Porirua students will be among the finalists when the Wellington region’s secondary school sport awards are presented at Te Rauparaha Arena on Sunday 8 November.
Aotea College has three students in contention for code awards: Sophie Hiswin in cycling, Ruby Barber in football and Hester du Plessis in shooting.
They join finalists from Bishop Viard College, Mana College, Porirua College, Whitby Collegiate and nearby Tawa College at the College Sport Wellington Sportsperson of the Year Awards, known as the SPOTYs.
At Bishop Viard, Koreti Poai is a finalist for both Service to School Sport and Student Coach of the Year. Thomas Iosefa is also in contention for Service to School Sport.
Whitby Collegiate’s Bella Coxson is shortlisted for All Rounder of the Year and softball, while Frances Solia is a Coach of the Year finalist and Olivia Lu is in the golf field.
Tag finalists include Mana College’s Prayer Edmonds and Nate Baker, alongside Porirua College’s Kaewa-Li Lukitau.
Tawa College’s finalists span sporting codes and service to sport. Bianca Cornell is shortlisted for Student Official of the Year, Donna Barns for Athletes with an Intellectual Disability and Nathaniel Wood for Athletes with a Physical Disability.
Tawa also has Sherlyn Andrews and Mia Harada in badminton, Nevaeh Hickey in bowls, Jasper Khoo in hockey, Axel Reynolds in rugby league and Max Parsons in shooting. Yvanni Gibson and Lijah Makea are softball finalists, Charlotte Milne and Kalden Newton are in squash, and Shylah Dawson is shortlisted for ten-pin bowling in the Other Codes category.
The awards received 763 nominations across sporting and general categories, including students nominated in more than one category. College Sport Wellington expects more than 900 guests at the arena.
More than 65 students are to receive awards across the sporting codes. The evening also recognises teams, coaches, volunteers, student coaches, officials and service to school sport, with male and female College Young Sportsperson of the Year the premier awards.