Te Wānanga o Aotearoa backing our future stars
2023 Te Tamāhine-ā-Papatūānuku winner Erika Fairweather with board member Turi Ngatai
On Saturday, the 34th Trillian Trust Māori Sports Awards will be held at Mercury Baypark Arena in Mount Maunganui and for the sixth year, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is continuing its sponsorship of the Te Tamāhine-ā-Papatūānuku, the junior sportswoman award.
The awards are hosted by Te Tohu Taakaro o Aotearoa Trust and trust executive director Dick Garratt says the black-tie event is the pinnacle of Māori sporting success.
With a host of world and Olympic champions vying for the overall Albie Pryor Memorial Māori Sports Person of the Year title, he says this year’s event “promises to be the most exciting since its inception in 1991”.
The star-studded event will see 10 Olympic gold medallists, 6 individual world champions, teams, coaches, administrators, para-athletes, umpires and referees all honoured for their contributions to their sports.
Te Tamāhine-ā-Papatūānuku finalists include world champion waka ama paddler Hinekahukura Brooking (Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Tūwharetoa), Black Ferns sevens and league star Maia Davis (Ngāti Hineuru, Taranaki) and Football Ferns striker Ruby Nathan (Te Aupouri).
New Zealand has a long and proud history of athletes succeeding on a national and international stage, and it’s a history Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is honoured to be associated with and continue to support.
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Kaiwhakatere (chief executive) Nepia Winiata says sponsoring the Te Tamāhine-ā-Papatūānuku award recognises those athletes who will lead the way in the years ahead.
“We are a forward-looking organisation and while these athletes are achieving incredible success now, they also represent the future, and we congratulate them all.”
For those aspiring to follow in the footsteps of our champions or simply to help whānau live healthier lives, training as a professional fitness coach, instructor, or personal trainer through the Tākaro, Sport & Exercise programme at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is a great first step. You’ll learn valuable skills in a wānanga setting and be set for a career in the fitness industry.
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