Unitec Students Awarded for Sporting Dedication

MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release: 16 October 2009

New Zealand’s up-and-coming sports stars were honoured in a formal ceremony on Friday 16 October for striking the balance between sport and study.

The Blue Awards ceremony hosted by Unitec and its student association the USU, awarded thirteen students with Blue Awards ranging from a Paralympics coach through to a karate champion.

A Blue Award is the highest sporting accolade that can be achieved at a tertiary education level; it recognises student’s outstanding performances and contribution to sport while studying.

The Blue Awards is an international tradition that originated in England where the colours of Oxford and Cambridge Universities came to symbolise excellence in sport. The awards have been an important part of sport at tertiary level in New Zealand since 1922.

The ceremony also saw a swimming champion named the Unitec sportsperson of the year. This award was to recognise Jessie Blundell’s excellence in all aspects of tertiary life including academic success, involvement in sport at Unitec, and national athletic performance.

Blundell has balanced studying landscape architecture at Unitec, with competing in competitions this year, including the World Uni Games in Serbia, where she was a semi-finalist in the 200 backstroke. Last year, Blundell was also named the ASB young sports women of the year for swimming.

USU student president Greg Powell said the awards were a great way to recognise students’ abilities to achieve outstanding sporting success while studying.

“Sport and study are extremely demanding on their own, but these students have managed to put high levels of commitment into both fields, and done so excellently,” Powell said.

The 2009 Sporting Blue Awards Winners at Unitec were

Athletics
Carl Van Der Speck

Cricket
Greg Morgan

Football
Allan Boere

Karate
Jasmine Holland

Iron Blacks Coach
Michael Mau’u

Olympic Wrestling
Faisal Attayee

Olympic Weightlifting
Lou Ernesto Guinares

Paralympics Coach
Helen Predergast

Rugby Union
Hazel Tubic
Lydia Crossman

Swimming
Jessie Blundell

Underwater Hockey
Stephanie O’Neale

USU and Unitec Sports Person of the Year
Jessie Blundell – Swimming

For more information about USU visit http://http://www.usu.co.nz

ENDS

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