Sportsperson of the Year Blair Tuke (second from left) with his parents Andy and Karin and supporter Lynda Hurley. Photo / Alan Watkins
Sportsperson of the Year Blair Tuke (second from left) with his parents Andy and Karin and supporter Lynda Hurley. Photo / Alan Watkins
Kerikeri sailor Blair Tuke has further cemented his grip on the Far North's top sporting trophy by winning the Sportsperson of the Year title for the fifth year running.
Tuke, who won silver in the 2012 Olympics with teammate Peter Burling, took out the award again on the strength ofthis year's win in the 49er world champs in France, the 49er European champs in Denmark, and the Youth America's Cup in San Francisco, in which he was team tactician. He also took out the A-class nationals in Christchurch.
Accepting the now-familiar trophy at the 20th Sport Northland/FNDC Far North Sports Awards in Kerikeri on Friday night, Tuke joked that he was getting used to having the trophy in his room - but put out a challenge for someone else to take it off him next year.
He thanked his parents and supporter Lynda Hurley, the key organiser of a post-Olympics welcome parade he would remember forever, and said he and Burling were aiming to go one better in Rio by winning gold. In the meantime Tuke - or "Too-kay" as he was jokingly referred to throughout the night - was preparing for the upcoming A-class races in Auckland, in which he would compete against Burling and veterans such as Dean Barker, and said he hoped one day to sail in the America's Cup.
Jo Steed of Kaitaia, the country's top female darts player, was named Sportswoman of the Year for achievements which included winning the ladies pairs at the NZ Masters in Wellington, the national NZ Darts Council singles and open singles, and the husband-and-wife title at the nationals in Nelson for the second year running.
"It's not only a major honour for me, it's also an honour for the sport of darts," she said.
This year's awards included two new honours: Contribution to Community, won by Kerikeri Football Club, and Club of the Year, won by Bay of Islands Special Olympics. Special Olympics also picked up Administrator of the Year for Suzanne Newhouse. The top team award went to Okaihau Bowls men's pair Dan Dickison and Shaun Haynes.
About 180 people attended the awards at the Bay of Islands Golf Club.
As well as many of the district's top sportsmen and women, the audience included Labour MP Shane Jones, Far North Mayor John Carter, and former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley and her husband Burton, now residents of Russell.
Mr Shipley gave a speech about his five years at the helm of the Breakers basketball team.
