A very successful Ray White 2016 Whanganui Sports Awards, celebrating the last 12 months of outstanding achievements was held last Friday night at the Wanganui Racecourse. Over 400 guests attended the awards to support the 86 nominees from around the region, including Whanganui, Rangitikei and Ruapehu, these included athletes, coaches, administrators and referees.
Ray White Wanganui has been the naming sponsor for the Whanganui Sports Awards since 2012, each year the event continues to grow. Tim Hocquard, business owner of Ray White Wanganui, said ‘coming off many international events, including Rio Olympics and national rugby success proved for a very high-performance competition in the award categories’.
Awards were given out across 11 categories, with the evening also including the announcement of the Tupoho Scholarship recipients and the induction of members to the Whanganui District Council Hall of Fame and the Sport Whanganui Roll of Honour.
The evening was hosted and MC’d by television personality, James McOnie from ‘The Crowd goes Wild’, Jamie managed to keep the crowd entertained and in fits of laughter throughout the night.
Award winners on the evening came from a wide range of sports, from lifesaving, cycling, softball, thoroughbred racing to rugby and rowing. Olympic medallist rower, Rebecca Scown, won Wanganui Chronicle Supreme Award after winning the Mitre 10 MEGA International Senior Sportsperson of the Year award. NZCT National Senior Sportsperson of the Year went to New Zealand premier jockey Lisa Allpress, her award was presented by John Unsworth. The Stirling Sports National Junior of the Year went to Kaleb Ngatoa for his Formula First Go Karting.
With many outstanding achievements, the evening also acknowledged the support of the community and the many volunteers who contribute their time to many sports and athletes.
A full list of winners is displayed on the events page of the Sport Whanganui website sportwhanganui.co.nz
Ray White Wanganui is located at 254 Victoria Avenue, Wanganui or visit their local website rwwanganui.co.nz