University awards prove FMHS students are good sports

Waka Ama Sportsperson of the Year – Billie-Lee Haresnape (winner)

When the announcers described the winner as an “absolute freak”, many of Billie’s fellow team members knew instantly that they were referring to her. In preparation for the Great Waka Ama Race, Billie was a leader—both in the team’s running training and in setting the pace for the boat. Billie’s constant intensity never wavered and for this, she was recognised as the Waka Ama Sportsperson of the Year.

Volleyball Sportsperson of the Year – Talia Davies (runner-up)

Talia has been a valued member of the FMHS Sea Bass over the past few years, bringing her hitting power and finesse to interfaculty volleyball. In both the interfaculty and tertiary tournaments, it was clear to see that she was one of the best athletes on display and automatically put her team in contention to win.

Interfaculty Team of the Year – FMHS Waka Ama Team (winner)

The Interfaculty Team of the Year is awarded to a team that has shown great team work, trained hard, been great sportspeople and achieved high results. Beginning about 4 or 5 months before their competition date, the FMHS Waka Ama Team trained more than any of the other teams that were nominated for this award.

They had an awesome culture within the team, committed to achieving their ultimate goal despite being less experienced than some of the other teams and considered by many as the underdogs. Their combination of commitment to training, focus on their goal and eventual success in competition made them the interfaculty team of the year for 2019.

Interfaculty Manager of the Year – Loukas Banks (winner)

Behind every successful team is someone driving the ship—in this case, it was Loukas going above and beyond what was expected in order to succeed. Throughout 2019, Loukas has shown excellence in communicating with both staff and their team. Loukas printed and placed flyers all over the University to recruit keen students, communicated efficiently with staff and worked alongside the coach to organise as many trainings as possible. He was polite, timely and able to efficiently organise the FMHS Waka Ama team, who went to Hawaii to represent the University.

Interfaculty Supporter of the Year – David-Joel Henry (runner-up)

This prize is awarded each year to an individual who has shown great commitment to supporting their faculty. Even though David may not be the loudest on the side-line, he is always there as an enthusiastic and positive spectator. He has continually supported the FMHS Sea Bass in this year’s interfaculty sports tournament by managing, playing, spectating and volunteering—to the extent that it’s hard to imagine a Sea Bass game without him there!