Sprinter and long jumper Mariah Ririnui
Last Friday, the Wallace Corporation University of Waikato Blues Awards celebrated more than 50 high-achieving students who excel in sports, and the creative and performing arts.
Among the Blues winners were three Tauranga Girls' College students and current Sir Edmund Hillary scholars Mariah Ririnui (Athletics), June Dams (Voice) and Anna Mahon (Voice).
Also announced was Sportswoman of the Year, awarded to former Tauranga Girls' College student Zoe Stephenson for rowing.
Thirty-six University of Waikato students were recognised with a Blue for their sporting achievements, alongside 21 students who have made contributions to the creative and performing arts.
The Blue is a prestigious award that recognises regional or national excellence, through to world champions. The awards are one of the University of Waikato's strongest traditions, dating back to 1971.
The tradition of awarding Blues came from the sporting rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge universities, which both adopted different shades of blue as their colour for boat races in the early 1820s. Blues then became awarded for sporting excellence. The earliest recorded Blue in New Zealand was awarded for athletics in 1922.
The newly upgraded Waitaha Reserve has been officially opened in Welcome Bay, Tauranga.