Finalists Announced For 2023 Māori Sports Awards

A world-class field of athletes, administrators, coaches and teams will vie for top honours at the 2023 Māori Sports Awards later this month (November).

For the first time in its 33-year history, the national awards organiser – Te Tohu Taakaro o Aotearoa Charitable Trust – will host the event at the Mercury Arena in Mount Maunganui on Saturday 25 November from 5.15pm.

More than 500 guests from the Māori community, sporting codes and corporate sector will attend the black-tie ceremony which will be broadcast on Whakaata Māori.

Winners in 10 categories will be announced including sports administrator; umpire/referee; Paralympian; coach; team; junior and senior sportsman and woman; and world champions. All finalists will be in contention for the supreme award – the prestigious Albie Pryor Memorial Maori Sportsperson of the Year, Rongomaraeroa.

The trust will also pay tribute to several Māori sports legends who have passed away over the past 12 months: Jason Wynyard, Taini Jamison, Tane Norton and Ray Reardon.

Te Tohu Taakaro o Aotearoa executive director Richard (Dick) Garratt MNZM says the record number of Māori achieving on the world stage is testament to the vision of the late, great Albie Pryor.

In 1991, Pryor (Ngāti Awa) established the sporting showcase to promote and encourage Māori in the pursuit of excellence, later expanding that brief to identify and support young Māori talent so they could achieve at Olympic, Commonwealth and international competitions.

Since 1994, some 400 Māori Sports Awards scholarships with a total value of $900,000 have enabled rangatahi to further their sporting or educational careers. “There is no doubt that our founder and mentor would be extremely proud of his legacy,” Garratt says.

The 2023 Māori Sports Awards finalists are:

TE ARATIATIA | MĀORI SPORTS UMPIRE/REFEREE:

Rochelle Tamarua (Te Rarawa), Ahitereiria | Australia – rugby league

Ben O’Keeffe (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua), Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland – rugby

Desrae Garratt (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Mutunga), Mauao | Mount Maunganui – tennis

MĀUI TIKITIKI-Ā-TARANGA | MĀORI SPORTS ADMINISTRATOR:

Tom Pere (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Kai Tahu), Te Whanganui-a-Tara | Wellington – cricket

Doreen Jensen (Ngāti Maniapoto), Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland – lawn bowls

Titia Graham (Ngāi Tūhoe), Kirikiriroa | Hamilton – rugby league

TE TOIHUAREWA | MĀORI PARALYMPIC ATHLETE/TEAM:

Cameron Leslie (Ngāpuhi), Whangārei – para-swimming

NGĀ IKA Ā WHIRO | MĀORI SPORTS TEAM:

Central Districts Māori Wāhine team – cricket

New Zealand Māori Ngā Māreikura Under 18 Girls team – rugby

Aotearoa Māori Women’s Fours team – lawn bowls

TE MARU Ō TŪMATAUENGA | MĀORI SPORTS COACH:

Cory Sweeney (Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara), Mauao | Mount Maunganui – rugby sevens

Clayton McMillan (Ngāti Rangi), Kirikiriroa | Hamilton – rugby

Ebony Matenga (Tainui/Waikato), Tauranga – gymnastics

TE PIKINGA O TĀWHAKI | MĀORI WORLD CHAMPION TEAMS:

Aotearoa Wāhine Junior 16 team (V6), Tūranganui-a-Kiwa | Gisborne – waka ama

TE PIKINGA O TĀWHAKI | INDIVIDUAL MĀORI WORLD CHAMPIONS:

Marea Mea Motu (Te Rarawa), Whangārei – boxing

Te Arani Moana (Lani) Daniels (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine), Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland – boxing

Sam Gaze (Te Atiawa), Kemureti | Cambridge – mountain bike cross country

Laquiesha Clifford (Ngāpuhi), Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland – eight ball pool

Tuhoto Ariki Pene (Te Arawa), Rotorua – mountain biking

Hinekahukura Brooking (Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Tūwharetoa), Tūranganui-a-Kiwa | Gisborne – waka ama

TE TAMĀHINE-Ā-PAPATŪĀNUKU | JUNIOR MĀORI SPORTSWOMAN:

Hunter Edwards (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Whakatōhea), Rotorua – golf

Justine McGregor (Ngāti Porou), Te Whanganui-a-Tara | Wellington – rugby

Hinekahukura Brooking (Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Tūwharetoa), Tūranganui-a-Kiwa | Gisborne – waka ama

Erika Fairweather (Ngāi Tahu), Ōtepoti | Dunedin – swimming

Kiana O’Fee (Ngāpuhi), Mauao | Mount Maunganui – surf lifesaving

TE TAMA-Ā-RANGINUI | JUNIOR MĀORI SPORTSMAN:

Noah Hotham (Hauraki), Ōtautahi | Christchurch – rugby

Te Hamahana Te Aute (Ngāi Te Rangi), Te Puke – rugby league, rugby

David (Davey) Motu (Te Rarawa), Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland – lawn bowls

HINEAHUONE | SENIOR MĀORI SPORTSWOMAN:

Zoe Hobbs (Ngāruahine, Ngāti Ruanui), Taranaki – athletics

Dame Lisa Carrington DNZM (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Ngāti Porou), North Harbour – canoe racing

Suzie Bates (Ngāi Tahu), Ōtepoti | Dunedin – cricket

Tyla Nathan-Wong (Ngāpuhi), Ahitereiria | Australia – rugby sevens

TE TAMA-Ā-TANENUIĀRANGI | SENIOR MĀORI SPORTSMAN:

Trent Boult (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Porou), Mauao | Mount Maunganui – cricket

Aaron Smith (Ngāti Kahungunu), Ōtepoti | Dunedin – rugby

James Fisher-Harris (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Tainui), Ahitereiria | Australia – rugby league

Sam Gaze (Te Atiawa), Kemureti | Cambridge – mountain bike cross country

More information about the Māori Sports Awards is on the website www.maorisportsawards.co.nz.

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