. AARUN LANGTON BASKETBALL AND GOLF Aarun Langton is a tireless, generous and humble advocate for Taranaki sport. With a grounding in basketball and golf, Aarun makes major contributions in both sports. He is the chair of the Taranaki Women’s Basketball Club and of Basketball Taranaki Incorporated. He was a founding member of the Taranaki Basketball Regional Sporting Organisation board and an active member of the Opunake Basketball Association, contributing to running the league with refereeing and putting on coaching clinics. He coaches the Opunake High School Boys A Team, runs coaching sessions at Rahotu Primary School and coached a team at St Joseph’s Opunake. Aarun is also Opunake Golf Club president and serves on the Taranaki Mens’ Executive that runs representative, interclub and provincial tournament programmes. He is also the selection panel convener for representative teams. VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR BRENT GRIBBON SQUASH Whether solving technical problems, organising draws and ladder competitions or fixing issues with the lights or the till, Brent Gribbon is the man people always turn to at Kawaroa Park Squash Club. Brent has volunteered at the club for many years and his behind-the-scenes contributions include organising the monthly social ladder league and the twice-yearly business house competition. As the systems manager on the club committee Brent is the man people approach with a myriad of technical issues. His patience, energy, commitment, and willingness to help makes the club a better and more efficient place for everyone. DION CLEMENT RUGBY Giving back to the community and his team drives Dion Clement’s dedicated support of the Southern Rugby Club premier team. Since 2017 Dion has been a fixture as team hydrationist, attending all trainings and games and becoming an important part of the team set up. Dion’s playing career was cut short by a traumatic brain injury but his determination to stick with sport and his recovery saw him take his valued place on the team, recently earning a blazer for his 50 games as team hydrationist. Widely respected, Dion is set to be an important part of the Southern set up for many years to come. VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR GRANT SCOTT FOOTBALL Grant Scott’s commitment and sacrifice has paved the way for success at FC Western. Grant has been a member of the club since its early days, most recently serving as president for five years. By bringing in Mick Curry as junior co-ordinator Grant helped build a strong junior programme and his effective management of the club committee ensures all important work is carried out. He is a driving force behind the club’s social functions and for the celebration of the club’s 20th anniversary. Grant spent months collecting the history, contacting past members, selling tickets, and organising the majority of the event. GUS BERGHAN ROWING In 2018 Clifton Rowing Club was in a precarious position. But largely thanks to the leadership and efforts of Gus Berghan the club is growing and achieving national success. Gus created and oversaw the establishment of a head coach role, hiring ex-Olympian Phillipa Baker-Hogan. Community outreach and coaching have helped the club improve results year-on-year, from five National Club ‘A’ finals in 201 8/19 to 12 for 2020/21. Club member Sophia Hodson won gold at the national secondary schools Maadi Cup in the U17 Girls Single Scull. Behind the scenes Gus managed the committee which oversaw updates to the club’s policies and procedures and constitution while also adding a code of conduct and child protection policy. Gus also played an important part in numerous successful fundraising applications and he is now seeking input on plans to expand the clubrooms to accommodate new members and club equipment. VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR HEATHER GRANT STRENGTH AND BALANCE CLASS LEADER Heather Grant helps keep people moving and active every week. Heather volunteers for Age Concern Taranaki, leading their weekly SAYGo (Steady As You Go) classes. She takes one class where she lives in Inglewood, and up to three others in New Plymouth. This is a significant commitment as each class takes an hour to run and involves more time to set up and pack down. Heather is a good listener and proactive person who comes up with new ideas to keep the sessions fun. Her kindness and motivational skills are clear to see during each class. She also serves on the board of Age Concern Taranaki. HELEN CAMERON ATHLETICS Helen Cameron is always moving to support Taranaki Athletics. An enthusiastic member of Kaponga Athletic Club since the mid-1990s, Helen continues contributing. Since 2019 she has officiated at Nexans events for the Stratford Runners and Walkers Club and co-ordinated several Taranaki Masters Games events. She is a committee member of Kaponga Athletics Club and the Stratford Runners and Walkers Club. She serves as an official at both club’s events and also officiated at the Colgate Games in Inglewood in 2020 and 2021. She also officiated at the 2021 Masters Games. VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR JOSH SMITH MIXED MARTIAL ARTS Volunteering at the New Plymouth Mixed Martial Arts studio means many things to Josh Smith. He committed to running beginners MMA classes twice a week and also uses his building skills to help with gym renovations, maintenance and minor repairs. He is highly qualified and skilled so he is often the first to volunteer to cover for other coaches. He takes a lead role in the gym, matching fights for students, encouraging others to compete and coming in on weekends to provide extra trainings.