Awards celebrate Te Arawa achievements

Te Reweti Graham, a former Te Arawa awards recipient.

A celebration of Te Arawa achievement will be held next month in the annual Te Arawa Awards.

Hosted by Te Papa Takaro o Te Arawa, the awards recognise the achievement of rangatahi (young people), Maori athletes and iwi, and induct an individual or group into the hall of fame and honour roll.

Te Arawa pride co-ordinator for Te Papa Takaro o Te Arawa, Moana Miller, said the awards were a great opportunity to put the spotlight on the work people did for the iwi.

"They're really important because we're recognising those who excel in our community and give services to our iwi. It also gives us a chance to celebrate the cultural diversity within the Te Arawa region; those things that make us unique," Mrs Miller said.

Nominations have closed for the awards, which will be held on September 26 at the Holiday Inn.

"We've had lots of nominations, right across the board, of such high calibre," she said.

"Te Papa Takaro [o Te Arawa] just want to provide that aspirational space to celebrate the state of our people and highlighting our people's contribution. There's so many people out there doing their amazing thing but not many people hear about it. We have rangatahi who coach four or five teams and people take out the waka in their own time because they're passionate about it and that's what we want to acknowledge."

Te Papa Takaro o Te Arawa is a sports charitable trust which was registered in 1993 and was mandated by the iwi for sport, physical activity and recreation including education, culture and health.

This is the 17th year that it has held these awards. The sections include: Te Arawa Rangatahi Achievement Awards; Te Arawa Maori Sports Awards; Te Arawa Iwi Awards; and the Te Arawa Hall of Fame and Honour Role Memberships.

• Tickets are yet to go on sale for the event but further information can be found at arawanation.com.