The Star: March 15, 2018

The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday March 15 2018 21
Canty Sports Awards
The Nexia New Zealand Canterbury Sports Award were held at the Air Force Museum of
New Zealand on Friday night. Gordon Findlater was there to see the awards handed out
WINNERS: Tom Walsh and Sophie Pascoe collected two major awards each at the Nexia New Zealand Canterbury Sports Awards.
MORE THAN 130 nominations
were received for the awards,
representing 30 sporting codes.
THe evening was the
perfect celebration of sport in
Canterbury and recognised
our major achievers from 2017
including champions at regional,
national and international level
as well as the hard workers
behind the scenes of the region’s
many sporting codes.
Awards:
Polytan Administrator of
the Year: Winner – John Gamblin
(athletics)
Gamblin was the chairman of
the local organising committee
for the New Zealand secondary
schools cross-country championships
held from June 17-18 and the
New Zealand road championships
on September 2.
Christchurch City Council
Sports Club of the Year: Winners
– Old Boys Collegians Cricket
Club (cricket), Selwyn United
(football)
Old Boys Collegians’ accomplishments
in 2017 included winning
both the Christchurch metro
cricket premier one and two-day
competitions in 2016/17. The same
team also won the Canterbury one
day championship, and qualified
to represent the province at the
club national championships.
The club’s women’s team won
the six-a-side premier competition
and the division one competition.
They also boast the largest
junior section in the South Island,
with 55 junior teams playing in
the Christchurch competition.
Selwyn United gained promotion
to the Mainland Premier
League in 2017 and became the
first club in the country to attain
Quality Club Mark two accreditation.
The QCM programme aims
to identify, support and highlight
football clubs in New Zealand
which are well-run, communityfocused
organisations.
“We were really surprised, it
was an awesome night,” said club
president Darren Sudlow.
“The award is testament to the
hard work that a lot of people have
put in for the club over the years.”
The club runs Let’s Play, a football
in schools programme that
had over 2800 participants in
2017.
Blackwells Holden Official
of the Year: Winner – Matthew
Bathurst (Basketball).
Bathurst, 29, was crowned the
top referee in the National Basketball
League last year and has
been selected as an official for the
upcoming Commonwealth Games
in the Gold Coast next month.
His appointments have included
Women’s World Championship
qualifying, Men’s Asia Cup, Gold
medal game Pacific Games and
the NBL final.
He said the award caught him
so off guard, he didn’t have time
to think of who he would thank
for helping him get to where he is
today.
“I should have thanked Linda
van Oosten, Karin Berryman and
Stephanie Eldrid who were some
of my first mentors and taught me
a lot about reffing,” said Bathurst.
UC Health Sports Coach of the
Year: Winner – Scott Robertson
(rugby).
In just his first season as head
coach of the Crusaders Robertson
lead the side to the Super Rugby
title. In doing so he became the
first person to win a Super Rugby
title as a player (1998, 1999, 2000
and 2002) and as a coach (2017).
Lincoln University Junior
Team of the Year: Winner – St
Andrew’s College eight (rowing).
After an impressive showing
at the club nationals and South
Island secondary schools championship
the STAC crew stood out as
favourites. They produced a fairy
tale ending on the final day of the
Maadi regatta winning the Maadi
Cup for the first time ever in the
school’s centennial year.
Canterbury Orthopaedic
Services Trust Team of the Year:
Winner – Canterbury women
(rugby).
The Canterbury women’s team
won the Farah Palmer Cup for
the first time in 2017. The side
made their seventh grand-final
appearance. However, it was the
first time they had walked away
with the silverware. In week four
of the competition they also won
the JJ Stewart Trophy from Counties
Manukau and successfully
defended it for the remainder of
the season.
Christchurch City Council
Sports Event of the Year: Urology
Associates Car Park Cannon Ball
(cycling).
Held in the eight-storey Innovation
Car Park building the event
attracted 2000 people with the
fastest riders taking just over a
minute to reach the ‘party on the
roof’ in a series of knock out races
after the initial qualifying round.
One hundred and twenty riders
battled it out as the sun set over
the city skyline providing a spectacular
night of entertainment in
late November.
“It was amazing to win and
was a win for cycling too,” event
organiser John McKenzie said. “It
was great to be recognised for all
the effort made for a new innovative
event in its first year.”
ASB Young Sportswoman
of the Year: Winner – Amelia
Garvey (golf).
Garvey’s impressive year
was capped off by winning the
NZ Stroke Play Championship
and making the cut at the NZ
Women’s Open where she finished
as the leading NZ amateur.
The former Burnside High
School student is currently mixing
and mingle with some of the biggest
names in golf at the inaugural
Major Champions Invitational at
Bella Collina, Florida.
AECOM Young Sportsman of
the Year: Winner – Tom Christie
(rugby).
Christie was a member of the
New Zealand under 20 team that
won the World Rugby Under 20
Championship in June. He also
captained the Canterbury U19
team that finished fourth at the
national U19 tournament in Taupo.
In October the loose forward was
named on the bench for Canterbury’s
Mitre 10 Cup final against
Tasman. He went onto make his
NPC debut as the side claimed
their third consecutive title.
ORIX Sportswoman of the
Year and Anstice Optometrists
Sportsperson or Team with a
Disability of the Year: Winner –
Sophie Pascoe (swimming).
The highlight for Pascoe in 2017
was breaking six short course
world records at the NZ Short
Course Championships in April.
She set new world records in the
50m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 50m
butterfly, 100m butterfly, 100m
individual medley and 200m individual
medley.
Nexia NZ Supreme Canterbury
Sportsperson and HEB Construction
Sportsman of the Year:
Winner – Tom Walsh.
After winning medals
at previous World Indoor
Championships, Commonwealth
and Olympic Games, Walsh
finally cracked the big time in
2017 when he won the shot put
gold medal at the IAAF World
Championships in London in
August and the right to be referred
to as a world champion.
Walsh will headline the Big Shot
event at the Retro Sports Facility
on the corner of Durham and
Kilmore Sts tomorrow. The lineup
includes world class men’s shot
putters Ryan Whiting (United
States), Konrad Bukowiecki (Poland)
and O’Dayne Richards
(Jamaica).
The women’s event is headlined
by double Olympic gold medallist
Dame Valerie Adams.
Star Media Lifetime Achievement
Awards: Mike Satterthwaite
(cricket), Debbie Newman
(football), Tina Colijn (gym
sports), Raewyn Shaw (marching),
John Wylie (rowing), Murray
Dulieu (rugby), Wayne Seebeck
(squash), Lindsay North (tennis),
Lachie Marshall (water polo).
•Turn to page 22
2018 CANTERBURY SPORTS AWARDS
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