Rower named Southland’s best
Rower Genevieve Behrent has been named Southland’s 2016-17 ILT Senior Sportsperson of the Year.
Behrent was announced as the Southland Senior Sportsperson of the Year at an awards evening at the Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill last night.
The honour came on the back of Behrent’s successful Olympic campaign last year.
Behrent and Rebecca Scown were the first athletes in New Zealand rowing history to contest more than one event at an Olympic Games, winning silver in the women’s elite coxless pair at the Rio Olympic Games and coming within 1.4 seconds of winning another medal, finishing eighth in the elite women’s coxed eight.
Rising sevens star Alena Saili won the ILT Junior Sportsperson of the Year Award, recognising an outstanding year for the talented athlete which saw her earn her place in the New Zealand Women’s Sevens team.
Saili is one of just 20 contracted players nationally, and at just 18, debuted for the national side in February this year.
Saili was also part of the Southland Girls’ High School first XV which won the Southland Kia Team of the Year Award last night.
The team has been a force to be reckoned with at the national level in recent years.
Among various other highlights, the team went all the way to be crowned New Zealand girls’ first XV champions in 2016.
Karl Watson was named Ricoh Southland Coach of the Year after a year in which two of his athletes won gold and silver medals at the UCI junior world track cycling championships.
Watson’s charges include Emma Cumming (who won gold in the team sprint and silver in the individual sprint), and Bradly Knipe (who won gold in the individual sprint and silver in the 1000m time trial).
Mike Hogan’s efforts as chairman of the working committee for the 2017 wool shearing and woolhandling championships, held in Invercargill, saw him named the BDO Administrator of the Year.
Hogan’s role was to oversee the logistics of the event, which saw ILT Stadium Southland transformed into a woolshed.
Barbara Grieve won the Creation Signs Official of the Year award, after yet another year officiating for Olympic weightlifting.
Amongst a string of other events, Grieve was a category one technical official at the 2016 youth world Championships and the Commonwealth championships, both held in Malaysia.
Erin Criglington once again stamped her mark on the world masters cycling scene over the past year, and once again won the NZME Masters Achievement of the Year award.
Criglington won world championship gold in the individual pursuit and in the points race, as well as medals.
She also claimed five national track titles and two silvers at the road nationals.
Four Sport Southland Services to Sport Awards were presented to people who had – and continue to have – a hugely positive impact on their sports. They were presented to Richard Wilson (cricket), Donald Hay (rugby), Russell Everett (rowing) and Marita Soper (ice hockey).
The Southland Times People’s Choice Award went to shearer Nathan Stratford, who won the team world championship title with Johnny Kirkpatrick at the 2017 world shearing and woolhandling championships.
The Mike Piper Trophy for integrity, commitment and excellence was awarded to skier Elizabeth Reid. a further three silver