Tokyo Olympic Gold medal winning rower Emma Twigg has taken out the 2022 Forsyth Barr Hawke’s Bay Supreme Sport Award.

Earlier in the sold-out awards ceremony held at Pettigrew.Green Arena Twigg overcame stiff competition for the Mediaworks Senior Sportsperson of the Year from fellow Olympic gold medal rower Tom Mackintosh and three time supreme award winner and World Champion canoe sprinter Aimee Fisher.

She went forward as a finalist in the Forsyth Barr Hawke’s Bay Supreme Sport Award category, up against the five winners of the major categories. They included Masters Sportsperson of the Year Lance Bayliss, Junior Team of the Year the Athletics Hawke’s Bay Gisborne Men’s Under 18 4x100m, Senior Team of the Year of New Zealand double skulls champions  James Brott and Oscar Ruston, New Zealand canoe polo representative Hannah Hunt,  and two time Disabled Sportsperson of the Year Guy Harrison.

The judges of Award Shane Hurndell, Charissa Barham, Lee-Anne Taylor, Terry Parkin, Kirsten Demanser-Wilson, Ross Holden, Russell Williamson and Dennis Smart had many hard decisions based on a hugely successful year for sport teams and individuals.

Judge Shane Hurndell said Emma’s commitment and dedication to her sport is a legendary story that captured the hearts of New Zealanders. After retiring following the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Emma only took rowing up competitively again in 2018 and quickly asserted her dominance by 2019. Her selection to the 2020 event was a fourth Summer Olympics for Emma and after no international racing in 2020, claimed a gold in the single sculls at Tokyo.

“Emma showed that she the determination and hard work ethic to go for gold in Tokyo and the Hawke’s Bay region was right behind her as she scored a gold medal. It was one comeback of the best stories of the Olympics.

James Brott and Oscar Ruston won the Tremains Senior Team of the Year for their win in the Men’s Senior Double sculls at the New Zealand Rowing Championships by six seconds ahead of second place in February 2022. The Hawke’s Bay Rowing Club were members of the Men’s Senior Coxless Four, Men’s Premier Coxless Four and Oscar also competed in the Men’s Senior Single Sculls.

Hannah Hunt was awarded the Rachael Knight Emerging Sportsperson of the Year for her efforts as a key member of the World Champion New Zealand Under 21 Junior Paddle Ferns side. She is also the captain of the 2021 New Zealand Women’s U18A High Performance Team and a coach of the Canoe Polo Hawkes Bay Blizzard team who competed in the 2022 New Zealand Canoe Polo National League Women’s B grade.

The all-Napier Boys’ High School Under 18 relay team of Ryan Shotter, Rylan Noome, Logan Woods and Liam Kilby represented Athletics Hawke’s Bay Gisborne claiming gold at the Athletic New Zealand Jennian Homes Track and Field Championships held at the Mitre 10 Park William Nelson Athletics Track in Hastings earlier this year. They went through the season unbeaten. Their efforts saw them winning the Eastern Institute of Technology, Te Pūkenga Junior Team of the Year Award.

Guy Harrison continues to have a firm hold of the Paladin Disabled Sportsperson of the Year award, which he won in 2021 for athletics and has now added swimming and golf to his sporting talents.

He came second in the 50m Backstroke and 3rd in 50m freestyle at the 2022 Apollo Projects NZ Course Swimming Championships in April as well as placing 3rd in the 2022 Apollo Projects NZ Short Course Swimming Championships Backstroke in August 2022.

He also came third at the NZ National All Abilities Golf Championship and second at the NZ Disability Golf open and North Island Golf open in Auckland and Whakatane in May 2021 and March 2022.

Lance Baylis, who became the first New Zealander to win a National or International gold medal in both Powerlifting and Weightlifting in any country and of any age won the  Kennedy Park Resort Napier Masters Sportsperson of the Year. In late 2021 Lance won the 2021 Weightlifting Masters title for the Commonwealth, Oceania, and Australia. In 2022 he claimed gold medals in the Australian Masters Games for Powerlifting, bench press and dead lift. He then went on to win the Oceania Championships for Powerlifting.

Two icons of sport rowing coach Doc McDonald and sport broadcaster and the ‘voice of sport’ Ross Holden are the latest recipients of the Glenn Cook Technology Lifetime Contribution to Sport.

For over 70 years, Doc has been involved with rowing across New Zealand. A world-renowned coach, Doc received a New Zealand Secondary Schools Sports Council Service to Sport award in 2015. This recognised decades of service to three different provinces, Canterbury, Wanganui and Hawke’s Bay where he has been since 2006.

Ross joined Radio New Zealand in 1985 as an announcer in Hawke’s Bay with Bay City Radio, and is now well known as the host of Newstalk ZB’s Holden on Sport. Ross has been the voice of sport in Hawke’s Bay for nearly 40 years, providing a valuable service promoting regional sports organisations, clubs, and events.

Hockey veteran Shea McAleese, Hockey was awarded Hawke’s Bay Sports Hall of Fame status for his 17 year international career playing 320 games for the NZ Men's Black Sticks. He played at four Olympics - Beijing, London, Rio and Tokyo, four Commonwealth Games winning Bronze in Delhi 2010 and a Silver in Gold Coast 2018. He also played in four World Cups.

Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kahungunu’s project Te Putake, was set up with a purpose to give rangatahi Māori the opportunity to participate in sport and physical activity and aim to have more participation in sport within three Kura in Te Matau a Maui, while growing a more active rangatahi group within Kura Kaupapa Māori, activity as Māori won the Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated Activating Te Matau a Māui

Three Wise Birds Community Initiative of the Year was the Central Hawke’s Bay District Council which saw a free, mobile resource to promote physical, outdoor Play for the community. The Waka Tākaro was designed and built in June 2021 and equipped with a range of everyday resources it was used by over 1,778 children and adults to play, be active and inspire their imagination.

Other award winners on the evening included:

• Sporty.co.nz Volunteer of the Year - Wim Barendsen – Canoe Polo
• Stirling Sports Napier and Hastings, Sports Organisation of the Year
  • Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union
• Brebner Print Official of the Year - Nick Hogan – Rugby 7’s
• Petane Coach of the Year - Mark Ozich and Josh Syms – Rugby Union
• Zeelandt Brewery Grassroots Club of the Year - Triathlon Hawke’s Bay

Article added: Sunday 30 October 2022