LIVE: Nelson Sports and Recreation awards

10:02pm: And that concludes our coverage of the 2023 Nelson Sports and Recreation awards. Thank you for joining the NelsonApp for our coverage. Additional reporting by Anton Meyer.

10:00pm: Rounding out a massive night of awards, Finn Fisher-Black is back in the spotlight having won the 2023 NZCT Sportsperson of the Year.

While Finn was not present for the awards, he provided a brief video speaking to the honour of receiving the most prestigious award from the night.

"I'm especially happy to edge out my sister. I won't let her forget about this one."

In attendance to receive the award was Niamh and Finn's father, Jim Black.

He says it's a special night for the family, "where it all started".

While he says they will always compete to one-up the other, that sibling rivalry has also been a part of their success.

"They inspire each other, push each other and see what they can achieve through each other."

The award nominees are anyone who had received an award throughout the night.

Last year’s winner was adventure racer Nathan Fa’avae.

9:57pm: It was an all-sibling affair for Sports man and woman of the year as Finn Fisher-Black has been awarded the GoldenEdge Sportsman of the Year for 2023. The award comes after a stellar year on the UCI World Cycling Tour, where he claimed his first professional victory by winning the opening stage of the Giro di Sicilia in April 2023.

Finn also won the best young rider jersey in the same race after coming in 8th place on the final stage.

In September, he finished second on the 16th stage of the Le Vuelta a Espana, coming in 43 seconds behind the winner.

Finn was not present for the awards night due to his ongoing commitments.

9:55pm:

Niamh Fisher-Black has been awarded the Bowater Toyota Sportswoman of the Year for her services to road cycling. After winning the U23 World Championship last season, Niamh continued where she left off with another year of consistent results.

Riding for the SD Worx World Team, Niamh scored her first World Tour stage victory in June,  helping her team to the individual and team honours. She also finished first in the best young rider category and fifth in the points classification.

Niamh was not present to receive the award due to her ongoing commitments in Europe.

"Sorry I can't be there tonight, I'm still currently in Spain," she says in a video message.

"It's a real honour.

"I had so many opportunties growing up as a young athlete.

"There's so many people, probably in this room, that I need to thank."

9:45pm: The Bowl Nelson Ladies Senior Team are the Nelson App Sports Team of the Year for 2023.

After a successful season which included a first place at the National Intercentre Competition, beating 27 other zones, the team has also seen a wealth of success in the regional scene.

The win was made extra special by team member Colleen Earl, who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

She was meant to receive the award tonight but was too unwell to attend, with Dave Edwards saying it was incredible to watch her play despite her condition.

"We had a motto, #forcoll."

Regionally, the team also took first place in the Higgins’s Shield Zone, first in the Super Sixes South Island Tournament and first in the Ann Burn Trophy.

9:30pm: Rebecca Brosnan has been named the 2023 Rutherford Hotel Coach of the Year for her services to underwater hockey.

Rebecca’s involvement with the sport spans over three decades, making her playing debut with the New Zealand team in 1991, retiring as one of the country’s most capped female players.

In more recent years, Rebecca has transitioned out of the pool and into coaching, where she has also found a wealth of success.

While she still gets in the water, having played a few games for the New Zealand women’s masters team earlier this year, it was in between her commitments as co-coach of the New Zealand elite women’s team who finished fifth at the Elite Women’s grade.

She is also the co-coach of the Nelson Girls College Senior A team that came second at nationals, where she won the Top Coach Award.

Rebecca was also involved with the Trans-Tasman U19 Development Competition, coaching the three teams who finished first, second and third.

8:56pm: There is another break in proceedings as guest speaker George Glover is interviewed. George made news earlier this year when he raised over $60,000 for IAMHOPE by swimming a total of 300km in Lake Rotoiti.

8:45pm: Nelson Legends of Sport have two new inductees, Olympic pair Rod Dixon and Jeff Rackley.

It was a surprise for the pair, with each in attendance thinking the other was going to be receiving the award only for them to find that they were both being inducted.

Rod Dixon was one of just three medals New Zealand returned with from the 1972 Olympic games in Munich, winning bronze in the 1500 metres with a time of 3:37.5. It was was a run that also broke Peter Snell’s New Zealand record. He also attended the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games and won the 1983 New York Marathon.

Jeff fought in 100-odd amateur fights and seven professional bouts. He won the Jameson Belt three times for being the most “scientific” boxer at the national championships and fought in the last 15 round professional fight in the country, a fight he won.

At 22 he represented New Zealand at the Munich Olympic games, but faced a West German bronze medalist from the 1968 games and was bundled out in the first round.

The pair have been enshrined in Nelson’s sporting history and the award tonight is just further recognition of the special feat the two men accomplished.

In a time where the country sent half as many athletes to the Olympic games as they do today, Jeff and Rod were the main attraction at the 12,000 strong parade to welcome them back home.

Jeff was visibility emotional as he received his award, wiping away tears as he received a standing ovation from the crowd.

His daughter, Nikki Rackley, says the family is blown away my the honour.

"The first father and son to be awarded the honour, it's pretty special.

"Surely (the award) will be front and centre of mum and dad's place."

Jeff says he was "blown away" to receive the award.

"I appreciate the acknowledgement that I've give given by so many people. I'm a bit speechless."

Rod says it was a complete surprise when he was called up to the stage to receive an award of his own.

Having been asked to speak about Jeff's induction he knew there was something special happening but this was above and beyond.

"Next thing they had started on me.

"I've had a few surprises in my life and I think my heart rate went way off the scale."

He says the award brought back a flood of memories of his times growing up in the region.

"I'm very emotional because this is my hometown, this is where it started.

"I remember in Marahau, that's where we used to run every Sunday. . . my mother, she'd make me banana and rice in a little bag. . . you have to remember this was a time before all those gels and stuff."

8:10pm: There is a break in proceeding as dinner is served.

7:29pm: Whenua Iti Outdoors have been awarded the 2023 Rata Foundation Diversity & Inclusion Award.

Delivering experiential learning programmes that empower positive change in individuals and communities, the group has created opportunities for young people with physical disabilities in our community to be able to access our programmes.

In December 2022 Whenua Iti Outdoors partnered with the Halberg Foundation and Sport New Zealand to develop a project which was so successful they were invited to present their findings at the international Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity in June 2023 at the University of Otago, Dunedin, as well as to Sport New Zealand.

7:22pm: Barney Aupa’au has been awarded the 2023 NBS Community Impact Award for his work with ‘Me vs Me’.

The community project-group that focuses on mental health and wellbeing through cold water immersion, empowering each other one cold dip at a time.

The Me Vs Me group meet every day, even through the winter, for a dip in Tāhunanui Beach, with a massive positive impact on the community.

With crowds of up to 80 people taking the dive, the programme has since expanded with groups now in Christchurch, Wellington and Gisborne.

Barney says it's been really cool to see his project, standing for Mental Exhaustion vs Mental Elevation.

"For me it's just planting those seeds.

"I put it out there and the first day I had six people. And just the other day, we had 85 people turn up."

7:17pm: And the winner of the Tasman Pine Forests Junior Sports Team of the Year are the Nelson U17 Boys Basketball Team. The team won 1st place at this year's Aon Under 17 Nationals.

7:12pm: In part due to a fantastic season in the Women’s Southern League, Katie Pugh has been awarded the Johnston Associates Emerging Talent Award for 2023.

On top of scoring a 94th minute goal to win 1-0 for the New Zealand U16 Women in the final of the Oceania Football Confederation’s qualifying tournament to the 2024 World Cup, Katie scored in every game of the tournament.

At just 14 years old, she was also selected for Canterbury’s Pride Youth team in the National League Youth Women’s competition for 2023.

Harry Pugh has been awarded the CNX Emerging Talent award. The  17 year old tennis player, has found national success, as a U18 Boys - double winner at the J200 New South Wales Junior International Tennis, as well as a doubles and singles winner at the J30 Darwin Junior International.

Harry also claims single runner up at the J100 Veracruz International JR Cup in Mexico and couple runner up at the ITF J300 Junior Tennis in the past 12 months.

Regionally he’s dominated the AON New Zealand Master Finals and can call himself the Singles Top Eight Finals Winner. He also is the J3 U18 Boys doubles Winner.

Both award winners expressed their surprise at winning the awards, saying it was tough to envision winning against such a strong cast of peers.

"It's incredible to get that, the sports people in the line up were incredible," says Katie.

Harry flew up to Nelson from Christchurch for the awards night. He is currently playing in the New Zealand National tournament.

"I have three pro tournaments in December in New Zealand and I'm off to Australia for the Open Juniors next year."

Note: Harry and Katie are not related, despite sharing same the last name.

7:03pm: The first contestable awards to be presented this evening are the emerging talent awards.

7:01pm: Heather Bryant, Gary Hinks, Elaine Hemi, Keith Richardson, and Noah Hosie have been recognised with Lifetime Achievement Sports awards.

Heather has been a long-term supporter of local hockey, having been the chairperson for the Hockey Nelson Board from 2016 through to 2022 and an association member for the last 23 years. She is also a local masters hockey representative.

Gary has been a long term supporter of the Nelson Suburbs Football Club, having played for the club in the 1970s, he held various administration roles from 1970 to 1990, and was the president of the Nelson Football Association in 1993. In 2023 he was awarded a life membership.

Elaine Hemi is the president of Bowls Nelson, having served on the board since 2000. She has been on the United Bowling Club's executive since 1992 and in 2015 was presented with a life membership. Elaine is also a life member of the Nelson Basketball Association and and has has also been heavily involved in local hockey.

Keith has been a long-time supporter of local mountain biking, having been part of the scene for over five decades. Adding to his work building and maintaining trials, advocating for the sport, working with youth development programs and repairing everything from trailers to signs, he was also awarded the Sport Tasman Good Sort Award in 2020.

6:30pm: Join the Nelson App’s LIVE coverage as the Nelson and Tasman regions come together to celebrate the wide range of successes our local sportspeople have achieved across the last 12 months. Kicking off from approximately 6:30pm, there are a number of awards up for grabs across the night as we look back on another busy year