The Floatation Sanctuary - Senior Sportswoman of the Year Nominees Olivia Eaton - Athletics & Surf Life Saving

The Floatation Sanctuary - Senior Sportswoman of the Year Nominees

Olivia Eaton – Athletics & Surf Life Saving
Olivia’s recent achievements include winning silver with her team in the 4x100m Open Women’s Relay at the
Oceania Athletics Championships 2019, shortly after setting a NZ record when winning bronze at the 2019
World University Games. Olivia was named in the NZ Open team to compete at the 2019 International Surf Life
Saving Challenge. She gained the Open World Champion title for the Beach Sprint for the second time after
having previously won in 2016 and was a part of the NZ Surf Life Saving Team who came second overall at the
2018 Surf Life Saving World Championships.

Zoe Hobbs – Athletics
Zoe’s recent successes include her 4x100m Open Women’s Relay team winning bronze and breaking a NZ
record at the World University Games. Zoe, individually, came 1st in the Senior Women’s 100m and 2nd in the
200m races at the Oceania Area Championships 2019, and 1st in the senior women’s 200m and 2nd in the 100m
races at the Australian National Champs 2019. Zoe is a committed athlete who currently holds two NZ National
Champ titles and has recently broken the NZ 100m resident record which stood for 25 years. She qualified for
the IAAF World Championships that were held in September 2019 and is well on her way to the 2020 Tokyo
Olympic Games.

Kendra Cocksedge - Rugby
Kendra currently resides in Canterbury where she was a member of the 2018 competition winning Farah
Palmer Cup Canterbury team. She has captained the NZ Black Ferns and played 50 test matches for the side,
making her the second most capped player. Kendra’s biggest achievement was the honour of being the first
female in history to receive the NZ Rugby Kelvin R Tremain Memorial Player of the Year Award at the 2018 ASB
Rugby Awards.

Holly Pearson - Hockey
Holly is an emerging elite international hockey player who competed for the Central National Hockey League
Women’s team before being selected for the NZ U21 Women’s team in 2018, where her performances earned
her a spot in the National Development Squad before gaining further selection for the NZ Black Sticks team.
Holly has now gained a total of nine caps against fellow international teams. She was a significant contributor,
both on and off the field for the Central U21 Women’s team when they secured bronze at the Vantage
National U21 Women’s Tournament. She achieved the joint title of top goal scorer for this tournament, scoring
seven goals.

Hannah Martin-Drummond – Hapkido
Hannah gained entry to the World Kio Federation 11th Mayors Cup and World Championships after a successful
year regionally and nationally. Hannah brought home four medals from the World Championships, including
two bronze medals in the Woman’s Pattern and Woman’s Self-Defence. Hannah also achieved a personal best
in the Woman’s Dive Rolling Competition and took out the Black Belt Sparring whilst only being a mid-level
coloured belt herself.

BDL Toshiba - Senior Sportsman of the Year Nominees

Tyler Walker - Speedway
Tyler’s national achievements involved Stockcar 1NZ, Stockcar Driver of the Year and Overall Competitor of the
Year at the Speedway New Zealand Awards. Over the past three years, Tyler has not finished outside the top
four at any New Zealand Stockcar Champs, showing that he is a truly skilled driver with the determination to
win and remain at the top of his game. Tyler was also a member of the Stratford Stormers team that has won
the 1st New Zealand team title back to back.

Jamie Reid – Speed Golf
Jamie is a determined individual who coaches and funds himself to achieve his goals and has now achieved the
title of World No.1 ranked Speedgolfer. Jamie has also gained the reputation of being one of only a few
amateurs who is competing and winning against top-end professionals. Jamie was placed 1st at the NSW
SpeedGolf Open, Finnish Speedgolf Champs and British SpeedGolf Champs, and 2 nd at the US Speedgolf Open,
World Speedgolf Champs and IGSA World Team Cup over the past year.

Sam Jones - Golf
While at the University of West Georgia USA Sam represented the University with great distinction and holds
their 18, 36 and 54 hole records. He has received honourable mention in the All-American as voted by the Golf
Coaches Association of America. His recent international achievements include taking home 1st place in the
UNG Fall Invitational and Buccaneer Spring Classic and achieving a 2nd at the Hurricane Invitational.

William Young - Cricket
William hit a century playing for the New Zealand ‘A’ team during the tour to the UAE against the Pakistan ‘A’
side, and a further two against India’s ‘A’ side. William’s performance resulted in being named in the Blackcaps
team for his test debut against Bangladesh, however he did not take the field due to the game being called off.
He was then rewarded with the opportunity to be batting cover for the Blackcaps World Cup side. During this
time he scored a further two centuries in warm-up games against Australia.

Zac Reid – Surf Life Saving & Swimming
Zac won a silver medal in the 400m freestyle at the World Cup and finished 8th at the Youth Olympic Games in
the 800m freestyle. These swimming performances along with his national and regional achievements resulted
in being appointed to the Athlete Representative Panel by Swimming NZ. Zac won gold and broke the world
record for the 200m obstacle race at the World Surf Life Saving Championships. He also broke another world
record being a member of the Mixed Pool Rescue Lifesaver Relay team at the World Championships. Zac was
later named the winner of the Outstanding International Performance for NZ Surf Life Saving 2018/2019.

Jamie Andrews – Stand Up Paddle Boarding (Surfing)
Jamie was placed 1st in the 2019 Taranaki SUP Classic Open Men’s SUP Surfing race, 1st place in the O/40s, 2nd
place in the Open Men’s and the best move award at the 2019 Tairawhiti/Gisborne Annual Stand Up Paddle
Boarding Champs. These achievements resulted in Jamie being awarded Open SUP Surfing Champion at the
2018 Māori Surfing Awards as well as the Open Men’s SUP Surfing Champion at the 2019 NZ National Surfing
Awards.

Matthew Baxter - Athletics
Matt finished his American College Scholarship and returned to New Plymouth recently to train for the 2020
Tokyo Olympic Games. Matt won gold in the SM 5000m race at the Athletics New Zealand Track and Field
Championships, was placed 46th in the SM 10.25km race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and
gained a podium finish of 2nd in the 5000m Oceania Area Championships.

Matt Podjursky - Motorsport
Matt’s recent achievements include winning the 2nd Class Two New Zealand Touring Car Championship, having
17 out of 18 podium finishes, 12 race wins, four pole positions out of six, and six out of six-round podium
finishes with four being round wins. He achieved the 12 fastest laps in his 18 races and these successes led him
being selected for the Elite Motorsport Academy for 2019. Matt impressed the Team Owner at Australia’s
Winton Raceway who have requested Matt races for their team in 2020.

Tom Bruce - Cricket
Tom scored a match-winning half-century in the second international against Sri Lanka to secure the series win
for the Blackcaps T20 side. Tom captained the Central District Stags to a T20 title and went on to be named the
Stags T20 and New Zealand Domestic T20 Player of the Year. His pride for cricket and his home province shines
through when playing regularly for his Stratford club side at any opportunity he gets throughout the summer.

Beauden Barrett - Rugby
Beauden was selected for the 2019 All Blacks Rugby World Cup squad and is known as one of the most
recognisable current rugby players in the world. He recently surpassed Dan Carter as the most prolific try-
scorer to ever play at first-five, after scoring the 31st try of his career in the third Bledisloe Cup test against the
Wallabies. Beauden also continues to shine on the Super Rugby stage with the Hurricanes and whenever
possible returns to Taranaki to attend and support at Yarrows Taranaki Bulls training sessions.

Ajeet Rai - Tennis
Ajeet defeated World No.320 in the first round match at the ITF Futures Thailand and went on to win the
Singles title, becoming the youngest NZ Singles player to win a professional title. Ajeet was selected for the NZ
Davis Cup team in 2018 and 2019. He won in the key doubles match with Artem Sitak in South Korea in 2018,
where he became the youngest NZ Davis Cup player to win a “live rubber”. His successes continued in the 2019
team where he was chosen as the No.1 Singles Player and won the “opening rubber” against the Indonesian
No.2 in straight sets.

Dean Elgar – Lawn Bowls
Dean was selected to represent New Zealand in the Development (B) side against Australia after he captained
the North Island team to their victory over the South Island team. Some of the other achievements that
strengthened his selection and assisted in gaining him a place in the Development (B) side were being runner-
up in the National Club Champion-of-Champions Singles, 3rd equal in the New Zealand Pairs and winning the
Taranaki Champion-of-Champions Singles.

Paul Cowan – Taekwondo & Hapkido
Paul was named the Taranaki Multi-Style Martial Arts Champion and went on to achieve 1st place in the Adult
Men’s Heavyweight of Taekwondo North Island Championships, a 1st in the Adult Men’s Coloured-Belt Sparring
and bronze in Adult Men’s Coloured-Belt Self-Defence during the Hapkido National Championships. His
highlight of the year was winning bronze in the Men’s Adult Coloured-Belt Sparring at the 11th Busan Mayors
Cup and World Championships.

New Plymouth Physiotherapy - Senior Sports Team of the Year Nominees

Stratford Stormers
In 2019 the Stratford Stormers won back to back New Zealand Stock Car Team Champ titles and were the
winners of the Kihikihi 4-Way Team event. They stormed to victory in every team championship event in the
country, winning 14 out of 15 team races. The Stratford Stormers are not just a team, but a family that look
after each other on and off the track.

Team members: John Booker (Manager), Haydin Barker, Damo Heistand, Mark Duthie (2NZ), Bevan Phillips,
Mark Woods, Dale Michielsen, Tyler Walker (1NZ), Andrew Dodunski, Lawrence Barr.

East End Open Men's IRB Team
Liam and Scott claimed the top crew title at the Taranaki IRB Championships by winning all of their events
leading up to and going on to win the Arancia Trophy for Open Male Top Crew at the IRB Nationals 2019 in
Dunedin. During Nationals in Dunedin Liam and Scott won gold in the Singles and Assembly, silver in Mass and
4th in Tube. Their achievements at these events along with others resulted in them being selected in the NZ IRB
Squad where they were in the top two teams to be selected.

Team Members: Liam Cole and Scott Nelson.

Spotswood United Premier Rugby Team
After having a very competitive season with seven of the region’s eight Premier Rugby teams in contention for
the regional title right up until the final round, Spotswood United Premier maintained their consistent
performances to upset Coastal in the final. Winning the CMK Taranaki Premier Club Rugby competition in 2019
was a first for the team after only ever been in a final once before in 1996.

Kawaroa Park C Grade Ladies Squash Team
The Kawaroa Park C Grade Ladies team won the Central Districts C Grade Super Champs competition in
Inglewood and the National title at the C Grade Super Champ Nationals in Invercargill. Great achievements for
a club that has only won this National title once before, 16 years ago, and has not won a National Super Champ
title for any grades over the past 10 years.

Team Members: Anneka Weterman, Brianna See, Kelsey McKay, Lee Rangi, Pip White, Rebecca Willy, Carina
Brasell (Manager) and Dan Love (Coach).

QP Sport Protection - Junior Sportswoman of the Year Nominees

Keeva Hintz - Rugby
Keeva’s long list of achievements this year included graduating from the International Rugby Academy of New
Zealand, captaining Taranaki’s U18 team and NPGHS 1st XV and Sevens, winning the Taranaki Secondary School
Competition, being selected for the Taranaki Rugby Academy, the Taranaki Whio Development Team and
selected to play at the Chiefs invitational tournament. Keeva was the recipient of the Kendra Cocksedge
Trophy for Most Dedicated Player and is a true leader in the Te Atiawa ki Taranaki U18 Maori team.

Natasha Gouldsbury - Surfing
Natasha won the 2019 U16 Girls National Champion title and also achieved 3rd place in the U18 division at the
Surfing NZ Nationals. These results led her to be selected for the NZ Junior Surfing Team to attend the ISA
World Junior Champs in October 2019. Natasha has also been named the NZ recipient of a scholarship that will
allow her to train with WSL Pro-Surfer Carissa Moore in Hawaii at the end of the year.

Tayla Manning – Sports Climbing
Tayla represented NZ at the World Youth Championships in Arco, Italy where she gained a combined lead,
speed and bouldering World Ranking of No.25. She gained 1st place in the U18 and Female Open National
Bouldering Championships and U18 and Female Open Lead Climbing Championships. Tayla’s hard work and
dedication to her sport led to her being the first person to win all four national titles within one year and also
helped her become the new record holder for the U18 National Speed Climbing.

Claudia Kelly –Surf Life Saving
Claudia has achieved selection into numerous Surf Life Saving teams where she has excelled in the individual
competition. She has been named in the 2019 Surf Life Saving NZ National Open Squad, was a member of the
2019 SANYO Cup NZ Open Team that won 2nd place overall, and was placed in four individual events. Claudia
co-captained the Junior Black Fins team who won the World Title and during this, she became the first NZ
competitor to be named World Junior Ironwoman Champion whilst also placing in another seven events.

Mackenzie Barry - Football
Mackenzie is a member of the Future Ferns Development Program which aims to support elite female players
transition to professional football overseas and to the Football Ferns Squad. Mackenzie was a member of the
NZ U17 Women’s Football team who won bronze at the U17 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The team surpassed
expectations and were the first NZ team of any gender or age group to win a medal at a World Cup. Mackenzie
played superbly in five of the six matches and formed vital defence, whilst being an instrumental leader within
the team. This led her to then be selected for the NZ U19 Women’s team who have qualified for the U20 FIFA
World Cup.

Jessica Kingi – Inline Hockey
Jess was selected and named as captain to represent NZ in the U18 Junior Women’s Inline Hockey Team who
competed in Barcelona at the World Roller Games, coming away with seventh place. Jess is a formidable
opponent and strong teammate who’s defensive skills are second to none. She was named Raven’s Inline
Hockey Club MVP for Under 16s, Senior Women, the overall club and also their Best Defenseman.

Eva Dickson – Indoor and Beach Volleyball
Eva is a member of the NZ Youth Beach Volleyball Team that competed in four competitions, claiming bronze
in the Manhattan Beach U17 Open Competition and being named the highest performing NZ U17 Women’s
pair with her partner. Eva is a current member of the NZ U17 Youth Women’s Indoor Volleyball Team where
she is in the starting six and was a big contributor when her team claimed silver at the Australian State
Champs.

Maddison Gibbs – Taekwondo & Hapkido
Maddison won silver in the Junior Girls Sparring at the North Island Taekwondo Championships before gaining
entry to the Hapkido Oceania Championships and World Kido Federation’s 11th Busan Mayors Cup and World
Championships. Maddison won gold in both the High School Girls Sparring and Patterns at the Hapkido
Oceania Championships, won silver in the High School Girls Self-Defence and gold again in the High School Girls
Sparring at the 11th Busan Mayors Cup and World Championships.

Ashlee Newman - Gymnastics
Ashlee currently competes in the International Stream Age Group 2 for 15-17yr olds. Ashlee achieved sixth
place at the NZ Gymnastics National Championships in 2018 and exceeded this in 2019 by winning first place
individually and gaining qualification for international travel next year. Ashlee also competed at the Australian
Gymnastics Championships in Melbourne Australia this year, claiming 11th overall.

Sasha Reid – Swimming & Surf Life Saving
Sasha was a member of the NZ Junior Black Fins at the 2018 World Surf Life Saving Championships where they
broke a NZ record, and went on to compete at the International Surf Rescue Challenge in South Africa in 2019.
Here Sasha achieved multiple placings as an individual and finished 2nd overall with the Junior Black Fins team.
In the pool, Sasha won gold and set a new NZ record during the Australian Pool Rescue Championships for the
Open Women’s 50m swim with fins. Sasha holds multiple NZ records for Surf Life Saving pool events and
despite having a concussion this year, Sasha showed her dedication to her sports and achieved her set goals
through perseverance and hard work.

Brooke Reid - Squash
Brooke is ranked No. 7 for Central Districts and No. 14 for U17 Girls in NZ. Brooke was invited to Malaysia with
NZ’s top juniors to compete at the Malaysian Junior Open where she won two of her three matches against
some of the world’s top junior players. Brooke now has a World U17 ranking of No.66 and recently also earned
her NZ Squash Big Nix Coaching Qualification.

Darcy Howard-Ross – Olympic Wrestling
Darcy won silver at the North Island Champs and gold at the Auckland Secondary School Champs, National
Secondary School Champs and Wahine Toa. Darcy has begun to extend her involvement in the sport by
volunteering as a Coach to other students and helps the Devon Intermediate students and Spotswood College
IHC students. At the Australian Youth Nationals Darcy won gold and travelled to the United States with the NZ
Development Team where they claimed gold on their USA Wrestling Tour.

Lucy North – Swimming & Surf Life Saving

Lucy’s swimming achievements include winning bronze in the 17-18yr olds 400m individual medley and gold in
the 1500m freestyle at the 2019 National Age Group Championships. In Surf Life Saving, Lucy won gold in the
U19 women’s run-swim-run at the 2019 Surf Life Saving Nationals as well as a bronze, silver and gold with her
respective U19 Surf, U19 Tube and U19 Taplin Teams during Nationals. Her achievements over the year gained
her selection into the NZ Swimming Team, as well as the NZ Development Squad for Surf Life Saving.

Nina Hoeta - Archery
Nina has progressed quickly and is now competing internationally for NZ. Nina recently scored a perfect score
of 300/300 in the Intermediate Woman’s Division for World Indoor Archery as well as silver in the team match,
bronze in mixed team and bronze in match play at the Trans Tasman Archery Competition. She holds the
Intermediate Woman’s Division NZ record for both 35m and 45m and at the NZ Archery Nationals won gold for
NZ Outdoor Target Archery, silver for NZ Field Archery and was named Compound Woman’s Archery
Champion.

Alesha Williams – Inline Hockey and Rugby
Alesha was a member of the NZ U18 Junior Women’s Inline Hockey Team who placed 7th at the World Roller
Games in Barcelona Spain. After impressive performances regionally where she was the youngest player in
both the Taranaki Women's 15’s Farah Palmer Cup Competition, and the Taranaki Sevens team who competed
at the Nationals, Alesha was selected for the NZ Women's U18 Māori 15’s Rugby Team.

Kaya-Rose Kahui - Rugby
Kaya-Rose performed well during the club rugby season and was selected for the Farah Palmer Cup side for
2019. Kaya-Rose is seen as an excellent leader amongst the younger players and a respected member who
contributes both on and off the field. She was a trialist for the NZ U20 Mixed Touch Team, a member of the
2019 Taranaki U18 Women’s Sevens team, and a member of the Port Taranaki Whio where she was recently
named Port Taranaki Whio’s Most Promising Player for 2019.

Brooke Hoskins Lefevre - Gymnastics
Brooke’s achievements this year have included winning 1st overall at the Taranaki Secondary Schools
Gymnastic Competition, a gold medal overall at the Tumbling North Island Championships and representing NZ
at two international competitions in Hawaii. Brooke won gold in vault, silver in bar, fourth on beam and fifth in
floor to achieve the all-round silver medal at the Gymnastics in Paradise competition. She gained a second all-
round silver medal at the Aloha Gymfest after winning gold in floor, silver on bar and bronze on vault.

Katie Neild - Gymnastics
Katie was the all-round silver medallist at both the Waitara Open Championships 2019 and Wellington
Championships 2019 before going on to compete in Hawaii for two international competitions. She returned
to Taranaki with two fourth all-round placings. She achieved sixth on floor, fifth on vault and bar, and silver on
beam at the Gymnastics in Paradise whilst achieving sixth in floor and bar, bronze in beam and silver in vault at
the Aloha Gymfest.

TSSSA - Junior Sportsman of the Year Nominees

Blair Murray – Rugby
Blair is a talented rugby player who has not played significant gametime for his school team due to injury this
year, but despite this he has succeeded beyond expectations. Blair was chosen to play in the Chiefs U18 team
in a one-off fixture against the Crusaders U18 team, as well as in the NZ Secondary Schools Team in Australia
and Fiji.

Tom Butland - Surfing
Tom has had an exceptional year on the national stage, gaining 4th place in the National Open Men's Title
after beating Riccardo Christ, a World Tour surfer and becoming the youngest ever to make the Open Men's
Final. Internationally he has travelled throughout the world and was in the first pick selection to represent NZ
in the ISA World Juniors U16 Boys Division and the Oceania Cup U18 Boys Division.

Joe Collins – Surf Life Saving
This year Joe was selected for the Junior Black Fins team to race in South Africa, winning gold and breaking a
NZ record for the U18 200m 4x50m Obstacle Relay at the National Surf Life Saving Championships, winning
silver medals in the U19 tube rescue and board rescue as well as a bronze in the U19 Ironman at the Surf Life
Saving Championships in 2019. In Australia he won gold in the U19 Coolangatta Gold short course, whilst also
achieving the fastest recorded short course time.

Henri Lehrke - Cycling
 This year Henri was placed 1st in the TSSSA Road Race, 200m Flyer and 2000m Team Pursuits Race and
represented New Plymouth at the Te Awamutu Junior Tour as well as Cycling New Plymouth at the U19
National Road Race and Time Trials. Henri was selected by NZ Cycling to attend the U19 and Elite Performance
Camps and was also selected to represent NZ at the U19 Oceania Road Race and Time Trial Championships in
Tasmania.

Fletcher Moles – Canoe Racing & Surf Life Saving
Fletcher represents NZ internationally in two sports, gaining 5th place in the U18 K1 1000m and 7th place in the
U18 K1 200m at the 2019 Asia Pacific Regatta. He was in the top 20 U18 for the K2 1000m and 18 th in the U18
K4 500m at the 2019 Canoe Sprint Junior World Championships. Fletcher was also selected for the Junior Black
Fins to compete at the 2019 Surf Life Saving International Surf Rescue 3 Day Challenge where the team placed
2nd and Fletcher placed 3rd in single ski, single ski relay, taplin relay and sprint relay, and 1st in the tube rescue.

Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens – Rugby
Jacob co-captained FDMC 1st XV and captained the Chiefs U18 Team. He was selected for the NZ Secondary
School Rugby side which played Australia and Fiji, was invited to Hong Kong to play in the ‘Worlds Best 10’s
Tournament’ and was also scouted by NZ Rugby to participate in a four-day Red Bull Ignite7talent search. After
attending the 2019 All Black Sevens National Development Camp Jacob was selected for the National Sevens
team to play in Japan against Tonga in Auckland. Jacob is a humble player who received the Taranaki Rugby
Roger Urbahn Memorial Trophy for being the most outstanding player with great leadership, character and on-
field performance. Jacob has signed with the Taranaki Bulls for the 2020 season.

Luke Weston - Athletics
Luke was named the 2019 FDMC Senior Cross Country Champion, as well as ‘The Most Promising Male Athlete’
by Taranaki Athletics. He was part of the winning road relay team for TSSSA in 2018, is the Taranaki Secondary
Schools Champion for 800m and set a record in his first-place 2000m steeplechase run. Luke broke the North
Island steeplechase record in the U16 race, also winning the U18 steeplechase.

Jacob Stockwell - Athletics
Jacob has achieved podium finishes at regional level competitions and gone on to place 3rd in the Senior Boys
100m race at NZ Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships as well as 1st in the U18 Men 100m and 2nd
in the U18 Men 200m races at Athletics NZ Track and Field Championships. His highlight of the year was
competing at the 2019 Sir Graeme Douglas International Track Challenge where he broke the NZ U17 100m
record during his 4th place finish in the Senior Men 100m race.

Jack Shearer - Squash
Jack won the Kawaroa Park Squash Club Open Junior Boys title, U19 Boys title and the Most Improved Boy
Award. Jack’s ability and leadership skills allowed him to lead the Kawaroa Park D Grade Men’s Squash team to
win the District Super Champs and go on to represent the Central District at Nationals. Throughout these
tournaments, Jack had a 100% win rate and was an integral part of the team bringing home 3rd place from
Nationals.

Jadeim McGrory – Canoe Polo
Jadeim won 1st place in the Art Deco Tournament in Palmerston North and 3rd at the NZ Canoe Polo National
Tournament. He represented NZ in the U18 team at the Oceania Tournament where they came 2nd, as well as
representing NZ in the U21 team at the Australian Canoe Polo Nationals, gaining 3rd place. His motivation and
knowledge of canoe polo have also led Jadeim to become part of the Central Districts coaching team.

MacCallum Rowe – Cross Country
MacCallum placed 4th at the NZSSAA Cross Country event and was selected as a member of the NZ Cross
Country team that travelled to the Australian Cross Country Champs in August. MacCallum finished 18th and
was the 4th NZ runner. He has been selected to represent NZ again in the Cross Country team heading to
Slovakia for the World Champs in April 2020.

Timberco - Junior Sports Team of the Year (Max 200 words/nominee)

East End U19 Women’s Double Ski Team
Claudia and Hannah won the 2019 Taranaki Championship Double Ski Race and went on to win back-to-back
National Championship titles for the event after their first win in 2018. Due to their national success, the two
young athletes qualified for the 2019 Australian Nationals where they raced under the Mermaid Beach Club.
Claudia and Hannah achieved bronze after a photo finish decider for the podium placements.

Team Members: Claudia Kelly and Hannah Baker.

NPGHS Junior A Indoor Volleyball Team
This team was the Taranaki regional and TSSSA champions after being unbeaten throughout the season. They
went on to attend Volleyball NZ’s most competitive national school volleyball event and came away as winners
of the Volleyball NZ North Island Junior Championships. Brooke Puletaha, Cass Pringle and Eva Dickson were
named in the tournament team with Eva also being named tournament MVP.

Team Members: Alison Mc Cabe, Asha Liston, Brooke Puletaha, Cass Pringle, Emma Liston, Eva Dickson,
Gemma Avery, Grace Brough, Lily Hoffman and Lucy Thornhill.

NPBHS Surf Team
The New Plymouth Boys High School Surf team won the TSSSA Secondary School Regional Surfing Competition
by having the highest combined score across all three age groups (U14, U16 and U18). The team then went on
to compete at the NZSSC National Championships where they returned as champions.

Team Members: Ethan Wray, Hunter Peterson, Israel Thomas, Jack Luke, Kalani Louis, Kava Mathews, Lucca
Lind (Captain), Ryder Pennington, Shay Wells, Tom Butland and Coach Kane Rowson.

NPBHS & NPGHS Hillary Challenge Team

This team of 8 students from New Plymouth Boys High School and New Plymouth Girls High School were
crowned winners of the prestigious 5 day long NZSS Hillary Challenge National final at Tongariro National Park.
This is an adventure racing competition challenging the students mental, physical and team strength. The
competition involves two days of problem-solving challenges, a 60+ kilometre overnight rogaine style
navigation race carrying large packs across mountainous terrain, followed by a 60km multisport race.
Additionally, this team are the NISS Adventure Racing Champions, with significant wins in the GO412 and
Whangamata 12 Hour Adventure Races. They also placed 2nd in the challenging ARC 18 hour Adventure Race
held in the Coromandel.

WR Phillips Volkswagen - Coach of the Year Nominees

Karen Gillum-Green - Athletics
Karen is the current Coach of numerous high performing or upcoming athletes, including Hannah O’Connor,
Luke Weston and Jack Elliot. Thanks to Karen’s coaching and support, Hannah and Jack achieved results that
enabled them to gain running scholarships at Universities in the USA. Her passion is coaching but Karen is also
known to arrange everything else for athletics.

Rakesh Rai - Tennis
Rakesh coaches his son Ajeet who turned professional in mid-2018 and since then has risen quickly to become
NZ’s No.2 singles player as well as No.694 in the ATP Rankings. Rakesh manages every aspect of Ajeet’s career,
including touring, technique, biomechanics, planning and fundraising. His remarkable commitment and
performance as a coach saw Ajeet win the lead singles match in the Davis Cup tie which NZ won against
Indonesia. Rakesh has recently been rewarded for his performance by winning the title of Tennis Central
Performance Coach of the Year for 2019.

Joel Meuli – Surf Life Saving
Over the 2018/2019 season, Joel has had a hand in coaching up to 50 athletes across the senior age group who
range from high-performance world champions to those beginning and learning the sport. He is involved in all
aspects of the sport and has mentored several senior athletes to coach competitive juniors for East End Surf
Club. He continuously aims to develop his leadership skills for his own coaching abilities and the effect this has
on his athletes.

Sue Southgate - Swimming
Sue was Head Coach of the NZ Swimming Team at the 2018 Youth Olympics and team coach at the FINA World
Champs 2019. Sue was awarded the NZ Coaches Association Provincial Coach of the Year award and the Youth
Coach of the Year award for coaching Zac Reid’s 8th at the Youth Olympics. Sue coaches some of the region’s
top swimmers, all of whom are members of NZ Swim teams or Surf Life Saving teams over the last 12 months.

Andrew Patterson - Cycling
A previous member of the Coach Development Team for British Cycling, Andrew has focused on his Rockets
Youth Development programme through the New Plymouth Mountain Bike Club, working on growing
grassroots in Taranaki and helping and supporting youth development. The kids have fun, participate in play-
based activities and are encouraged to develop their own techniques in their own way.

Hayley Jury & Shirley Baker - Gymnastics
Hayley and Shirley are both Brevet Judges and Shirley is on the technical committee for Gymnastics NZ. They
received coaching medals for their gymnasts reaching proficiency in their Step/Level at the NZ National
Championships and had two artistic gymnastics compete at two international competitions, with one aerobics
gymnast competing internationally also. Shirley has also been named as Manager/Coach of the NZ team
travelling to Hawaii.

Steve Drummond – Taekwondo & Hapkido

Steve is ranked 8th in the world for self-defence skills and has gained an honorary Grandmaster title and 7 th
Dan for his services to teaching and promoting Traditional Taekwondo for 27 years. He leads athletes to high
achievements internationally, with six competitors bringing home eight gold medals and one silver from the
Oceania Championship, and eight competitors achieving six gold, two silver and three bronze medals at the
11th Busan Mayors Cup & World Championships.

Jaron Mumby – Surf Life Saving
Jaron has supported and led regional and national teams to win Taranaki, New Zealand and World Titles
throughout the season. His highest achievement this season was being named the NZ IRB Surf Life Saving
Head Coach due to his experience as a former NZ competitor and being a leader in the innovation of the sport.
The coaching team successfully coached the crews to win the overall World Championship titles, with the
Men’s team gaining world titles in three areas and the Women’s team in two.

Clelands - Masters Sportsperson of the Year Nominees

Vicky Jones – Athletics
Vicky has been steadily improving her performances over a number of years and this year had success at
regional, national and international levels with her best achievements at the Oceania Masters Athletics Track
and Field Champs in Australia, where she claimed first in the 10km Road Walk, first in the 3000m Track Walk
and first in the 5000m Track walk.

Justin Shaw – Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Justin was awarded Champion at the 2018 IBJJF Pan Pacific Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu NOGI in Melbourne, along with
gaining silver for the 2018 IBJJF Pan Pacific Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu GI. He has dedicated many years to studying
Martial Arts and focused on growing the sport in his community through setting up South Taranaki Martial
Arts, where he now coaches both adults and children.

Peter Sheaf - Athletics
Peter represented NZ at the Oceania Athletics Championships in Australia competing in the M80 category. He
came third in the shot put, second in the 60m, 100m, 200m, long jump and javelin, and first in the weight
throw. At the Pan Pacific Masters Games, he came third in long jump and first in the beach mile, 1500m, 4km
cross country and 5km road race.

Favour the Brave - Game Official of the Year Nominees

Paul Williams – Rugby
Paul is Taranaki’s No. 1 ranked referee for 2019 and refereed Super Rugby (including the final as assistant
referee) and Mitre 10 Cup competitions for 2019. Internationally he referreed the Six Nations, Rugby

Championship and other international fixtures, followed by the peak of his year, being selected for the 2019
Rugby World Cup referee panel.

Vaughan Garrett – Surf Life Saving
Vaughan is an official who volunteers out of love for his sport and the joy of seeing people accomplish their
goals. He is a constant presence at National Carnivals where this year he travelled for countless hours around
the North and South islands to the Surf Life Saving NZ Surf Sport Nationals and IRB Nationals, along with the
National Representative Challenge.

Our Cloud - Volunteer of the Year Nominees

Robyn Masters - Tennis
Robyn won the Taranaki Tennis Association’s (TTA) volunteer of the year award and was a finalist for Tennis
Central’s volunteer of the year. Currently the Vice-Chairperson of TTA, Robyn’s governance skills and
leadership for the development of strategic and annual business plans are highly valued. Robyn is the current
President of the Rotokare Tennis Club, and a passionate tennis fanatic who shares her experience and steps up
to volunteer elsewhere throughout various sporting codes and events.

Parengaio Huhu – Netball
Parengaio lives netball and has volunteered for a low decile full immersion Kura Kaupapa Māori School every
week for 15 years through her motivation to ensure all students are provided with the opportunity to play
netball. This year the school had four teams that lacked uniforms, had no goalposts, funding and transport
issues and little volunteers to assist with registrations, trials and fundraising. Parengaio supported the school
and managed to solve these issues to ensure the kids had equipped, organised and managed teams. Parengaio
is a dedicated volunteer who fully deserved the Netball NZ Volunteer Champion of the Year award.

Sue Mitchell - Rugby
Sue Mitchell continues to be an irreplaceable volunteer for the rugby community. She provides support for her
club, New Plymouth Old Boys and always puts her hand up to undertake any kind of duties. This season she
was an instrumental member of the NPOB Jubliee Committee and extended her passion for rugby to the
Taranaki Rugby Football Union. This year she assisted during the Mitre10 Cup Campaign, helping the
commercial team in hospitality, operational and match day functions and as a result, was the recipient of the
Taranaki Rugby Volunteer of the Year Award.

Nigel Hayton - Yachting
Nigel is a volunteer at heart and selfless in his help of others. Race management is seen as a thankless task, but
Nigel is professional in the way he runs his races and always has the highest concern for the safety of all sailors
and those supporting. He has a passion for upskilling himself and those around him, ensuring that he will leave
a legacy within the clubs and organisations he supports. Recently he held a weekend course for over 18
attendees from throughout the region to upskill on Race Management, a stepping stone to becoming Race
Officials. Nigel himself is a nationally qualified race officer with Yachting NZ and recently travelled to Canada to

be a volunteer race official for the 420 Youth Championship Regatta and the ILAC Laser 4.7 Youth World
Regatta.

Alan Jones - Athletics
Alan has been involved with Athletics for a long time and still manages to be one of the most reliable and
involved volunteers. He makes himself available for almost every event as an official or marshal, shows up
early and is often the last to leave. Some of his roles include being a committee member and Vice President of
Egmont Athletics, delegate and Vice Chairman of the Cross Country and Road Committee, Cross Country and
Road Selector, TET Taranaki Athletics Statistician, and a referee, umpire and walk judge at Taranaki
Championships.

Annelisa Cowan – Taekwondo & Hapkido
Annelisa is the New Plymouth Taekwondo and Hapkido Club’s treasurer. She has been a miracle worker over
the past year, not only has she kept the accounts in order but has taken over the coordination of all financial
transactions. Annelisa has also worked in the club’s secretarial role, leading the way with fund-raising,
organising international flights for the team, organising club functions and helping with grading and belt
promotions. She helps with the children’s classes by ensuring that the hall is set up and ready well before each
class begins.

Paula Chittenden - Football
Paula sorts the advertising and organising for Hawera Football and this year arranged coaches for each team
and focussed on improving the skill set of the club’s players. She constantly communicates to upskill coaches,
game day leaders and players by ensuring they are aware and encouraged to attend any available courses. Her
time commitment to coordinating the junior and youth football in Hawera and South Taranaki is immense,
however she takes it in her stride. Paula also participates, as a member of the women’s team and plays at
Federation level in Whanganui. Hawera Football Club would have gone another season without a women’s the
if it was not for Paula’s encouragement to new players.

PipeTech – Club of the Year Nominees

Taranaki Stock Car Club Inc
Taranaki Stock Car Club Inc has had an amazing season due to the immense effort that their volunteers put in
to constantly improve the track and the club. Recently they were recognised by the Mayor of Stratford for
everything the club brought to the region, and also won Speed New Zealand awards for Most Improved Track
and Track of the Year NZ Wide. Their 12 person committee met weekly to ensure organisation was at the
highest level and successfully coordinated 80 volunteers for each of the 20 meetings between October and
April. Over the year track improvements were made, with new middle track barriers for safety, the purchase of
a new grader and installation of three new seating blocks and two corporate boxes. Member attendance was
at an all-time high, now having nine classes and often too many Stockcars for the track.

Gymnastics Waitara Club
Gymnastics Waitara has had an eventful year since moving into a new purpose-built facility alongside the
North Taranaki Sport and Recreation Hub. Memberships have risen from 100 to 300 participants with an
additional 100 casuals attending sporadically. Gymnastics Waitara have expanded their classes to cater for
ages 2 years and above to have the opportunity to learn or have a go at gymnastics, along with working with
more advanced athletes. Since moving to the facility, Junior and Senior competitions have been held with 300
athletes from throughout the country attending and supporting local businesses during their stay. Gymnastics
Waitara has also increased their support throughout Taranaki, facilitating the Taranaki Primary and
Intermediate Schools Festival for 500 children, the TSSSA Gymnastics and Tumbling Competition for secondary
school students, and offering a KiwiSport funded programme to allow 60 children to give gymnastics a go at no
cost to them across a 10-week course.

New Plymouth Taekwondo & Hapkido Club
The New Plymouth Taekwondo & Hapkido Club is a community focused club who strive to better their
members through strict values of courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self control and indomitable spirit. They
support those in the community through teaching self-defence and have established strong relationships with
the Bell Block Lions and Koru Lions, lending a hand when they need it. The club also provided courses for their
members which include sports taping, coaching, child protection, first aid to ensure strengthened safety and
wellbeing of all members. The club also achieves highly at national and international levels with six
competitors achieving eight gold and one silver medal at the Oceania Championships and eight competitors
achieving six gold, two silver and one bronze at the World Kido Federation’s 11th Busan Mayors Cup and World
Championships.

Kaitake Football Club
In their first season, the Kaitake Football Club has recruited and assembled players, coaches, sponsors,
referees, transport, team kits and balls which has been a huge team effort, but by far their biggest hurdle has
been their pitch at Corbett Park. They have fundraised, overcome flooding issues and took to the field with
pitch forks themselves to make football happen. With eight of their regular starting 11 having not played
football competitively in years, they won the Men’s Division 1 League this year going through the season
unbeaten, won the Nimmos Cup, the Challenge Trophy and made it to the Quarterfinals of the Federation Cup
only to be knocked out by a team three leagues above them.

Spotswood United Rugby & Sports Club
The Spotswood United Rugby & Sports club is committed to providing the highest quality experience for our
members, their families and sponsors both on and off the field. The club’s vision is to encourage participation
across all age groups, develop players to realise their full potential as players and respected community
members and to promote the club’s sports to the wider community.

Spotswood cares for their members, families and their community by supporting them through a variety of
initiatives; including a suicide prevention evening, a no fees for school leavers and a number of fundraising
activities to support local charities. There has been a lot of hard work done by the passionate committee &
band of volunteers.

With a large number of the Spotswood rugby and netball teams across divisions making regional semi-finals
and finals it has been a very successful year for the Spotswood United Rugby and Sports Club.

New Plymouth Mountain Biking Inc
New Plymouth Mountain Bikers is a club with a focus on growing the sport for all abilities and interests, as well
as building and maintaining an asset enjoyed by the whole community. The club has been enormously
successful over the past year, growing membership to over 1,000 including families.

Some of the notable achievements in the past year include the building of new kids' trails, a pump track and
the launch and growth of a youth development programme (First Gas Rockets and Patterson Training). The
trails in the park now measure 34km in total.

The club run a huge range of events including club days, group rides and races, both social and competitive. All
these events cater for the wide-ranging membership, with categories for men and women, boys and girls, as
well as age groups from primary school through to 60+.

Trail maintenance has been done through a member trail adoptee scheme, with an 80% uptake. Monthly
working bees at the forest are dedicated to maintaining trails, building new trails, and features on existing
trails. These working bees create great camaraderie, with young and old pitching in to do their bit.

The club fosters skill development and competitive talent and also invests in its volunteers with NZQA
approved chainsaw courses and a roster system to prevent burnout.

Excellent community engagement through relationships with local businesses, sponsorship, funding and
excellent marketing have meant that the park remains free for the general public to use while encouraging
them to join.

Kawaroa Park Squash Club
Kawaroa Park Squash club has had an outstanding year, hosting a National Squash event for the fourth
consecutive year, fielding five teams at the National Graded Super Champs and achieving a National title from
our C grade ladies’ team. Membership numbers have continued to increase steadily and sit at a credible 294
members of which 45 are junior members. The junior members have grown significantly over the past few
years and the club sees this as an important way to grow their sport and secure the future of the club.

The club offered the use of the courts to local high schools, with four high schools taking up this opportunity
and TSSSA using the facilities for their annual tournament. Highlights included their highest graded Junior

Brooke Reid being selected to represent NZ at the Malaysian Junior Open, and the C Grade Ladies’ team
securing a National SuperChamp title. The District SuperChamp playoffs also saw the club fielding teams for
70% of the graded divisions with all teams finishing in the top three, four of which took out their respective
titles. None of what this club has achieved this season would be possible without the tireless efforts of our
volunteer committee.

Tukapa Netball Club
Tukapa Netball Club provides a fun, friendly, supportive family netball environment for their members by
empowering their volunteers and members by giving them a voice in decision making and by providing
development opportunities. These initiatives have benefited them by increased numbers of volunteers and
officials over the last year.The pride which is felt by members of Tukapa is obvious on and off court and in the
way they behave towards each other, officials and opposition teams. When a player wears the Tukapa dress,
they are expected to wear it with pride, respect and fair play in mind.

It is a club that is highly organised and efficient thanks to the efforts of its great volunteers, who set a code of
conduct and official protocols in place so that all club members can feel safe, supported and confident if they
wish to lodge a complaint, or if they experience any behavioural issues within the club. The Committee and
Club strives for professionalism, inclusiveness and a positive club environment for all members, supporters and
opposition teams they face. With over ten teams registered for the 2019 season Tukapa is the largest netball
club in Taranaki.

Manaia Bowling Club
Manaia Bowling Club was named Bowls Taranaki Club of the Year for their hard work to ensure the survival of
the club. After brainstorming how to improve the club in all areas, the management committee and
volunteering members have doubled the amount of playing memberships, as well as general memberships and
re-introduced female members after 15 years. They host active social competitions to attract non-bowlers and
ensure there is a family-friendly environment. The club supports members through providing coaching
courses, player development and upskilling in social media, as well as covering costs for travel to courses,
reducing membership fees for new members and providing fresh modern uniforms. Facility upgrades enticed
Bowls Taranaki to hold fixtures at the Manaia green, and the Manaia RSA and Car Club are now be based at the
Manaia Bowling Club facility. Manaia Bowling Club also open up their facilities for team building days,
corporate functions, family and community events and ensure everything is free of charge to ensure the
community always has somewhere to go.

Inglewood Golf Club
Inglewood Golf Club is recognised regionally, nationally and internationally as an inclusive and leading club and
won the Top Club Golf Competition for the third year in a row. Through a recent addition to the course, they
are the first combined golf and disc golf course in New Zealand. With the quality of the two courses being
maintained to such a high standard by paid staff and over 60 volunteers, the club has been awarded the right
to host the NZ Women’s Masters Tournament and the 2020 NZ Disc Golf North Island Championships less than
a year after opening the 18-hole disc golf course. Inglewood Golf Club supports the community through
reducing entry barriers to memberships, providing training for volunteers, storing the community defibrillator,
partnering with local businesses and supporting schools and community groups with fundraisers and
tournament organisations.

Sport Taranaki – Service to Sport Nominees

Roger Tonkin - Speedway
Roger has been the voice of Stratford Speedway for 41 years. His love and devotion for the sport have seen
him miss only a hand full of meetings over the past 41 years. His meeting routine is to walk through the pits,
always smiling to gather information on visiting drivers and thank them for coming, he ensures he has name
pronunciations right and encourages all drivers with no bias. Roger’s commitment to the sport has allowed him
to witness Stratford Speedway be known as the Champions, face bankruptcy and rejoice in their re-emergence
as the second biggest track in the country. His contribution to the Club and Speedway is unprecedented.

Madge Cathro – Netball
Madge has been a Netball Taranaki patron 29 years and a lover of netball for 73 years. She has played Netball
throughout her life, however after a serious car accident was unable to continue her participation on court.
This led her to step into coaching, manager and administrator pathways to ensure she remained involved in
netball. As a trained school teacher, Madge coached wherever she was teaching and is known to have painted
many court lines at schools that did not have them. She has been instrumental over decades in re-establishing
or forming netball clubs and encouraging others to do the same. For the past 29 years she has provided
consistent support and encouragement, making her a remarkable ambassador for netball and why she is
admired by many in the netball community.

Vaughan Garrett – Surf Life Saving
Vaughan has been involved with the Surf Life Saving community for 35 years. He is a life member of Surf Life
Saving NZ and New Plymouth Old Boys Surf Club, and has had much of his work and achievements go
unnoticed by the majority of those who benefit from his volunteering. Without Vaughan, many jobs would be
far more difficult as he is a constant workhorse that Surf Life Saving NZ is indebted to. He sacrifices countless
hours of spare time and energy to this sport, most often constantly driving long distances to provide
equipment and support to his sport.

Beth Webster - Tennis
Beth has been a Taranaki Tennis supporter since moving to the region in 1982. She immediately took on the
role of Secretary for the North Taranaki sub-association and became their representative on the Taranaki
Tennis Association Board. She joined and played for the local St Joseph’s club and worked tirelessly for junior
tennis. She is an accomplished tennis player and has represented NZ on a number of occasions.

In 2001 she became secretary of Rotokare Tennis Club and later instigated the formation of the Taranaki
Seniors Club and remains the Secretary. She was elected to Tennis NZ Seniors management and remained on
that committee for nearly 20 years and was honoured with the Administrator of the Year Award. Beth was
also made a Life Member of Taranaki Seniors in 2004 and Rotokare Tennis Club in 2015. She still has her finger
on the pulse and even though she is no longer secretary she is still on the committee and is always looking for
new ideas and ways of making improvements to the club.