Matthew Clough – Outstanding Senior Sportsperson. Photo supplied.A world champion, an unbeaten season on the football field and a rising tennis star were just some of the highlights from winners at this year’s Mid Canterbury Sports Awards.

Success, achievements and excellence filled the nomination list for the 2020 edition of the awards, which were shifted to online due to Covid-19 restrictions, but in conjunction with Sport Canterbury the recognition deserved by those nominated was still given.

The awards were announced live on social media during the week and it was rising multisport star Matthew Clough who took home the major title of the awards – the Mid Canterbury Senior Sportsperson.

Clough’s victory in the World Under 20 Cross Tri Championship was the highlight of his list of achievements over the past 12 months, but a broken leg stopped the former Ashburton College student from compiling an even more impressive resume.

The return from injury was almost as remarkable, with a huge effort to finish third in the 2-Day Coast to Coast.

Rising tennis star Diego-Quispe-Kim took out the title in the extremely competitive Outstanding Junior Sportsperson of the Year Award. Ranked No.1 in New Zealand for his age, he also represented New Zealand at the World Junior Teams Event in Malaysia.

Sharp shooter Shania Harrison-Lee and basketball star Sophie Adams were joint runners-up in the Junior Sportsperson category.

The Mid Canterbury United senior football side were deserved winners of the Outstanding Sports Team of the Year in the senior category. Unbeaten in competition play over the past two years, they have risen to the top of the Canterbury-wide football scene and were Division One champions in 2019.

The Ashburton College Smallbore Rifle side claimed the Outstanding Junior Sports Team title. They finished as champions ahead of 25 other schools in the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ championships. The Ashburton College A Netball side were awarded the runner-up title.

Karate featured prominently throughout the award nominations and played a role in two awards with outstanding coach, Thorsten Windhorst claiming coach of the year and Taylah Burrowes picking up the sporting all-rounder gong for her efforts on the mat and also the netball court.

The incredibly versatile Kevin Opele was awarded the Outstanding Official, Umpire or Referee title. In the 12-month period, Opele was in charge of the Division One Combined Country Rugby Final, the Watters Cup final, the Mid Canterbury Premier Netball Final and the Aoraki Rugby League Grand Final.

Jacob Gray’s efforts as a hockey official saw him awarded the Outstanding Junior Official, Umpire and Referee award following on from his achievement of umpiring two national finals last year.

Volunteers recognised as part of the awards were; Mindy Morrison (basketball), Kara Gilbert (gymnastics), Richard McLea (cricket), Alexander Tommerby-Harpoth (gymnastics), Eva Kelly (basketball) and Tessa Thompson (basketball).

Angus Jemmett won the Mid Canterbury sporting moment of the year for his century on debut in a Hawke Cup match for the Mid Canterbury Senior cricket side and Colleen Lindsay was awarded the historic Robilliard Trophy for Outstanding Services to Sport.

By Matt Markham © The Ashburton Guardian - 13 June 2020

The winners:

All Rounder Taylah Burrowes – Karate / Netball

Junior Official: Jacob Gray – Hockey

Senior Official: Kevin Opele – Rugby/ Rugby League/ Netball

Outstanding Coach: Thorsten Windhorst – Karate

Junior Sports Team:  Ashburton College Rifle Shooting Team

Runner-up: Ashburton College Netball A Team

Senior Team: Mid Canterbury United Football Team

Junior Sportsperson: Diego Quispe-Kim Tennis

Runners-up:  Sophie Adams Basketball, Shania Harrison Lee – Rifle Shooting

Senior Sportsperson Matthew Clough – Multisport

Mid Canterbury Sporting Moment – Angus Jemmett – Cricket (Century on debut in Hawke Cup)

Robilliard Trophy – Outstanding services to Sport: Colleen Lindsay – Basketball

Rising cricket star Angus Jemmett. Photo supplied.Within the pile of nominations received each year for the Mid Canterbury Sports Awards, there are countless incredible achievements recorded.

There are those which turned a sporting fixture on its head and led to success, then there are those individual performances which shone in a vast array of circumstances.

That one single achievement might not be enough to get someone over the line for one of the major prizes of the awards, but it is enough to see them worthy of recognition for their efforts.

The Mid Canterbury Sporting Moment of the Year is this year being awarded for the second time, and the 2020 recipient fits the bill perfectly.

A story of a 16-year-old making his debut in one of New Zealand’s most prolific sporting trophies, the Hawke Cup, is significant within itself but for Mid Canterbury cricketer, Angus Jemmett it goes so much further.

Despite his age and lack of experience playing at the most elite of levels in regional cricket in this country, Jemmett made the moment his own.

Opening for Mid Canterbury and facing a talented and experienced Otago Country bowling attack, Jemmett kept his eye on the prize, playing beyond his years and notched an impressive century on debut to put his side in a strong position at the end of the first innings.

And it was that effort, against so many odds that makes Jemmett a worthy recipient of Mid Canterbury’s Sporting Moment of the Year.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 12 June 2020

Principal Ross Preece. Photo supplied.Principals nationwide have been voicing their frustrations at the poor roll-out of the Government’s $87 million plan to provide IT equipment to children during lockdown, and a local high school had similar issues.

Ashburton College principal Ross Preece said he appreciated the Government’s move to provide the IT equipment that helped to bridge a big equity gap among students, but was frustrated at how it worked out in the end.

“We put in a request to the ministry (of education) two weeks into Level 4 for 110 students who did not have suitable devices to support online learning,” he said.

“They arrived on the last Friday that we were in Level 3.”

Preece said the way that the computers arrived they would have required set-up at the school first with the students before they could even be taken home to be used for online learning.

The school also had 12 families that did not have internet access at home, but the school was sent more than 12 modems to get them connected online.

“We had over 12 modems arrive so we have mixed and matched them a bit,” he said.

“We are grateful for the support from the Government but the reality is if we were still at Level 3 they would still be sitting in the boxes at the school.

“We are grateful they were doing something though as it is an equity issue.

“Of the 110 students that didn’t have devices, the majority of those were Maori or Pasifika students.”

Preece said students had been happy to get back to school post lockdown, which was reflected in attendance numbers being above 90 per cent, something he said was uncommon during the winter months.

The ministry’s chief digital officer Stuart Wakefield told the NZ Herald the Ministry of Education had sent out 23,242 computers to students who needed them and had 400 requests outstanding for the top priority group, students in Years 11 to 13 in deciles 1 to 3.

“We have further devices on order with delivery from overseas confirmed.

“We currently expect them to arrive in late June, and to be dispatched to students in early July,” he said.

“The ministry has arranged 51,710 household connections to the internet.

“We estimate that there are around 30,000 still to be arranged and we expect to arrange these by June 30.”

He acknowledged that “we didn’t always get it right”, but said nothing would be wasted.

“Modems not required can be returned and reallocated. If in cases the modem/router wasn’t required, it won’t be wasted – either another household will use it or we will return it,” he said.

By Jaime Pitt-MacKay © The Ashburton Guardian - 12 June 2020