Celebrating our elite athletes
The AUT Blues Awards, held last Friday night, recognise and celebrate the success of our elite student athletes. This year’s event was no exception, with 67 athletes recognised for their performances on and off the field.
The awards were a star-studded affair with our top athletes being joined by Master of Ceremonies April Ieremia and two special guests, heptathlete Sarah Cowley-Ross and boxer Alexis Pritchard-Todd. Both athletes are AUT alumni as well as former AUT Blues recipients, and both represented New Zealand at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games level in their respective sports.
The major award winners this year were Paralympic swimmer Rebecca Dubber who won the 2015 AUT Athlete Performance of the Year, and international taekwondo athlete Melissa Timperley who was named the 2015 AUT Sportsperson of the Year.
Rebecca Dubber is in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Communications. She competed at the IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow where she won silvers in the women’s S7 400m freestyle and 100m backstroke events. Rebecca recorded her personal best times in three events, as well as qualifying for a spot at the Paralympic Games in Rio next year.
Melissa Timperley is currently completing her Masters in Teaching and Learning – Primary. Melissa competed at the ITF World Championships in Italy this year where she won a silver medal in the individual third degree patterns event. Melissa was also a part of the New Zealand team who won gold in the team special technique category, and silver in the team patterns. The team was also named ‘best overall senior female team’, ‘best overall senior team’ and ‘best overall country’ for the competition.
AUT recognises the challenge of balancing study with the commitments of being an elite athlete and supports all our student athletes through our Athlete Support Programme headed by Sport Development and Athlete Support Manager Bruce Meyer. The programme aims to assist athletes in achieving this balance and to succeed both on and off the sporting stage.
We are proud to announce the full list of winners – each winning a Blues Award for their respective sport:
Samara Maxwell Artistic gymnastics
Timothy Jones Artistic gymnastics
Alexander Parkinson Athletics
Alyse Derby Badminton
Britney Rolston Canoe polo
Andrew Roy Canoe sprint
Georgia Guy Cricket
Zephaniah Steele Equestrian
Tayla O'Brien Football
Belinda Van Noorden Football
Catherine Bott Football
Erin Goad Hockey
Cory Bennett Hockey
Stephanie Dickins Hockey
Brooke Roberts Hockey
Kate Sellar Hockey
Jared Panchia Hockey
Daniel Panchia Hockey
Danielle Sutherland Hockey
Alex Conway Hockey
Libby-Jean Hay Ice hockey
Briar McLeely Kayaking
Aimee Fisher Kayaking
Elise Windsor Lacrosse
Tegan Edmonds Lacrosse
Barney Gill Martial arts
Aisha Bower Netball
Auteletoa Tanimo Netball
Hanalei Temese Netball
Teneale Hatton Ocean ski
Tracey Lambrechs Olympic weightlifting
Rebecca Dubber Para-swimming
Anna Harris Roller skating
Cameron Webster Rowing
Alexandria Kerr Rowing
Ella Campbell Rowing
Ana Holt Rowing
Mason Lino Rugby league
Siliva Havili Rugby league
Orbyn Leger Rugby union
Rebecca Burch Rugby union
Justine Lavea Rugby union
Zoe Tolhopf Softball
Freya Bullock Softball
Elizabeth Stavert Softball
Brigitta Cooper Springboard diving
Juee Bhide Squash
Rachael Dodwell Surf life saving
Andrew Roy Surf life saving
Danielle McKenzie Surf life saving
Daniel Hunter Swimming
Mitchell Leong Taekwondo
Melissa Timperley Taekwondo
Sean Law Touch
Claudia Hanham Touch
Francesca Stafford Triathlon
Shelby Haarhoff Ultimate frisbee
Alexander Meyst Ultimate frisbee
Julia Forde Ultimate frisbee
Portia Manukuo Underwater hockey
Rebecca Gatland Underwater hockey
Lauren Bird Underwater hockey
Rebecca Story Volleyball
Danielle Quigley Volleyball
Natalie Barke Waka ama
Dylan Smith Water polo
Miranda Chase Water polo