Unsung Hero People’s Choice Award: Did you vote?

Every year at the Southland Sports Awards, the Southland Times People’s Choice Awards are distributed.

This year too, it will be titled the Unsung Hero Award and will be voted on by the general public.

This award is designed to honor the tireless people who have given the sport a lot and accomplished it with little fanfare.

Below are the details of this year’s finalists. Winners will be announced at the 2022 Southland Sports Awards on July 8th.

Andrea Beggs

The above and beyond terms fit well with Andrea Beggs, Sports Coordinator at Central Southland University.

Central Southland University is one of the highest sports participation rates in Southland schools, many of which can be left to Beggs’ enthusiasm and willingness to step up as needed.

Beggs has introduced a program to help keep children who are not active in school active.

Beggs has played a leading role in increasing the number of rugby teams at Central Southland University from two to nine. She also invites children from other schools (Fiordland National Park, Northern Southland University, Aparima University) to ensure they have the opportunity to play rugby.

Beggs was a key figure in hosting the January 2019 Blair Vining Pack The Park Rugby event in Winton and subsequent events. He raised a fair amount of money to help take the first XV team in Central Southland to Australia on a tour.

Beggs is currently a councilor of the Blair Vining Sports Foundation, which supports children’s sports at Central Southland University.

Sean Fitzgibbon

Shaun Fitzgibbon made his debut in Southland’s senior men’s cricket team against Otago Country in 2004 at Alexandra, and for the next 17 years, as a wicket keeper, top batter, and team captain, he used gloves a lot. I made a contribution.

He played an important leadership role within the Southland team, defeating the county with 10 wickets in 2018 to win the Hawk Cup for the first time since 1992.

Fitzgibbon stopped playing in Southland in 2020, but returned to coach the team last year after longtime coach Steve Jackson resigned.

However, Fitzgibbon is still playing at the club level of his Marist Club, above which is the Board of Directors of the Southland Cricket Association.

William Impelmans

William Impelmans, a member of the Southland Mountain Bike Club, was a short-lived but long-lasting influence on his sport.

Impelmans spent hundreds of hours volunteering on the Bluff Hill Motu Pohe Mountain Bike Track. Often alone, it was unknown to the club and his partners.

He also actively collaborated with young riders to guide and guide mountain biking experiences around Southland and Otago.

I spent many weekends shuttleting them to the top of Bluff Hill.

In 2021, Impelmans was selected as this year’s volunteer for the Southland Mountain Bike Club for his devoted work.

Tragically, 37-year-old Impelmans died in February after being seriously injured while biking at Cardrona.

Nightcaps Golf Team

Six years ago, the 100-year-old Nightcaps Golf Club faced the potential for closure with only seven play members. Fast forwarding in 2022, the club is now one of Southland’s most notable sports dynasties.

In August 2016, Nightcaps challenged Winton for a rain shield and won the championship. The story of renting a golf club land was at a time when it was struggling to play a member and gaining momentum.

Laing Shield is the supremacy of golf for male Southland players.

For six years at the club, he has held a shield to protect it 58 times, and most importantly, the talk of closing the nightcap course has subsided.

Nightcaps club captain Stu Dobbie is confident that the fairy tale Laing Shield’s tenure helped save the club.

Nightcaps play membership is now close to 40.