Outdoor Awards shine spotlight on Canterbury contributions

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015

Outdoor Awards shine spotlight on Canterbury contributions

Canterbury was in the spotlight at the 2015 Outdoors Awards last night in Wellington, with Adventure South Director Geoff Gabites bringing home the Skills Active Supreme Award and Sport New Zealand Volunteer Award for his outstanding contributions in the outdoors.

The New Zealand Alpine Club also found the limelight, winning the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council Organisational Excellence Award, while the national Hillary Outdoors Get2Go Challenge brought home the Sport New Zealand Event Award.

The New Zealand Recreation Association (NZRA) hosted the awards as part of this year’s Outdoors Forum in Wellington. NZRA Chief Executive Andrew Leslie said the awards signified peer recognition for people and organisations at the pinnacle of outdoor experiences, and people like Mr Gabites deserved recognition for their achievements.

“Geoff Gabites has made Canterbury proud. He is a remarkable individual who has devoted his life to improving outdoor experiences for New Zealanders, volunteering a great amount of his personal time. He is an active member of the New Zealand Alpine Club, which delivers high-quality outdoor recreation services and improves people’s experiences in the sector.”

The Get2Go Challenge is an impressive event that builds best practice outdoor safety knowledge and encourages kiwi kids to participate in outdoor recreation on a large scale by making use of clubs and volunteer organisations, Mr Leslie said.

Headquartered in Auckland and run by Hillary Outdoors, the Get2Go Challenge is a series of outdoor adventure events catering to year 9 and 10 students, held annually in regions across New Zealand with a 5-day grand final event on Great Barrier Island.

Each year, 150 secondary schools take part in the event, which is designed to encourage students to develop their outdoors skills as well as valuable attributes such as perseverance, collaboration and resilience. To date, over 14,000 students have participated.

“Get2Go has gone from strength to strength. Schools keep coming back year after year and want to participate because they see the benefits for their kids,” Mr Leslie said.

The Outdoor Awards also celebrate organisations that have been successful in significantly improving outdoor recreation outcomes for New Zealanders through their policies, procedures and culture.

The Organisational Excellence award is presented to well run, financially stable and fit for purpose organisations that demonstrate excellence in their field. Mr Leslie said the New Zealand Alpine Club is an appropriate and deserving winner.

Mr Gabites’ name was put forward by Samuel Newton, General Manager of the New Zealand Alpine Club.

“For nearly 40 years, Geoff Gabites has voluntarily applied himself to the benefit of the New Zealand Alpine Club and the wider climbing community,” Mr Newton said in his nomination. “He has given his time generously over many, many years.”

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