2023 Blues and Golds Award
2023 Blues and Golds Awards winners
Student rural and agricultural volunteer group the Handy Landys' selfless work helping farmers in the Hawke's Bay region following Cyclone Gabrielle earlier this year was recognised through being given a new award, the Supreme Gold Award for Service Excellence - Voluntary Contribution of the Year.
The awards were presented by Lincoln University Vice-Chancellor Professor Grant Edwards.
Brooklyn Greer-Atkins and Travis O'Boyle, Tumuaki Takirua of Te Awhoriki took home Gold Supreme Cultural Excellence awards, while SPACE President and Rainbow rights advocate Arabella Dudfield was given her second Supreme Gold Award for Service Excellence for her work on campus.
Blues winner, bare-foot waterskier Chelsea MGuire, was named Sportsperson of the Year after claiming the New Zealand U23 title, while Team of the Year, for the second consecutive time, was the women's 3x3 basketball team, where they placed second at the Oceania Championships to qualify for the 3x3 Basketball World Tertiary Champs in Turkey last November, where they made the quarter finals.
Full List of Awards
Sportsperson of the Year
- Charlotte McGuire
Team of the Year
Women's 3X3 basketball team
Manager: Hoani Smith Coach: Josh Thomson Team members: Grace McGirr, Kate Herman, Lauryn Hippolite, Rosalia Samia (team sponsor Suzie Mason is also pictured).
Gold Supreme Award Cultural Excellence-Joint Award
Travis O'Boyle and Brooklyn Greer-Atkins
Supreme Award -Service Excellence
Arabella Dudfield
Gold Service Excellence - Voluntary Contribution of the Year
The Handy Landys: Brooke Graham, Caitlin Rhodes, Eibhlin Lynch, Emily Irwin, Fergus Lee, Hamish Goatley, Izy Greville, Jed McCready, Jessica Sime, Kate Willemse, Samuel Back.
Gold Awards |
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Arabella Dudfield: Service Excellence |
Arabella has been heavily involved in the advocacy of the rainbow community to achieve greater visibility for LGBTQIA+ students on campus. She has been a pivotal member of SPACE (Lincoln’s LGBTQIA+ club) and has planned numerous PRIDE events for the LGBTQIA+ community, including Lincoln’s very own Pride Parade for two years running. She has also worked with the Canterbury Police Diversity Liaisons to create a safer environment for the rainbow community in Christchurch. | Ben Chambers: Service Excellence |
Ben has been a member of the Lincoln Volunteer Fire Brigade for the past three years, with the rank of firefighter. As a student and resident of Lincoln township, he is available for emergency events 24/7, making him a valuable member of the brigade. As a firefighter, he has attended and assisted at more than 100 emergency events over the past 12 months. Many of these emergency events are serious and traumatic for both the firefighters and the other people involved. Ben is also an active volunteer with the Lincoln Young Farmers Club, contributing to many initiatives to improve club members’ experiences.
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Brooklyn Greer-Atkins: Cultural Excellence |
Brooklyn is an exceptional leader who has supported the growth of Te Ao M?ori on campus across 2022 and 2023 through a huge number of initiatives that engage with tauira, staff, and the community, support the development of Te Ao M?ori, and help people on their cultural journey.Some of his notable achievements include the development of Te wiki o te reo M?ori and Waiata Wednesdays and leading the organisation of Te Huinga Tauira, which was hosted on the Lincoln University campus and involved 350 students from across the country taking part in this exceptional day. |
Cam Holmes: Service Excellence |
Cam played a significant role in the development of Lincoln University's Disability Action Plan. He also sat on a panel for young disabled learners for the Ministry of Education, in which he provided his lived experience of being in the education system and the transition from secondary to tertiary. Cam also helped reshape the Respectfully Lincoln Workshops and is an active part of the community, volunteering as part of the Children's University 2023. He is also the Methven Football Club secretary and served as a general advisor for Lincoln SVA. |
Emily Osborne: Service Excellence |
Emily is President of Icon, a club where students with disabilities, neurodiversity injuries, medical conditions, and everything in between can belong. She has arranged an array of events for the club throughout the year. She played a key role in applying for funding to provide swimming at the Rolleston pool and is also a student buddy, supporting students with their needs to navigate the transition into university. Emily brought sign language week to campus and also helped shape the university's disability action plan. Her contributions were also recognised at the Selwyn Awards earlier in the year. |
Hamish Goatley: -Service Excellence |
Hamish is a member of the Lincoln Volunteer Fire Brigade, with the rank of firefighter. As a student and resident of Lincoln Township, he is available for emergency events 24/7. Ben's availability during the day and night makes him a valuable member of the brigade, and he has attended and assisted at more than 100 emergency events over the past 12 months. Many of these emergency events are serious and traumatic for both the firefighters and the other people involved. |
Handy Landys: Service Excellence |
A group of Handy Landy’s volunteered their time to travel to Hawke's Bay and support the local community with their recovery following Cyclone Gabrielle. This included jobs like repairing fences, general property tidying, and community engagement. Feedback was how having young people inject a new sense of energy into the region helped both achieve work that would otherwise have taken months and give people a more positive mindset. The team engaged with seven individuals and organisations while up there, and the university has received immensely positive feedback about their actions and attitude towards supporting the community from the Rural Support Trust. |
Iris Long: Service Excellence |
Throughout 2023, Iris has been a highly valued contributor to LU’s Parent Society. As a volunteer, she has organised weekly playgroups and meet-ups, which provide important opportunities for LU parents and children to socialise and interact on campus, with a strong positive impact for all involved. She has also led the involvement of LU Parent’s Society in larger community events, including the Selwyn CultureFest and Community Day, showcasing the diversity and inclusiveness of LU’s student body. |
Jonty Gallagher: Cultural Excellence |
Jonty is a highly valued leader, role model, and volunteer. He is committed to increasing and supporting M?ori culture on campus, leading multiple cultural initiatives and events both on and off campus to grow engagement not just with M?ori but with other cultures as well, including sporting events, kapa haka, and gatherings. Jonty also played a key role in the organisation of hosting Te Huinga Tauira here on campus, an event in which over 300 M?ori tauira from across New Zealand universities participate. As a result of this event, Te Awhioraki won the Selwyn Community Volunteering Gold Award. His contributions have grown the buy-in of Tauira at Lincoln through his outstanding commitment, work ethics, and values. |
Julie Gillespie, Service Excellence |
Julie holds a number of key voluntary roles at St. John’s, including Community Education Deliverer for 3 Steps 4 Life, Assistant Youth Manager for the West Melton Youth Division, and member of the South Island Regional Trust Board. She is also the Chair of the Selwyn Area Committee, the youngest ever. As part of this role, she was a key contributor to the Hato Hone St. John Area Committees Act, which ensures that the emergency ambulance service is supported through the provision of ambulance stations and staff welfare, supporting local youth divisions, and the delivery of community health services. Julie’s volunteer work embodies the spirit of selflessness and community service, and her continued involvement speaks volumes about her unwavering dedication to St. John’s mission. |
Kath Vaeatangitau, Service Excellence |
Kath is the youngest member of the Lincoln and Hornby Rotary Clubs, where she looks for and identifies youth organisations across New Zealand that could require assistance. As part of her role, she is also working with selected schools in Tonga that were badly affected by the cyclone and the recent volcanic eruption in Tongatapu to provide essential school equipment. Kath is also a key volunteer for the Children’s University and part of the Tongan Youth Trust, where she mentors primary and secondary school students with their academic assignments. Her voluntary contributions were recognised at the recent Canterbury Volunteer Recognition Awards, where she received an award. | LU Muslim Association-Service Excellence |
The Lincoln University Muslim Association (LUMA) connects Muslim students with the local Selwyn Muslim community and has organised a range of social events for students and the community to come together on campus, including key Muslim religious holidays such as Ramadan, Iftar, and Eid al-Fitr, attracting over 100 LU students and community members per event. LUMA’s initiatives support a sense of belonging and opportunities to build connections between students and community members and are great examples of manaakitaka and whanaukataka at Lincoln. |
Olivia Cooke: Service Excellence |
Olivia’s dedication to mentoring the younger generation through her involvement with Brownies and guiding and her recent commitment to Rovers have positively impacted the lives of numerous young individuals, embodying the spirit of selfless volunteerism. She also dedicates her time to being a secretary of the Lincoln University Tramping Club, inspiring students of all backgrounds to get involved and explore New Zealand through the organisation and running of events throughout the year, on top of her many other extracurricular volunteer positions. |
Sahiti Peddisetti: Cultural Excellence |
Sahiti is co-president of the LU International and Cultural Society (LUICS). In this role, she has organised and supported numerous events throughout the year that provide a welcoming place where students from all cultures and backgrounds can meet, connect, and feel included while increasing cultural awareness on campus. In addition, Sahiti is committed to enhancing the student experience through a range of voluntary roles, including arranging events for Indian students, facilitating weekly English Conversation classes, volunteering for LU-led events for current students, mentoring students, and being a student buddy. |
Travis O'Boyle: Cultural Excellence |
Travis is an exceptional leader who has supported the growth of Te Ao M?ori on campus across 2022 and 2023 through a huge number of initiatives that engage with tauira, staff, and the community. These initiatives support the development of Te Reo M?ori and help people on their cultural journey. Just some of his notable achievements include the development of Te wiki o te reo M?ori and Waiata Wednesdays and leading the organisation of Te Huinga Tauira, which was hosted on the Lincoln University campus and involved 350 students from across the country taking part in this exceptional day. |
Shayla Rigg: Service Excellence |
Shayla is the vice president of the Lincoln University Student Volunteer Army and the president of the Lincoln University Pottery Club. She is passionate about the environment and volunteers for many environmental causes. Shayla is currently in the process of working towards planning a panel event where she’s connected with ECAN, Forest & Bird, and more to facilitate a k?rero around the importance of biodiversity sustainability. Shayla holds many varied leadership roles in the Lincoln Community, and they use these roles to connect with the community in meaningful ways to promote positive messaging around all things, from positive environmental actions to taking time to be mindful and creative. |
Blues Awards |
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Abigale Gerken: Cricket |
Abigale is a member of the Canterbury Women’s Cricket team and holds a Canterbury Cricket contract. She was selected to be part of the New Zealand Development Team tour to India and was a member of the winning team in the Super Smash Domestic T20 competition. |
Abigail Hotton: Cricket |
Abigail is a member of the Canterbury Magicians Team, which won the Super Smash Domestic T20 competition. She was also a member of the New Zealand U19 Team, which placed third at the U19 Cricket World Cup. |
Benjamin Breitmeyer-Cricket |
Ben is a member of the U19 Canterbury Men's and Canterbury A Men's cricket teams. He is also a member of the U19 New Zealand Cricket Team, which qualified for the ICC World Cup, and was selected for the U19 New Zealand Winter Training Squad in 2023. | Brian Lealiifano-Rugby | Brian has represented Canterbury as part of the Crusaders U20 team, Canterbury B Side, and is a member of the Crusaders Development programme. Brian was also a member of the NZ Universities Team that toured Japan in 2023. |
Charlie Morrison: Hockey |
Charlie represented Canterbury as part of the Canterbury Cavaliers senior hockey team. He also competed in the 2023 Otautahi Men’s Cup and the 2023 Ford National Hockey Men’s Championship Tier 1. In addition, he has represented New Zealand as part of the Black Sticks. |
Charlotte Knight-Netball |
Charlotte was a member of the Christchurch Open Representative Team this year, as well as the LU Premier A Team and Uni Games Team. She was also named on the UTSNZ Netball Tournament team in 2022. |
Charlotte McGuire: Barefoot Water Skiing |
Charlotte has represented New Zealand in both the Oceania and World Barefoot Waterskiing Competitions. In 2023, she placed third in the Junior Females Jump at the World Championships, placed second overall in the Oceania Champs in 2022, and placed first overall in the Under 23 category at the Nationals. |
Corey Kellow-Rugby |
Corey has represented Canterbury on both the Canterbury A side and the Crusaders. |
Ella Harris-Karate |
Ella represented Canterbury at the NZ Cup 2023, where she won the U21 Female Kumite, becoming the national champion, and came in third in the Women's Open Kumite. Ella also represented New Zealand at the World Karate Federation Junior World Championships, where she placed 13th in the world for U21 +68kg Kumite, and represented New Zealand at the 2023 Oceania Championships, placing second in the U21 +68kg Kumite and third in the Senior Women's Kumite +68kg. |
Emily Hargreaves, Netball |
Emily was selected for the Mainland Netball Team to compete in the National Netball League. She is a member of the Lincoln University Netball A Team and the Christchurch Netball Centre Black Team, which competed in the NNZ Open Champs. In addition, she was selected to be part of the basketball team representing Lincoln at the University Games. |
George Bell-Rugby |
George was the captain of the LU rugby team, which competed at the NZ Universities competition. He is also a member of the Crusaders and the Canterbury A team. |
Hannah King, Rugby
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Hannah represented Canterbury in the Farah Palmer Cup for 2023 and New Zealand in the Sevens Women’s Team at the NZ University Competitions. |
Harrison Dakin, Rugby |
Harrison was a member of the NZ Universities Rugby Team on its 2023 Japan Tour. |
Jackson Rogers, Athletics |
In 2023, Jackson ran for New Zealand in the Oceania Relays, where they placed second in the 4x100m and third in the 4x400m. Jackson also won gold at the NZ Champs for Otago in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. |
Jamie Hannah, Rugby | Jamie represented New Zealand as part of the U20s side and has represented Canterbury in various rugby competitions, including the Canterbury A and Crusaders teams. |
Jarred Burnett-Basketball |
Jarred is a member of the 3x3 men's basketball team, which will be travelling to Taiwan later this year to compete in the International University Tournament. In addition, he is a member of the Canterbury Rams NZ NBL team and the U23 Canterbury team, which competes in the national competition. |
Jasmine Donald-Football |
Jasmine has played for the Senior Women's Canterbury United Pride side in the National Football League for the past five years, as well as being a member of the NZ Snr M?ori team since 2019. In 2023, she captained the side in Australia. In addition, she was part of the Women's South Island Premier League for the winter season for the University Club side. | Joe Brial, Rugby | Joe represented New Zealand in the U20 NZ team and was a member of the Canterbury NPC team. Joe has been part of the Crusaders Academy since 2020 and has recently been signed to the Queensland Rugby Union, where he will be playing for the Queensland Reds. |
Johnny Lee: Rugby |
Johnny is a member of the Crusaders U20 Team, the Canterbury U19 Team, and has represented New Zealand in the NZ Universities Competition. Johnny received the Dennis Young U19 Player of the Year for 2022 at the Canterbury Rugby Awards. |
Jordie Plunkett, Hockey |
Jordie represented Canterbury as part of the Canterbury NHC Women’s Hockey A Team and was selected for the Canterbury Women's A Team to play in the National Hockey Championship in Whangarei. She helped her club team, High School Old Boys, place third in the Canterbury Premier Women's League, where she was also the third-top goal scorer with 10 goals for the season. |
Kate Herman basketball |
Kate was a member of the Canterbury Basketball Team, which won the U19 Nationals tournament, and was also a member of the Junior Tall Ferns team, which represented New Zealand in the Asia Cup held in India. She is also a member of the Lincoln University 3x3 Female Basketball Team.
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Katie Hollands, Lacrosse |
In 2023, Katie will have participated in lacrosse at the club level, university level, regional level, and national level. She is a member of the UC Premier Lacrosse Team, which placed second at the University Nationals competition. Katie was an U18 NZ representative as well as an U20 NZ squad member. |
Lauryn Hippolite: Basketball |
Lauryn is a dual-code New Zealand representative in 3x3 and 5x5 basketball in 2023. She is also the captain of the Mainland Pouakai (women’s professional NBL team) and an All-Star 5 in the Canterbury Women’s Premier League 2023 (Lincoln University 5x5 club team). In addition, Lauryn is a member of the Lincoln University 3x3 Female Basketball Team. |
Maddy Timms-Basketball |
Maddy is a Mainland Pouakai Development Player and has participated in the Taiwan BLIA Cup Tournament. She is also a member of the Lincoln University 5x5 basketball team.
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Mason Allison, Rugby |
Mason represented Canterbury on the U19 team and was a member of the Rams 2023 team. He was also a member of the NZ University men’s team, which toured Japan. |
Matt Boyle, Cricket |
Matt is a member of the U19 NZ Cricket Team and was selected for the NZ Men’s Development Team. He represented Canterbury in the U19’s Canterbury Cricket Team and holds a domestic contract with Canterbury Cricket |
Matthew Oxenham wrestling, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu |
Matt has represented New Zealand as part of the NZ team for wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, was awarded the top competitor of the tournament at the National Champion Wrestling Championship, and is the South Island Wrestling Champion. Matt was also the National Champion for Jiu Jitsu (blue belt division) and the Southern Regional Champ for Jiu Jitsu. He is also a New Zealand wrestling athlete liaison. |
Molly Loe, Cricket |
Molly is a member of the Otago Sparks Cricket Team as well as the NZ U19 Team in 2022 and 23. She was an NZ Invitational A in 2021 and 22, and has been an Otago Cricket age group representative in the U18, U19, and U21 sides. Molly was also the Otago Sparks Rising Star of the Year for 2020–21 and 2021–2022.
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Rosalia Samia basketball |
Rosalia was a member of the Lincoln 3x3 Tournament Team in 2023, where they placed 2nd at the Oceania Championships, qualifying for the 3x3 Basketball World Tertiary Champs. She is also a member of the Mainland Pouakai Women’s Basketball Team, the Lincoln University 5x5 Team, and has represented New Zealand on the U23 3x3 Basketball Team.
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Simon Lafaele-Basketball |
Simon is a member of the Manawatu Jets and the 3x3 LU Basketball Team, which will be representing Lincoln University in the International University Tournament later this year. |
Taiana Day: Netball and Basketball |
Taiana was selected as a member of the Mainland Netball Team to compete in the National Netball League as well as the NZ U21 squad, and she is a Tactix Training partner. She is a member of the NZ U21 squad for the 2025 World Cup in Spain and is on the Tall Ferns 3x3 basketball team. |
Tim Seeto-Hockey |
Tim is a member of the Canterbury Cavaliers men's senior hockey team. |
Natalie Foss, Clay Target Shooting |
Natalie has achieved outstanding results and placed in the first three in a range of competitions, both locally and regionally. Amongst her many other accolades in 2023, she was selected for the Junior Mixed Team competing at the World Championships and was nominated for the Taranaki Junior Sports Women of the Year. |
Moses McGoon, Rugby |
Moses is a member of the Crusaders U20 team, the Cantabrians U19 team, and the Tasman U19 team.
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Zak Foulkes: Cricket |
Zak has represented Canterbury in the U19 Cricket Team as well as the Canterbury Men’s A Team. He currently plays for the Canterbury Kings in the Domestic Cricket Competition. | ||