The 2012 Sport NZ Sport Volunteer Awards were awarded at an evening hosted by Sport Bay of Plenty at Kiwi360 in Te Puke on Friday night.
Marcus Reynolds from Sport New Zealand and guest speaker Sheryl Dawson, CEO Netball Bay of Plenty and CEO Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, provided inspiring speeches celebrating the value of volunteers.
This year the awards were expanded from recognising only volunteer coaches to all 800,000 volunteers at the heart of community sport, referees, administrators, fundraisers, kit-washers, and coaches.
Regional award winners were decided by each of the 17 regional sports trusts in New Zealand, with the 428 Bay of Plenty nominations once again of a very high quality.
"We were amazed at the depth and breadth of talent amongst our local volunteers and the contribution they are making to the Bay of Plenty sporting community,'' Coaching Team Leader at Sport Bay of Plenty, Dave Clarke said.
"It was very humbling seeing what these people in our region are putting into sport, their clubs and into their communities. They're the ones refereeing, washing uniforms, fundraising, keeping clubs running, they're the Mums and Dads coaching teams of kids on Saturday mornings.''
It was impossible for judges to look past the 17 nominations received for Sport NZ Sport Volunteer Award regional winner Lucian Clark from Tauranga.
"Lucian Clark, 15 years old, loves sport," one of Lucian's nominations read.
"Unfortunately he is not able to compete at the highest level at the moment. He picked up a rare disease about a year ago, due to a burst appendix, and this is still in his blood system. This tires him and makes him feel jaded quickly. He can't be too active because he'll get worse again. He had a lousy year, not what a healthy boy of 15 should have.
``Despite his situation he still managed to coach a Year 5 hockey team and Year 7/8 Intermediate hockey team. He really makes an effort to come to every practice and game and coaches these teams with great passion and dedication. The kids really love it. He also coaches a Year 5 cricket team and is a referee for the Tauranga Hockey Association. I believe the dedication and effort he makes to help young kids to grow in their sports is quite xceptional for a boy of his age and with his current health. He really deserves a medal.''
The Bay of Plenty region should be extremely proud of all the volunteer nominees, finalists and winners, who are all inspiring individuals that are consistently going the extra mile. They put their hand up to help and it's been great to recognise their efforts with these awards.
Each winner received $250 gift vouchers from Rebel Sport.
Thanks go to Sport NZ and MoreFM for their assistance in supporting these awards.
Regional Winner:
Lucian Clark (Tauranga) - Cricket/Hockey/Umpiring
Winners:
Ann Whyte (Whakatane) - Gymsports
Lucian Clark (Tauranga) - Cricket/Hockey/Umpiring
Paul Higgins (Bay of Plenty wide) - Football
Finalists:
Ang Hays-Johnson (Mount Maunganui) - Netball
Ann Whyte (Whakatane) - Gymsports
Carlene Macrae (Tauranga) - Golf
Char Niles (Tauranga) - Squash
Crawford Simpson (Tauranga) - Football
Dalena Rochat (Pahoia) Gymnastics
Dave Donaldson (Rotorua) - Mountain Biking
David Loughlin (Tauranga) - Motorsport
George Grant (Mount Maunganui) - Football
Greg Stewart (Rotorua) - Rugby
Gwenda Ruegg (Whakatane) - Swimming
Helen Brown (Tauranga) - Football
Ian Heath (Tauranga) - Football
Irene Law (Rotorua) - Triathlon/Multisport
Jason Bellm (Taupo) - Football
Jody Earp (Opotiki) - Gymnastics
John Lee (Rotorua) - Cycling
John Tuki (BOP Wide) - Parafed/Table Tennis
Jordan Biggs (Whakatane) - Gymnastics
Kea Lippiatt (Te Puna) - Hockey
Ken Lewis (Tauranga) - Tennis
Lara Wild (Rotorua) - Tennis
Lisa Mahon (Matua) - Netball
Lucian Clark (Tauranga) - Cricket/ Hockey/Umpiring
Maania Wi-Kaitaia (Rotorua) Basketball
Mary Bieleski (Tauranga) - Bowls
Melanie Carlson (Murupara) - Netball
Paul Higgins (BOP Wide) - Football
Paul van der Salm (Papamoa) - Football
Rachael Beresford (Rotorua) - Rugby League
Ray Lewis (Bethlehem) - Badminton
Rinus Adriaansz (Rotorua) - Athletics
Steph McHale (Rotorua) - Triathlon
Steve Harvey (Katikati) - Football
Sue Hunter (Rotorua) - Football
Taneta Riki (Whakatane) - Netball
Tania Fisher (Opotiki) - Gymnastics
Tony Chedwiggan (Otumoetai) - Football
Tony Jackson (Rotorua) - Badminton