50 Students Attain Sporting Excellence

50 Students Attain Sporting Excellence at University of Canterbury

The ‘Blues’ awards ceremony was held this week in honour of 50 University of Canterbury students who have achieved excellence in sport, whilst also progressing in their academic studies. The annual event, which has taken place since 1913, was organised by the University of Canterbury Students’ Association.

Winners came from a large variety of sports from Australian Rules Football and Basketball to Volleyball and Wheelchair Rugby. All have attained a senior Canterbury ranking in their respective sport and have attended the New Zealand University Games if appropriate.

University of Canterbury Students’ Association (UCSA) president Richard Neal said, “These students have shown exemplary dedication and commitment to achieve this award. Most students would agree that it’s difficult to simply complete their course work successfully, but for so many to reach this level in their specific sports in addition to their academic studies is a credit to both themselves and the University.”

Sports Person of the Year’

There is an additional award for ‘Sports Person of the Year’ which is presented to an individual of international standard. This year the award goes to Terry Hughes whose achievements in weightlifting are extremely impressive.

Terry won his first national title in 1991, since then he has won nine national titles and held over 30 national records. He has competed at numerous Oceania Championships and represented New Zealand at the Kuala Lumpa Commonwealth Games.

Terry won two bronze medals at the Manchester Commonwealth Games, breaking a New Zealand record in the process. He is currently building up to the national championships, which begin on 19 October.

Service to University Sport’

The UCSA also congratulates sports administrators who put in many hours behind the scenes, by awarding the “Service to University Sport Award.’ This year’s winner is Michael Edwards, current president of the University Touch Club. Over the last few years, Mike has been heavily involved in Touch at local, national and international level.

During this time, Mike has organised several tours for the Canterbury Team within New Zealand, as well as to the USA, Singapore, Wales and Australia. This involved a large amount of organisation and sourcing of significant amounts of income. He has dramatically increased the profile of the touch club within the University and within Canterbury through a dedicated media campaign.

(UCSA Blues Awards list follows)

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