Day: March 14, 2022

Introducing the 2022 Tairawhiti Rising Legends Squad

Posted on by Tracey Harkess

Whiti Ora are excited to announce the Tairāwhiti Rising Legends Squad for 2022. 

Tairāwhiti Rising Legends (TRL) is an initiative by Whiti Ora, aimed at recognising, acknowledging and supporting the development of talented young athletes within Te Tairāwhiti.  

In the squad for 2022 are Nathan Trowell for indoor bowls, Jack Willock for mountain biking, Seb Wilson for basketball, Angus Blair for swimming, Brothers Carlos Hihi and Puna Hihi for Rugby, Geordie Sawyer for surfing, Oska Smith for surf lifesaving, Jimmy Somerton for football, and Freya Wilson for netball. 

These aspiring athletes will receive a $1,000 scholarship. Also, throughout the year, this squad will receive exclusive mentoring and development opportunities to improve their skill set. These include workshops for nutrition, life skills, mental skills, strength and conditioning and media skills.  

“These workshops will give the Rising Legends vital skills that will not only help their physical health but also their mental health.” Said Whiti Ora Talent Lead, Carl Newman. “We have so much talent here in Tairāwhiti and this program will take them to the next step in their sporting journey.” 

The programme aims to assist talented athletes in fulfilling their potential and gaining higher honours.  

Since the inception in 2007, 103 Tairāwhiti athletes have been inducted as Rising Legends. The programme has produced 46 New Zealand champions, 6 World Champions, 2 All Blacks, and 3 Olympians.  

You can view the squad here.

Posted in TRL

Bronwyn Kay Agency Sporting Excellence Awards Video Launch

Posted on by Tracey Harkess

After nearly two years of postponements due to COVID, the Bronwyn Kay Agency Sporting Excellence Awards finally went ahead last Friday and Saturday.  

The Awards were split between two days of filming at Rangāi Studio with Whiti Ora Chief Executive Stefan Pishief as Master of Ceremony.  

“The significant disruptions caused by COVID required us to find a new way to celebrate the amazing achievements of so many of our athletes, teams, officials, and community champions, and we’re really pleased we’ve been able to do so with this online format and the support of our sponsors. It was great to see our finalists and winners finally get the recognition that they so richly deserve.” said Whiti Ora Chief Executive Stefan Pishief. 

The 2022 Tairāwhiti Rising Legends squad, award winners, sponsors and supporters were split into small groups to be part of the production and accept their awards under Red Setting guidelines. Those who could not make it to the filming were still able to be part of the awards with a pre-recorded video displayed. 

“The production of the Sports Awards has been highly anticipated.” said Whiti Ora Event Lead, Debbie Hutchings. “The new format allows us to push the reach far beyond the traditional awards. It not only gives our local sporting community the opportunity to view the awards, but it can be shared globally to friends and family to celebrate the finalists and winners’ achievements.” 

Naming Sponsor, Bronwyn Kay Agency, announced the overall 2019-2021 Sportsperson Award recipient to Tayler Reid for Triathlon. 

“We were impressed with the calibre of sportspersons and proud of their achievements,” said Bronwyn Kay. “We were also super impressed and very happy with the format of the awards. Thank you for making the event extremely comfortable.” 

Whiti Ora would once again like to thank all their sponsors for their continued support and patience to make this event happen. 

The Bronwyn Kay Agency Sporting Excellence Awards video is available to watch here and you can view the images from the night here.