Veronica Wall, pictured in action on the water last year, took out the major award. Photo supplied.A legend was unveiled, and sporting stars crowned at the Mid Canterbury Sports Awards last night at the Hotel Ashburton.

A good crowd turned up for the Sport Mid Canterbury evening, with the sports of rowing and shooting featuring prominently throughout the night’s proceedings.

Rowing superstar, Veronica Wall emerged on top of a hotly contested Senior Sportsperson of the Year award, fending off the strong challenges of John Snowden, Lucinda Askin and Devaun Thompson to claim the prize – a year after winning the Junior Sportsperson of the Year Award.

Wall’s meteoric rise in rowing continued over the past 12 months, including more Maadi Cup success with her dominant display in the single sculls culminating in her rowing the fastest time in a single sculls race in the world – and her selection into a national side, a sure-fire stepping stone toward the elite team in the future.

Young shooting prodigy, Lanelle Millar McArthur was awarded the title of Junior Sportsperson of the Year for an incredible 12 months staring down the barrel.

Millar McArthur has been in devastating form in the past year winning not just age group events, but also open events against both men and women to see her sitting right up the top of the tree in terms of her ability across the country.

The Junior title was a tight-knit affair with runner-up prizes given to rowing’s Mollie Gibson for her outstanding season on the water and multisport star Matthew Clough.

Rowing took out the Junior Sports Team of the Year award with the Ashburton College Girls’ Coxed Quadruple Sculls of Wall, Gibson, Lara Biggs, Emma Stagg and Harriet Leverton taking home the trophy.

Although Wall was entered in the senior category, she was allowed to be a part of the junior sports team award due to the fact she was competing as part of a school team.

The Methven Men’s Fours Bowls team won the Senior Sports Team of the Year for their effort of getting through to the national final.

Shooting’s Steve McArthur took a tight race for Coach of the Year while Jacob Gray and Kevin Opele took home the respective Official of the Year Awards.

Matthew Clough and Brea Roderick won the Sporting All rounder titles for their efforts in multisport events.

The Special Olympics Swimming team went home with awards too as the winners of the Athlete’s With A Disability division, the team comprised of Emma Woods, Trevor Nish, Peter Testa.

A new category this year was the Masters Award for achievement in Masters events.

Croquet’s Sue Lamb, a South Island and New Zealand champion took out the award.

Michael Baker, Daniel Baker, Erin Connelly-Whyte, Helen Harnett, Rachel Law and Sally Rhodes were all recognised for their efforts as volunteers.

One of the real highlights of the night was the induction of former national hockey player, Stacey McKircher (nee Carr) as a Mid Canterbury sporting legend for her services to the region through her time at the top level of her sport.

Sport Mid Canterbury’s Jan Cochrane said that the idea to introduce the Legends Awards, which saw a banner unveiled was an easy one.

“It’s a nice way to recognise those who have been hugely successful and done this region proud,” she said.

The other major award for the night, the coveted Robilliard Trophy was awarded to Phil Crozier for his years of service and dedication to the sport of tennis in Mid Canterbury.

An active senior A Grade player still, Crozier has given plenty of his time over the years to the continued growth of the sport and the judging panel was unanimous in their decision to make him the 2018 recipient.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 14 May 2018

Ashburton Technical High School domestic and commercial pupils from 1945 meet up regularly in Ashburton. They include (from left) Velma Langdon, Rosa Bennett, Doreen Stalker, Betty Wilson, Nicky Dunn, Molly Amos and Wilma Wolfreys. Photo Susan SandysSchool memories from long ago are recalled regularly by a group of old friends who meet up each month.

They hark back to the days when boys were taught masculine occupations such as agriculture and trades, and girls learned about domestic tasks and office work.

The group members attended the Ashburton Technical High School, starting in 1945 when they were about 13.

One of the highlights they like to recall is the day World War Two ended.

Doreen Stalker remembers being in the commercial class, which was for those learning shorthand and typing, taught by Miss Parkin.

“It came over the loud speaker that the war had finished, and everybody yelled and clapped, and Miss Parkin said ‘Girls, girls, behave yourselves please’,” Stalker said.

The news had particularly come as a relief to those who had older brothers, cousins and other family members fighting overseas.

It also marked the end of the female pupils’ in-school war effort, of knitting items such as scarves and balaclavas for soldiers.

As well as recalling the rewarding task of knitting, group members remember the more unusual task they had one day of making bloomers.

The directive had come from their teacher in dressmaking class.

She had been an older lady with proper tastes, and had sourced black Italian cloth for the assignment, which was the first of the year.

But despite the teacher’s best intentions, many of the bloomers did not end up being the girls’ favourite wardrobe item.

“Mine were so big that my mum used them for a lining for my brother’s trousers,” said one of the group members.

Assignment tasks were to improve, and Langdon remembers making a nice dress that she was able to wear on outings. While she had revelled in dressmaking class, learning many skills which she has used throughout her life, she had not really enjoyed cooking class, where students had to wear small caps, and a headband with their name on it.

However, her highlights of being at the school included having apples provided each morning tea, as well as a bottle of pasteurised milk.

Assemblies were at 9am each day, in the school hall, which still stands today as the Balmoral Hall. The teachers and principal, Mr Crawford, would sit on the stage, and a student played the piano and a hymn was sung.

It was one of the few times that girls and boys were in the same room, the rest of the time it was a divided school, with boys undertaking their classes in one area and girls in another.

Girls attending the school were separated into those studying domestic, which was for cooking and sewing, and commercial.

For boys, they got to choose between agriculture or trades.

Boys and girls would also join together about twice each year for a school social.

In keeping with the times, the dress code at the school was strict.

Panama hats had to always be worn going to and from school, and they were put on a peg in the corridor for the day.

Stalker recalled that one day she and her friends took their hats off, as they hated wearing them.

“And the head prefect came around the corner, we had to put them back on quick smart,” she said.

Langdon said the group had been meeting for about 18 years, during which time she had only missed two of the gatherings.

“And I treasure it, and I’m sure everyone else does, I think it’s something very special,” she said.

By Susan Sandys © The Ashburton Guardian - 10 May 2018

Recycling sculptor Stuart Mitchell with his Lest We Forget work and his trophy from the recent sculpture festival. Photo supplied.Metal sculptor Stuart Mitchell has been recognised with an award at his first sculpture festival.

The Ashburton butcher won the best small sculpture section at the Kimbolton Sculpture Festival with his impressive Anzac soldier piece, Lest We Forget.

Crafted from recycled metal materials given to him, or foraged at car boot and other sales, the sculpture features the head and shoulders of a solemn and contemplative uniformed soldier.

A Ford diff cover was used for the soldier’s helmet.

The shoulders and neck have been crafted from old army munition tins.

The face is made mostly from a lawn mower disc and the chin from an old steel toe cap.

Mr Mitchell said he was delighted with the recognition his work had received at the festival.

He had been invited to the festival after organisers spotted an article on him in The Ashburton Courier.

“I went up to the festival not knowing what to expect, but to come away with a prize and plenty of positive comments is very satisfying.

“It shows that I’m on track with my ideas and what I’m doing and it inspires me to push the boundaries further.”

He also entered his Hare on the Run sculpture in the creative section and a large horse’s head in the NZ rural sculpture award section at the festival.

Mitchell has two commissioned horse heads to complete in the coming months and plans to display items at the Ashburton Society of Art’s Annual Exhibition, which runs throughout most of July.

His three sculptures from the Kimbolton festival will be on display at Ashburton’s Grace Gallery until the end of May. The gallery, on Dobson Street West near Smiths City, is open Wednesday to Saturday from 10am until 2pm and by appointment.

By Mick Jensen © The Ashburton Courier - 10 May 2018