Congratulations to all the winners and recognised athletes, officials and volunteers, who were announced and celebrated at the 2025 CRNZ Sports & Recognition Awards ceremony on Saturday in Rotorua.
We are pleased to announce the following award winners:
2025 CRNZ SPORTS AWARDS
Female Canoe Sprint Athlete of the Year:
Aimee Fisher, Hawkes Bay Kayak Racing Club
Male Canoe Sprint Athlete of the Year
Scott Martlew, Arawa Canoe Club
Ocean Ski Athlete of the Year
Danielle Richards, Bay of Plenty Paddlesports
Marathon Athlete of the Year
Emma Kemp, Mana Kayak Club
Junior (18&U) Athlete of the Year
Dylan Monk, Arawa Canoe Club
23&U Athlete of the Year
Thomas MacGibbon, Arawa Canoe Club
Masters Athlete of the Year
Garth Spencer, North Shore Canoe Club
Team of the Year
NZ Junior Mens K4 – Dylan Monk, Brydon Storey, Lewis Monk, Maxwell Kennedy
Coach of the Year
Ben Bennett, Hawkes Bay Kayak Racing Club
Volunteer of the Year
Ross Morley & Sonja Brown, North Shore Canoe Club
Official of the Year
Aniwa Mackenzie
Club of the Year
North Shore Canoe Club
Paddler.nz Spirit of Paddling Award
Ian Mercer, Takapuna Boating Club
2025 EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Excellence Awards are given to people who achieved at the pinnacle of our sport, or who have contributed to it at a World Championship or Olympic level.
Athletes
Aimee Fisher:
- 3rd in the Women’s K1 1000m at 2025 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Milan
- 1st in the Women’s K1 1000m and 3rd in the Womens K1 500m at the 2025 ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Poznan
- 1st Womens K1 1000m at the 2025 ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Szeged
Danielle Richards:
- 2nd Open Female at the 2025 ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships in Durban.
- 1st Female in the 2025 Molokai Crossing in Hawaii, arguably the most famous ocean ski events in the world. Danielle broke the 52km course record by over 13minutes.
Officials
- Karen Simpson-Warren: Chief Judge, ICF Junior & U23 World Championships, Portugal
- Matt Warren: Chief Starter, ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Italy
- Terry Newsome: Penalty Box Judge, ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships, Hungary
- Toni Hoskin: Competition Manager, ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup 2, Poland
2025 was an great year for our sport, across all age groups and disciplines of paddling. Congratulations and thank you to all awards winners, finalists, clubs, coaches, officials, paddlers and families for what they give to our sport. We look forward to another fantastic year in 2026.
