Unitec Recognises its Sporting Heroes

Unitec Recognises its Up-and-Coming Sporting Heroes

New Zealand's up-and-coming sports stars were honoured in a formal ceremony at the Annual Sporting Awards on Friday 5 November for successfully striking the balance between sport and study.

The Blues Awards ceremony hosted by Unitec and USU Students' Association at Unitec, awarded six students with the Blues Awards ranging from an Olympic Weightlifter through to a Karate champion.

A Blues Award is the highest sporting accolade that can be achieved at a tertiary education level; it recognises students' outstanding performances and contribution to sport while studying.

The Blues Awards are part of a tradition that originated in England where the colours of Oxford and Cambridge Universities came to symbolise excellence in sport and have been an important part of sport at tertiary level in New Zealand since 1922.

Unitec Chief Executive, Dr. Rick Ede says the Blues Award recipients are great ambassadors for Unitec for their drive to succeed both on and off the field.

"It's great to see the determination shown by these students to succeed both in their studies and sporting areas. These are characteristics that we are proud to recognise and celebrate."

This year the Sportsperson of the Year was awarded to Jasmine Holland who represented New Zealand earlier this year at the 2010 World University Karate Championships in Montenegro. Jasmine Holland was awarded Sportsperson of the Year for her outstanding commitment and performances in Karate Ferns and her dedication to a high level of academic achievement

USU Student President Pete Hodkinson says the awards recognise the students' ability to achieve outstanding sporting success while studying.

"To perform at an elite level in any sport takes a certain amount of both commitment and passion. To concurrently do the same in the world of academia is just outstanding and certainly deserves recognition" says Hodkinson.

The panel of judges included Sue Emerson (Chairperson & head of Unitec Department of Sport), Pete Hodkinson (USU president), Jude Till (Lecturer at the School of Sport) and student representatives. When choosing award recipients, the judges took into account the level of the students' sporting achievements, academic achievements and contribution to sport in the Unitec community.

USU and Unitec Sporting Blues Award Recipients for the period of 1 August 2009 to 31 July 2010 are:
Athletics - Carl Van der Speck
Gymnastics - Kristy Collins
Karate - Jasmine Holland
Olympic Weightlifting - Lou Ernesto Guinares
Rugby League - Houiti Matthews
Swimming - Jessie Blundell

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