Gearing up to celebrate sporting excellence with Blues Awards

The yearly event is a longstanding tradition which acknowledges the outstanding achievement displayed by student athletes both in their sporting codes and academically. It is the highest sporting accolade given in Aotearoa New Zealand’s tertiary system.

This year, 140 Blues Awards will be presented to recognise the achievements of Massey’s student athletes who are excelling in their sporting careers, with three athletes receiving awards for competing in two sports. Three Sporting Excellence awards will also be bestowed, which recognises non-athletes who meet the Blues criteria in their sport for coaching, managing, or officiating.

All finalists are considered by the Blues Selection Committee, with top athletes being selected across four additional categories: Distance Sportsman, Distance Sportswoman, Campus Sportsman, and Campus Sportswoman of the Year. From these four major award winners, the Selection Committee will choose one overall Supreme Award winner.

The celebration will take place virtually on the evening of Thursday 20 October, with White Ferns cricketer Amelia Kerr and 3x3 Tall Ferns player Ella Fotu as guest speakers.

It’s been a busy couple of months for Ella, who finished up in Birmingham before flying to Dunedin for the G.J. Gardner Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa League, New Zealand’s first professional women’s basketball league. She says she’s looking forward to some rest and recovery now that the off season has started, and says it’s a privilege to be invited to speak at the Awards.

“It’s an absolute honour to be a guest speaker this year, given Massey has such an amazing cohort of student athletes. I feel a little shocked given I have witnessed some great guest speakers, but proud to be part of this as we all know, the journey has and is a process.”

Alongside her basketball career and work as a firefighter, Ella is also studying a Bachelor of Science with Massey via distance.

With both Amelia and Ella having an array of accomplishments to their names and having competed in Birmingham this year, Sports Advancement Manager Jacob Oram will interview them about their experiences as elite athletes representing Aotearoa New Zealand at an international level.

Finalists

Campus Sportswoman of the Year

Phoenix Reid – Artistic Roller Skating

Georgia Wheeler – Canoe Polo

Ashtuti Kumar – Cricket

Campus Sportsman of the Year

Edward Lau – Badminton

Luke Sipkes ­– Diving

Connor Greentree – Hockey

Charl Ulrich – Hockey

Joseph Gavigan – Rugby

Distance Sportswoman of the Year

Maddison-Lee Wesche – Athletics

Aimee Fisher – Canoe Sprint

Emily Shearman – Cycling

Maia Wilson ­– Netball

Tyla Nathan-Wong – Rugby & Rugby Sevens

Amanda Landers–Murphy – Squash

Distance Sportsman of the Year

Finn Butcher – Canoe Slalom

Nicholas Kergozou De La Boessiere – Cycling

Ben Waine – Football

Tom Mackintosh – Rowing

Ben Barclay – Skiing

Event details

Time: 6pm

Date: Thursday 20 October

Hosts: Dr Bevan Erueti and Dr Farah Palmer

To attend the Blues Awards, register here.