This recent Saturday saw the hosting of the annual University of Canterbury Blues Awards. The evening was a very elegant event celebrating sports and cultural achievements from around the uni in 2024. BWCUCC was recognised on multiple occasions throughout the night, for a variety of different recognition awards in many categories.

The Burnside premier side was a recipient of a team recognition award and a nominated finalist for 2024 UC premier team of the year, after their double in the one day and two-day competition, a feat that hasn’t been achieved in the club for nearly 40 years. The side finished in the top 3 for the award as the 3×3 basketball team took home the title after winning the Oceania competition.

Premier coach Carl Huyser received a recognition award for his coaching skills and accomplishments throughout 2023/24, leading the premier side to their double title season.

Oscar Jackson, from Burnside premiership also received a recognition award as a high-performance athlete after captaining the NZ U19 side at the U19 cricket world cup in South Africa.

Both Nicola Clayton and Izzy Sharp received recognition awards from NW Women’s Cricket.

The night concluded with the highest honor of sportsperson of the year award, in which a nominee was our very own Will O’Rourke. Blackcap number 286 has had an outstanding year representing our nation at the highest level and showed up by repeatedly delivering on the big stage. William deservedly won sportsperson of the year and Burnside couldn’t be prouder.

As well as the awards received, guest speaker Emma Twig was an important part of the evening, where those that attended were able to take away some valuable lessons from her Olympic experiences and the long, hard journey to get there.  

UC showed us a wonderful evening yet again, with food, fun and some valuable insights. A very proud night to be a member of BWCUCC, taking home numerous honors, from both individual awards and to be recognised as one of the universities elite premier sides.