Tararua's first sports awards for two years was well worth the wait.
They covered the two years from January 1, 1919 t0 December 31, 2020 and a huge turnout at the Dannevirke Town Hall celebrated the successes and achievements of athletes and teams over this difficult period of competition.
With MC Wairarapa MP Kieran McAnulty at the helm, the evening moved along very quickly with the nice blend of respect for achievement and humour.
Mayor Tracey Collis talked about the role of sport in the Tararua, saying at one stage "sport grows great citizens" and going on to marvel at the talent Tararua has been able to produce.
Stephanie McNair, Junior Sportswoman, thanked her parents and supporters.
She introduced the kapa haka group Te Rangi Kaha who performed with enormous enthusiasm, energy and harmony, showing why they have qualified for the National Te Matatini competition in Nelson.
CEO of Sport Manawatu Trevor Shailer then spoke of his memories boxing in the town hall and the value of sport before announcing the Sport Manawatu Legend of Sport to Suresh Patel QSM. He outlined the reasons for Suresh's award as the first recipient from Tararua. (See related article.)
Then the awards in the different categories were announced, all the nominees being introduced and the winner presented by the sponsor with their award. Some chose to speak, the Bush Telegraph sponsored Administrator/Volunteer of the year Kelly Gillard saying that all of Tararua's athletes need support no matter what school they attend because they are very talented and deserve the opportunity to achieve nationally.
Coach of the year Pete Arnott said his success was due to his students, quoting an ancient saying that "when a student is ready to learn a teacher will appear". He said students should always be complimented for doing something right as often as being criticised for doing something wrong.
While Supreme Award winner Megan Hull could not attend she delivered a video message saying winning the award "was a massive privilege given the calibre of the nominees" and it was "great for a girl from Pongaroa to be in this position". She apologised for non-attendance as "she was in heavy training for Black Stick games against Australia" and "inviting people to come and watch in Palmerston North".
Guest speaker Kingi Kiriona expressed his great joy to be back in Tararua after a lengthy period away mixing with the tops in the entertainment and broadcasting.
He followed this with a rendition of the old North School song Play the Game and went on to describe how the pursuit of winning the top Te Matatini prize in kapa haka had strong parallels with sport. He said kapa haka was a great game but you had to choose your side carefully.
