Crispian Stewart: Rotorua youngsters among Bay of Plenty Sports Awards 2022 nominees

Pipi Uhl in action. Photo / Rod Hill

Hakinakina community news is a weekly update on our own local community sports and athletes.

OPINION:

On Friday night we will celebrate some amazing international athletes who started with big dreams, but humble beginnings in our backyards, sports fields, Sportsdrome, courts, rivers, lakes and forests. This year will be no different for a few young Rotorua athletes who have been nominated in the youth categories of the Bay of Plenty Sports Awards.

In the Young Sportswoman of the Year category, Rotorua has three nominees.

Carly Ohia is an aspiring young basketball player who already has an impressive sporting CV. She was selected for the Zealand U16 basketball team. This team went on to finish a creditable 12th in the FIBA U17 World Cup. Locally, she plays in the Rotorua Open Women’s Basketball team and is a member of the Te Arawa Māori basketball team.

Carly Ohia, 17, has an impressive sporting CV. Photo / Andrew Warner

Pipi Uhl dominates the NZ Secondary Schools girls canoe slalom circuit, earning her a start in the U18 and U23 world champs in Europe where she finished 34th. The Rotorua Lakes Student also completed the women’s open event, finishing 57th in the world.

Jenna Hastings continues the legacy of top mountain biking athletes coming from Rotorua. But it was in Les Gets, France, where she made her international presence felt, winning the rainbow jersey in the world junior championships. The ex-John Paul College student went on to secure a silver and bronze in other events in the world series across Europe. The 18-year-old is NZ’s women’s national downhill champion.

Jenna Hastings was victorious at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in France. Photo / Rob Jones

Lachlan Stevens-McNab has been nominated for Young Sportsman of the Year and further enhances the mountain biking culture in Rotorua. The ex-John Paul College student finished third overall in junior men downhill this season and at the New Zealand Mountain Bike Championships, he finished first in the U19 junior elite and third overall. He was also named Mountain Bike New Zealand Emerging Rider of the Year in 2022.

To complete our individual young Rotorua athletes nominated is Bailey Conlon. He is no stranger to the Open Disabled Sportsperson of the Year category, an award he won in 2021. His swimming form this season has him recognised again with gold, silver and bronze at the recent NZ national para multi-class. He trains with Te Arawa Swimming Club.

Bailey Conlon. Photo / Supplied

Whatever the result on Friday night, these athletes have already made Rotorua proud. And I suspect the best is yet to come from these amazing young ambassadors of our town.

For the full list of nominees across the categories and from around the region, go to the Sport BOP website.

For your community sports stories, please email Crispian.stewart@eves.co.nz.

- Crispian Stewart is a Rotorua sports enthusiast