Award finalists indicate local sport in good hands

Wairarapa sport is in good hands.
That's the over-riding impression from the list of finalists announced today for the 2008-09 Wairarapa sports awards.
No fewer than 12 individual sports are represented, ranging from the higher profile pursuits such as athletics, swimming, rugby and netball through to barefoot water skiing and jet sprint racing.
Nominations for each of the five categories reached record proportions numbers-wise with the Senior Sports Personality of the Year award exemplifying their quality.
There the majority of the 24 nominees had either competed successfully at international or national level both in some cases which provided a huge headache for those responsible for deciding the four finalists in that particular section.
To say many nominees were unlucky to miss out would be a gross under-statement & and that's a comment which could encompass all five categories in fact. As has become the norm, the general public will be able to have their say as to who are announced as the sectional winners at a special function to be held at Copthorne Hotel and Resort Solway Park on Wednesday, April 29 by filling in the voting forms which will be published regularly in the Wairarapa Times-Age through until April 24.
The five category winners will then become the finalists for the supreme award, won last year by Giants men's softball coach Tony Nixon.
Brief pen pictures of the 2008-09 finalists are:-
SENIOR SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
GRAEME BUTCHER (athletics): Graeme Butcher won the 2009 New Zealand 100km ultra-marathon championship in Taupo in a time of 9hrs 56mins. That despite being "underdone" in his preparation and being physically sick for some 15kms late in the. Butcher also won the Marton to Wanganui 60kms ultra-marathon in 5hrs 22mins and the Hutt river trail 60kms ultra-marathon in 4hrs 45mins. He was selected to represent New Zealand at the world ultra-marathon championships in Italy last November but was a late withdrawal through injury. In cross-country he was second in the men's 45-49yrs age group at the national championships and a member of the Wellington team which won the 35-49yrs men's teams title.
BEN CAMPBELL (golf): Ben Campbell won the Aaron Baddeley junior international golf tournament in China by 12 strokes and was also part of a New Zealand team which won the teams title there by a wide margin. He was unbeaten in singles play for the New Zealand junior men's team in their annual Trans-Tasman clash with Australia, second placed junior at the Lake Macquarie international in Australia and sixth in the Australian junior amateur tourney. Campbell was a member of the Wellington team which won the national under-23 teams event and was second leading individual at that competition.
SARAH LINTON (barefoot water skiing): Sarah Linton won a bronze medal while representing the New Zealand barefoot water skiing team at the Asian Australian championships. She was also part of the New Zealand team which competed at the world barefoot water skiing championships, placing fourth in jump and eighth overall. Linton was first overall at the Wellington regional championships and was second overall and first in jump at the Waikato regional championships.
NEIL VAN WIJK (swimming): Neil Van Wijk won three gold medals in breaststroke at the New Zealand age group swimming championships, three gold medals, all in record times, at the New Zealand secondary schools championships and three gold medals at the New Zealand spring competition. He was a finalist in three breaststroke events at the New Zealand open championships and represented New Zealand juniors against Australia. He won the Eagle Trophy for Wairarapa Swimmer of the Year for 2008. and is the current Wairarapa Maori Junior Sportsman of the Year.
JUNIOR SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
SADE ATKINSON (tennis): Sade Atkinson was a part of the Central regional team which won the gold medal in the team's event at the national under-12 tennis championships. She also won a host of inter-provincial singles and doubles titles over the 2008-09 season and represented Wairarapa with distinction at both senior and junior level. She is the current Wairarapa Maori Junior Sportswoman of the Year.
BELLA BIGGS (swimming): Bella Biggs joined the Greytown Swimming Club as an 8-year-old in 2007 and over the past 12 months she has achieved some remarkable results, including the winning of 19 medals at various regional competitions, both in her age group and against older swimmers. Seven of her nine gold medals were won at the recent Wairarapa championships.
SOPHIE FOOTE (swimming): Sophie Foote won a gold, silver and bronze medal in the 11yrs age group at the Wellington long course championships, set a Wairarapa record in the 400m individual medley, qualified for four events at the New Zealand junior nationals and also qualified in two events for the New Zealand division two championships. She has also made her mark in netball and athletics.
HOLLY TRAVERS (athletics): Holly Travers was second in the girls 10yrs 400m at the Wellington junior track and field championships and also placed fourth in the final of the 400m. She was a finalist over 1500m and 800m at the North Island Colgate Games and placed sixth at the North Island cross country championships. She is the current Wairarapa cross country champion in her age group.
ADMINISTRATOR OF THE YEAR
ALLAN CLARKE (softball): Allan Clarke is a foundation member of the Giants Softball Club which was formed 42 years ago and has served them in practically every administrative role since, including coach. He is currently president a position he has held "on and off" for 17 years. He was a finalist for the Volunteer of the Year award at the Wellington sports awards for 2008.
MARK HARRIS (athletics): Mark Harris was manager of the New Zealand athletics team which competed at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Pune, India last October and has already been appointed manager of the New Zealand squad to contest the IAAF world youth track and field championships in Italy in July. Harris has also made a huge impact on the local athletics front as coach of most of Wairarapa's current track stars.
PHIL KEINZLEY (soccer): Phil Keinzley was coach of the Wairarapa United soccer team which, for the first time in the club's history, won the Capital premier division title for the 2008 season. This qualified them for the central league promotion-relegation series and they also won that, meaning they will be playing in that league for the first time in 2009. Keinzley also coached the Wairarapa under-19 boys team into third place in their major tournament.
GARRY SMITH (jet sprint racing): Garry Smith has served as president of the New Zealand Jet Sprint Association from 2006 to 2009. In this time he has introduced the electronic timing system with the use of transponders to the sport and, with the support of his executive, created the New Zealand Jet Sprint Promoter's Club. A past president of the Wairarapa Jet Sprint Club, Smith instigated the deign and creation of the Trust House Aqua Track at Tauherenikau racecourse and he was promoter of the UIM World Jet Sprint event held here last year. Smith is a member of the International Jet Sprint Federation.
SPORTS TEAM OF THE YEAR
EKETAHUNA WOMEN'S RUGBY: The Eketahuna women's rugby team is the only senior women's rugby side operating out of the Wairarapa-Bush area. They competed in last year's Manawatu premier division competition and were runners-up for the title. Several of their players went on to represent Manawatu in the national inter-provincial competition.
GIANTS PREMIER MEN'S SOFTBALL: The Giants premier men's softball team were the beaten finalists in the 2009 Inter-City series competition, the first time they had reached the final in a competition which attracts the premier men's teams from both Wellington and Hutt Valley. Giants were also runners-up in the 2009 Hutt Valley premier league.
WAIRARAPA UNDER-18 BOYS HOCKEY: The Wairarapa under-18 boys hockey team won their national tournament in Levin, and with it a place in that age group's premier national tournament this year. They beat Auckland B in a final which was decided in extra time after the scores were level at 2-2 at the end of ordinary time.
WAIRARAPA UNITED SOCCER: The Wairarapa United soccer team won the Capital premier division title for the first time in 2008 and then went on earn promotion to the central league competition, also for the first time. In that promotion-relegation series they beat the top club sides from Manawatu and Hawke's Bay before defeating Stop Out, the bottom-placed side in last season's central league competition
SPORTS CLUB OF THE YEAR
ATHLETICS MASTERTON: Athletics Masterton was formed in 2000 and merged together the three sports of harriers, cycling and track and field, the objective being to allow recreational and serious athletes the opportunity to participate in a range of sports without having to belong to several clubs. Athletics Masterton focuses on providing events to suit competitors at all levels and each section is run separately by dedicated volunteers. Major events include the Wairarapa country full and half-marathons and, with the help of the multisports club, cycling's Tour of Wairarapa.
CARTERTON NETBALL CLUB: Carterton Netball Club came out of recess six years ago and now field six teams in local competition play, two of them in the premier grade. They not only organise their own affairs but also help coach and select for at least six schools in the Wairarapa area. They also boast Wairarapa's only regionally qualified umpire. In 2008 the Carterton club ran Funferns netball for year one and two players in the South Wairarapa and are set to continue that programme this year.
DALEFIELD HOCKEY CLUB: Dalefield Hockey Club will be celebrating their centenary this year. Initially they started with just a couple of men's teams but as membership increased so did their desire to spread their wings and in 1993 they introduced women to the fold. Now they have the only two senior club sides from the Wairarapa contesting the Wellington premier division men's and women's competitions as well as four senior teams taking part in local competitions. The club also has a very robust junior section with up to 90 children being involved in primary grades in recent years.
LANSDOWNE CRICKET CLUB: Lansdowne Cricket Club have had a stellar last 12 months both from a competitive and administrative viewpoint. On the field of play they have achieved major successes at both junior and senior level, with their senior men's team winning both the Bidwell Cup two-day and Umpires Cup limited-overs titles for the 2008-09 season. Administratively they have adopted a professional approach based around engendering a community spirit within the club with parental support for the younger players being a prime objective.