dsport named Supreme Award winners at 20th Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards
dsport have been named Supreme Award winners at the 2024 Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards tonight for the 2024 World Wheelchair Rugby Paralympic Qualification Tournament.
dsport inspire and enable disabled people to participate in sport and active recreation and provide opportunities for them to achieve, at whatever level they choose.
Earlier this year, in a world-first, dsport transformed an indoor artificial grass turf into an international standard hardcourt wheelchair rugby competition space at the NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS) in Trentham. Over 10 days of high stakes competition, eight teams, with nearly 90 wheelchair athletes including the NZL Wheel Blacks, vied for the last three spots for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Matt Clarke, Chief Executive of Wellington Airport says: “Choosing a Supreme Award winner was a tough job for the judges this year as usual.
“dsport showed innovation and determination to make this wheelchair rugby tournament happen, showcasing the sport and inspiring the next generation of athletes. Here at the airport we saw first hand the level of planning and detail it took to bring this amazing event together.”
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards. Over this time the awards have recognised over 1100 community organisations and their thousands of volunteers across the region.
“It’s been both humbling and a privilege to celebrate the Community Awards over the past 20 years. We’re always blown away by what the amazing people of Wellington are doing to make this city flourish,” says Matt Clarke.
Wellington Airport has also awarded six local high school students $1,000 scholarships in the annual Wellington Airport Spirit Awards. These winners demonstrate self-motivation in service to their schools and community.
2024 Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards Winners
- Supreme Award: dsport (World Wheelchair Rugby Paralympic Qualification Tournament)
- Arts and Culture: Asian Events Trust for the Wellington Lunar New Year Festival
- Education and Child/Youth Development: Te Kiwa Nui Festival (Wellington Northern Region Polyfest Trust)
- Health and Wellbeing: Kāpiti Women’s Centre
- Heritage and Environment: Wellington Severe Weather Reports
- Sport and Leisure: dsport (World Wheelchair Rugby Paralympic Qualification Tournament)
- Rising Star Award: Tū Mātau Ora
- People’s Choice Award: Mary Potter Hospice
2024 Wellington Airport Spirit Award Scholarship recipients
- Angus Galloway - Rongotai College
- Ashika Chander - St Catherine’s College
- Mevan Herath - St Patrick’s College
- Anuksa Pal - Scots College
- Mihirangi Kohatu - Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Nga Mokopuna
- Lucy Thorburn - Wellington East Girls’ College
Background on the Community Awards
Every year Wellington Airport and the five local councils come together to recognise the work carried out by community groups in the wider Wellington region. The focus of the awards is to celebrate volunteers for their valuable contribution to society. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the awards.
The awards start with Wellington’s five councils awarding volunteer organisations in their local community under the following categories: Art & Culture, Education and Child/Youth Development. Health and Wellbeing, Heritage and Environment, Sport and Leisure, plus a Rising Star Award for emerging groups.
The finalists from each region then go forward to the Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards for the overall award in their category, and the opportunity to be named Supreme Winner.
Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards 2024 Winner Citations and Videos
Art & Culture Winner - Asian Events Trust for the Wellington Lunar New Year Festival
Asian Events Trust brings the community together to deliver the Wellington Lunar New Year Festival. It provides a platform for local Asian communities to feel proud of their culture and for the wider community to experience an absolutely positively celebration of the Lunar New Year traditions. Asian Events Trust believe communities are strengthened not from what they achieve working in isolation, but by the sum of their efforts in working together.
Education & Child Youth Development winner – Te Kiwa Nui Festival (Wellington Northern Region Polyfest Trust)
Wellington Northern Region Polyfest Trust work alongside schools in the Porirua region to create the Te Kiwa Nui festival. For over 50 years their events have celebrated the indigenous languages and cultures of the Pacific through oratory, song, and dance. This year around 2000 students were supported by over 100 volunteers providing tutoring and cultural, design, costuming and backstage support. Confident and empowered Māori and Pacific youth thrive with the cultural knowledge to lead in their own respective communities and beyond.
tekiwanui.nz
Health & Wellbeing winner and Supreme Award – Kāpiti Women’s Centre
The Kāpiti Women’s Centre is a feminist organisation promoting the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of women and their children through their accessible information centre. They empower women by providing convenient access to multiple resources in one safe and supportive location. This wrap-around support includes programmes, workshops, free counselling, Women’s Refuge, free high-quality clothing and kai from Kaibosh.
Heritage & Environment category winner – Wellington Severe Weather Reports
Wellington Severe Weather Reports started in July 2017 with crowdfunding by the community and local businesses to build a state-of-the-art weather station in Upper Hutt. Opening in 2024, the station measures rain, humidity, barometric pressure, temperature, solar, radiation and an ultra-sonic wind sensor. A website including a live stream feed and public display screen by St Joseph's Primary School provide the latest up to date information for the public, plus education for Upper Hutt children today and for years to come.
wswr.co.nz
Rising Star Award winner – Tū Mātau Ora
Tū Mātau Ora share taonga tākaro (traditional Māori games) as a fun safe way to engage in Māori customs and culture. This kaupapa includes the use of te reo, tikanga, mātauranga, uara and āria Māori. They have advocated for Māori play spaces including the creation and activation of the Pukehuia Park Kī o Rahi in Newlands. They have provided opportunities for more than 20,000 people of all ages to experience te ao Māori through taonga tākaro since they started.
People’s Choice Award winner – Mary Potter Hospice
Mary Potter Hospice is a local charity that provides free-of-charge specialist palliative care services for people living with life-limiting illnesses and their families/whānau across the Wellington, Porirua and Kāpiti communities. The Hospice will be there with qualified caring nurses, doctors, occupational therapists, social workers, counsellors, art therapists and spiritual carers as needed. Mary Potter Hospice was founded on the belief that everyone should be able to live and die well, regardless of their financial situation, religion or ethnicity.
marypotter.org.nz
2024 Wild at Heart Spirit Award Scholarship recipients:
Angus Galloway - Rongotai College
Angus is a steadfast and reliable student leader from Rongotai College, serving in the prefect team, as lead member of Makerspace and a big contributor to the music programme. He has been part of the schools’ Enviro Club on a mission to create change in our community and a more sustainable future. He has helped develop the schools’ recycling programme and construction of a school garden and greenhouse. Angus is a senior leader of the Interact service club volunteering for the benefit of the community. Angus has been a youth representative for Rongotai College at the WLG Community & Environment Trust reporting roundtable session.
Ashika Chander - St Catherine’s College
Ashika is an engaged student leader of St Catherine’s College in the role of Community co-captain and member of the Mercy Crew and Environment Committee. She organises the weekly Community Breakfast and community activities and fundraisers. A member of the Wellington City Youth Council she was involved in writing a long-term plan submission on respecting Te Ao Māori as a city, and she led on a mock submission project to shine a light on Unhealthy Homes and their role in childhood respiratory diseases. Ashika is very active in her cultural community through the Devbhoomi Association of New Zealand and the Wellington Indian Association, supporting events and embracing cultural opportunities.
Mevan Herath - St Patrick’s College
Mevan is a dedicated student leader from St Patrick’s College in the role of Manu Taupua, a member of the Service Committee and academic tutor. In addition to his strong academic performance, Mevan is a talented musician and competed in the schools’ winning O’Shea Shield public speaking team and was awarded Proxime Accessit. Mevan is described as a service oriented, reliable contributor to his school and community. He is always there working behind the scenes at events and fundraisers whether is designing posters, playing music or selling sausages on the barbeque. He volunteers visiting rest homes and for community groups including St Vincent de Paul in the weekends.
Anuksa Pal - Scots College
Anuksa is a caring, community focused student leader from Scots College, holding the role of Service Prefect. She is a volunteer sports coach and tutors students at Lyall Bay School. Anuksa contributed over 500 hours volunteering for the community in a wide variety of ways that demonstrate her determination to make life better for people. This includes tree-planting, helping at the Soup Kitchen, baking for the homeless, supporting the companionship programmes at Rita Angus Retirement Village and writing letters for those who need a pick me up through the Letters against Isolation programme. Anuska also serves as a youth representative on the Seatoun Church Board.
Mihirangi Kohatu - Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Nga Mokopuna
Mihirangi is an energetic student leader and role model at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Nga Mokopuna balancing excellence in academic work and commitment to service and leadership. Mihirangi attained her PADI Open Water Diver Certificate to enable her to work alongside Mountains to Sea Wellington in the Love Rimurimu project. She has been involved in the kura’s seaweed plant-outs at the community site in Te Motu Kairangi. Mihirangi is a Te Aho o Whātonga Kapa Haka team member, guitarist for Mana Kuratahi, Evolve Youth Advisory group member and represented the kura at the Regional Senior Ngā Manu Kōrero speeches.
Lucy Thorburn - Wellington East Girls College
Lucy is a positive student leader from Wellington East Girls’ College who inspires others to get involved with enthusiasm and genuine passion. Through her role as an Enviro Club leader she was deeply involved in instigating and collaborating on a project to develop and ecologically restore a walking and biking track from Mt Victoria to the college to support active transport for the school and wider community. She has secured other opportunities for students to champion active transport including free bike lessons.
