Sports Awards Evening

The inaugural St Kevin’s College Celebration of Sport was held in the Dining Room on Friday evening. Approximately 250 people attended, including inspiring guest speaker Warren Lees and Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton. All of the traditional St Kevin’s sport prizes were awarded, along with some exciting new ‘Premier’ sports awards. The abundance of outstanding sporting talent at the college was obvious, and the judges must have had some tough decisions to come up with the following Premier winners:

All-Round Junior Girl: Merekite Wahiatapu

All- Round Junior Boy: Josh Macaulay

All-Round Senior Girl: Bethany Robertson

All-Round Senior Boy: Benedict Yanzick

Contribution: Olivia Pope

Outstanding Sportswoman: Johannah Kearney

Outstanding Sportsman: Tim O’Malley

One of the highlights of the evening was the huge standing ovation received by Johannah Kearney as the College Community recognized her outstanding rowing achievements, including being part of the New Zealand Junior Women’s U18 coxless four who won a bronze medal at the World Junior Rowing Championships in Bulgaria. Johannah faced stiff competition in the Outstanding Sportswoman category – each of the other three nominees (Holly Edmondston, Stacey Kerin and Isobel Ryan) have had outstanding results at a national level or higher in their chosen sports. It was fantastic to see all winners receiving their awards in graceful good spirits.

The evening would not have been possible without the hard work of a number of people. Thanks to Mrs Anne-Marie Forgie and her Home & School team, the Dining Room looked splendid for the occasion. Our caretaker, Mr Alan Grant, spent hours assisting with all of the technical aspects, while Fat Sally’s caterers and our Bar Manager Michelle Harper did a fantastic job with the food and drinks. There were also many school staff who went the extra mile to make the evening a true success – Mrs Rae, Miss Casey, Mr Olsen and Mr Ryan to name but a few. We are looking forward to making our Celebration of Sport an annual event on the St Kevin’s College Calendar!