Sports best honoured at NZ's Halberg Awards
05 Feb 2010
New Zealand’s top achieving sports women have been honoured in the country’s premier awards with world champion shot-putter Valerie Vili and the Evers-Swindell rowing twins taking the main prizes.
The annual Halberg Awards brings together the legends of New Zealand sport, and the black-tie event at Sky City in Auckland last night (4.02.10) honoured those who had excelled in 2009.
Retired rowing champions Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell were named Sports Champions of the Decade, and Valerie Vili took home the 2009 Supreme Halberg Award.
Rare achievement
It was Vili’s third successive supreme award, and the fourth time she has been named New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year.
The 25-year old shot-putter is the reigning world and Commonwealth champion and holds the New Zealand, Oceanian and Commonwealth records for the shot put.
Last night’s award completed a hat-trick of Halberg Awards for Vili - she’s won the supreme award in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and is the first woman to do so. Champion oarsman Rob Wardell is the only other person to have won three Supreme Halberg Awards.
Vili also now equals New Zealand board sailor Barbara Kendall’s record for women’s titles and says she feels "privileged, honoured and humbled".
Evers-Swindell twins
Caroline (now Meyer) and Georgina (now Earl) received their Champions of the Decade award to a standing ovation.
The twins back-to-back double scull gold medals at the Athens and Beijing Olympics had given them the edge over other contenders and the pair paid tribute to coach Dick Tonks, and their families and sponsors.
They said they had not rowed for recognition and had a "wonderful 15 or so years" in rowing.
The twins won the 2001 Supreme Award, and were four times Team of the Year winners - 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008.
Sportsman of the Year
Four-time world champion single sculler Mahé Drysdale was named 2009 Sportsman of the Year.
Drysdale had considered giving up rowing in 2009 after his 2008 Olympics disappointment where his performance was severely affected by gastroenteritis.
"This was a year when I wasn’t going to be rowing so it’s a bit of a bonus," he said.
He praised his rowing bosses saying he believed rowing had the best sports organisation in the country - which was reflected in the sports success at the Halberg Awards.
As well as the Evers-Swindells and Drysdale award successes, NZ Rowing coach Richard Tonks gained another coach of the year title and world champion men’s pair Eric Murray and Hamish Bond won the team of the year award.
2009 Westpac Halberg Awards list
Sportsman of the Year: Mahe Drysdale (rowing). Finalists: Scott Dixon (motor sport), Duncan Grant (rowing), Richie McCaw (rugby), Daniel Vettori (cricket)
Sportswoman of the Year: Valerie Vili (athletics). Finalists: Sophie Pascoe (swimming), Alison Shanks (cycling), Sarah Walker (BMX)
Sports team: Men's pair (rowing). Finalists: All Whites (soccer), men's lightweight double scull (rowing), women's 420 (yachting)
Coach: Richard Tonks (rowing). Finalists: Tim Carswell (cycling), Kirsten Hellier (athletics), Ricki Herbert (soccer).
Emerging Talent Award: Sam Webster (cycling). Finalists: Aaron Cruden (rugby), Sam Meech (sailing), Robbie Manson (rowing).
Champion of the Decade: Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell (rowing). Finalists: Rob Waddell (2000), Tall Blacks (2002), Silver Ferns (2003), Sarah Ulmer (2004), Michael Campbell (2005), Mahé Drysdale (2006), Valerie Vili (2007, 08 & 09)
Background: Halberg Awards
The Halberg Awards are considered New Zealand’s premier sporting awards and recognise the achievements of teams as well as individual sports men and women.
The awards originated in 1949 when Auckland businessman and sports enthusiast Jack Fairburn created the New Zealand Sportsman’s Trophy which was awarded to the New Zealand athlete "whose personal performances, or example, has had the most beneficial effect on the advancement of sport in the country".
The first recipient was cricketer Bert Sutcliffe. Fairburn was founder of ‘NZ Sportsman’ magazine and the trophy ceased to exist when the magazine stopped publication in 1960.
In 1962 NZ athlete Sir Murray Halberg was attending a sports writers’ dinner in Toronto - the proceeds of which, went to Canadian children with a disability. Halberg was so impressed and moved by the concept, he returned home and suggested to his employers, New Zealand Breweries, that a similar function be organised in New Zealand.
His suggestion became the Halberg Trust for Crippled Children, and since 1963 the Trust has organised the annual sports awards presentation dinner.
The awards dinner, broadcast live on television, traditionally rotates between New Zealand cities, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.
In 1987 the award was expanded to include Westpac Sportswomen of the year, Westpac Team of the year, SPARC Coach of the year as well as the Lion Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award and Leadership Awards.
The event was eventually renamed in Murray Halberg's honour, and the supreme award is now known as the Halberg Award.
The awards also help the Halberg Trust to raise funds, which are then used to provide opportunities for young people with disabilities to be active in sport or active leisure pursuits of their choice.
More information:
Bio - Valerie Vili
Evers-Swindell twins bow out
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