Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Blakiston and Karwowski Take Wins
Saturday, July 17th, 2010Movie Night – Fundraiser for Jamie Kidd
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 MOVIE NIGHT: Thursday
29th July 6:30pm. Killers – An action comedy starring Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher Fundraiser to help Jamie Kidd to the 2010 UCI Para Cycling Road World Championships in
Baie-Comeau, Canada
Price: $15.00
Winter Season Opens
Monday, July 12th, 2010Clark Wins Curtis Piper Memorial 4 Stage
Saturday, March 6th, 2010Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Rowing, cycling dominate
Two sports continue to scoop top awards
By DAVID DAWKINS – The Marlborough Express
Rowing and cycling continued their remarkable dominance of the awards at last night’s Marlborough Express Blenheim Round Table Sportsperson of the Year awards dinner.
While Wairau rower Duncan Grant took home the night’s major award as Marlborough Sportsperson of the Year for 2009, track cyclist Cameron Karwowski was named the Blenheim Round Table Most Promising Under-21 Sportsperson of the Year.
Grant’s honour marked the third time he has won the award and the fourth straight year rowing has taken the top prize.
A rower or cyclist has now been recognised as Marlborough’s top sporting achiever for the past 11 years since Robin Reid won the award in 1999.
Reid also won in 2004, while fellow cyclists Jason Allen (2000, 2005), Mark Inglis (2001) and Justin Leov (2003) have also claimed the honour.
Rowers to win in the 11-year span are Grant (2009, 2007, 2006), Joseph Sullivan (2008) and Rob Hellstrom (2002).
Marlborough Basketball’s Jacqueline Taylor was named the Sport Marlborough Sports Administrator of the Year.
A sellout crowd of 360 sports fans packed Marlborough Lines Stadium for the annual awards dinner, and were entertained by Air New Zealand Cup guest speaker rower Mahe Drysdale. Drysdale, who almost missed the event when his flight out of London was cancelled, gave a forthright account of his thoughts and feelings at last year’s Beijing Olympics where he won a bronze medal despite battling illness.
He spoke of his journey from a 116kg office worker to world champion rower, achieving his dream of making the Olympics and what motivates him to remain at the top.
Marlborough Mayor Alistair Sowman kept the night running smoothly as master of ceremonies.
However, the night belonged to Grant.
In Poznan, Poland, in August, he became just the fourth New Zealander to complete a hat-trick of world titles when he took out the lightweight single sculls crown, winning by more than a second.
His efforts saw him named New Zealand Rower of the Year.
However, even that honour didn’t mean he was a certainty to earn his sport’s nomination for last night’s event.
2008 Marlborough Sportsperson of the Year, Picton’s Sullivan, and Wairau rower Robbie Manson combined to win the world under-23 double sculls title and must have received serious consideration for rowing’s nod.
Grant gave special credit to that crew and said the competition within the New Zealand rowing squads was one of the things that drove them to be the best.
Grant said he faced a busy year as he builds toward the 2010 world champs at Lake Karapiro where he hopes to emulate Drysdale’s feat of four world titles.
With the lightweight single not an Olympic event, Grant said his focus would then shift to either the lightweight pair or four with an aim to make the 2012 Olympic team.
Karwowski’s day started in hail and cold in Invercargill, but finished with a perfect sunny Marlborough glow after taking the under-21 honour.
Last year, the 18-year-old made the tough decision to base himself in Invercargill to train at the city’s world-class velodrome.
That choice paid off as he teamed up with Ethan Mitchell and Sam Webster to take out the men’s team sprint at the UCI World Junior Track Cycling Championships in Moscow in August.
“Last year I had to decide whether I wanted to be a uni student and live that life, or take a risk and go for it in cycling and try and achieve my dream of making the New Zealand team. I did that and a lot more,” Karwowski said.
After his success in track sprint events, Karwowski said he planned to shift his focus back to his original strength of longer track rides and had just returned from attending a Bike NZ elite endurance camp.
With numerous top cyclists in the sprint events, Karwowski said he felt his pathway to elite level could be blocked and he would focus on the omnium, where he placed eighth at the junior worlds, despite limited practice.
Taylor won the administrators’ award from three other nominees. A tireless worker in the Marlborough Basketball office, Taylor is a key organiser of senior and junior basketball competitions and played a leading role in the smooth running of the Marlborough Basketball Association’s 60th anniversary celebrations.
Taylor Rides To NZ Title At National Club Champs
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
Conway Taylor added another New Zealand title to the Cuddon Cycling Marlborough list, winning masters one men’s honours at the national club road cycling championships near Nelson yesterday.
In a Marlborough one-two finish, Taylor headed home fellow Cuddon club member Chris Heywood by 36 seconds. He clocked 35 minutes 35 seconds on the undulating, 25-kilometre Upper Moutere course.
Heywood took silver by a second from Pegasus Cycling Club member Nigel Pink.
Cuddon Cycling Marlborough picked up a second title when Rhonda Murphy was unchallenged in taking masters one women’s honours.
Ray Dunstan placed second in a fast masters three mens race, clocking 34.06, while Callum Saunders was fourth in the under-15 boys. Marlborough’s Bronwen Frazer successfully defended her national title in the senior women’s time trial. Now riding for the Nelson Star and Garter Wheelers club, Frazer clocked 36.12, five seconds clear of Gabrielle Vermunt of Southland, defending the title she won in Wanganui last year as a member of Cuddon Cycling Marlborough.
Former Marlborough rider Robin Reid saw the host club complete a senior title double when he took out the 40km senior men’s time trial in 52.45min. In a closely fought ride, Reid finished eight seconds clear of Hamilton City’s Justin Kerr, with double Olympian Chris Nicholson (Star and Garter) third. Reid recorded the day’s third fastest time overall, trailing under-23 riders Sam Horgan and Alex McGregor.
Horgan upset his more senior rivals to score the day’s fastest time and take under-23 honours with an impressive 51.49min.
The club nationals continue with road races today.
Lee To Win Final Event Of Season?
Thursday, October 15th, 2009New Two Stage Challenge
Thursday, August 27th, 2009Cuddon Cycling Marlborough’s open grade riders will compete in a testing two stage 60km event tomorrow afternoon. The 40km first stage is a handicap event starting at Montana Wines and following a course over the Weld and Dashwood Pass to Seddon and then once over the tough Seaview circuit to finish in Seddon. Stage two will see the riders compete in a testing 20km time trial back to Montana Wines. The challenging ride precedes a series of 80km events building up to the Club National Championships in Nelson in October. Amongst the favourites for fastest time tomorrow will be Tony Catterick, Conway Taylor, Gerard van Antwerpen and Kevin Bishell. There will be no junior under 17 event tomorrow as riders will be preparing for the Marlborough Schools Tour which starts on Monday. All open riders are to assemble at Montana Wines at 1pm for a 1.30pm start.
Busy Weekend
Friday, July 3rd, 2009Cuddon Cycling Marlborough’s open grade riders will compete in a handicap event at Fairhall tomorrow afternoon.
The 50km event will cover two laps of the Hawkesbury and Benmorven circuits before finishing up the Ridge resort hill. The hill finish will create an interesting tussle for time honours between Gerard van Antwerpen, Paul Newman, and Tony Catterick. riders are to assemble at the Fairhall Hall at 1pm for a 1.30pm start.
A large contingent of the club’s junior riders are heading to Christchurch for the weekend to compete in the South Island School Championships held ar Ruapuna raceway. Over the two days the riders will compete in individual time trials, team time trials and road races at different distances for the various age groups. Also the top open grade time trialists are heading to Nelson tomorrow to compete in time trial events over the course for the National Champs to be held in October.
