Racing: Dame Catriona Williams vows to continue spinal cord work
Two thoroughbred industry stalwarts have been bestowed one of New Zealand's highest honours in the King's Birthday honours list, including Catriona Williams, who has been appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to spinal cord injury research and equestrian sport.
Williams, the founder
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1News
4 days ago
- 1News
'Body on the line' - Tamaiti Williams' surprise grand final recovery
Tamaiti Williams has made a surprise recovery from a knee injury and has been named to start for the Crusaders in their Super Rugby Pacific grand final against the Chiefs in Christchurch. Williams suffered what is understood to be a minor meniscal injury in the Crusaders' qualifier victory over the Reds which forced him from the field and prevented him from playing in last weekend's hard-fought semifinal win over the Blues. It is understood that All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson assumed that Williams was unlikely to be available for next month's three Tests against France. The naming of the 24-year-old Williams in Saturday night's final has echoes of Sam Whitelock's comeback to play for the Crusaders in the final against the Chiefs in Hamilton in 2023 despite an Achilles injury. Ian Foster, the then All Blacks head coach, did not expect Whitelock to play in what was his final match for the Crusaders two months before the start of the World Cup in France. ADVERTISEMENT Whitelock, however, was determined to run out one last time before he took up a contract with French club Pau. He was named player of the match in what was Robertson's final match in charge of the Crusaders but suffered soreness afterwards and had a limited involvement in the Rugby Championship the next month. Williams, who made his Test debut under Foster in 2023, is at a very different stage of his career but his commitment to play is similar to Whitelock's. Tamaiti Williams receives treatment on his knee injury during the Crusaders' win over the Reds. (Source: Getty) In an interview with 1News this week, he said: 'I'd put my body on the line any day for this club and this group.' Asked about his knee, Williams said: 'It's as good as it needs to be… I'm looking forward to it.' There is no doubt that the return of the 145kg Williams is a huge boost for a Crusaders side who will be hoping to capitalise on their strong scrum to put the Chiefs under pressure in what are likely to be cold and wet conditions on Saturday. The red and blacks earned five scrum penalties in their comfortable win over the Reds recently and had the Blues' pack in trouble in the set piece last weekend before they were forced to withstand a huge amount of pressure on their try-line at the end. ADVERTISEMENT Williams will line up alongside fellow All Blacks Codie Taylor and Fletcher Newell in what is a formidable front row. The only change to the Crusaders' line up is the selection of Macca Springer on the left wing as a replacement for Chay Fihaki, who suffered a head injury in a high tackle late in the win over the Blues. For Williams and the Crusaders, making it to the grand final after they missed out on the playoffs last year is a testament not only to their form and consistency but also their medical department. Williams' quick recovery is a reflection of that. 'We're just stoked to be in a grand final,' he said. 'We didn't care who it was against. Full respect to them [Chiefs] – they've been leading and set the standard across the whole competition.' The Chiefs, who comfortably beat the Brumbies 37-17 in their semifinal in Hamilton last weekend, have named an unchanged line up after fullback Shaun Stevenson was deemed to have recovered from his head injury suffered in the match. Super Rugby Pacific grand final, kick-off 7.05pm at Apollo Projects Stadium on Saturday ADVERTISEMENT Crusaders: 1. Tamaiti Williams, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Fletcher Newell, 4. Scott Barrett, 5. Antonio Shalfoon, 6. Ethan Blackadder, 7. Tom Christie, 8. Christian Lio-Willie, 9. Noah Hotham, 10. Rivez Reihana, 11. Macca Springer, 12. David Havili (c), 13. Braydon Ennor, 14. Sevu Reece, 15. Will Jordan. Reserves: 16. George Bell, 17. George Bower, 18. Seb Calder, 19. Jamie Hannah, 20. Cullen Grace, 21. Kyle Preston, 22. James O'Connor, 23. Dallas McLeod. Chiefs: 1. Ollie Norris, 2. Samisoni Taukei'aho, 3. George Dyer, 4. Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 5. Tupou Vaa'i, 6. Samipeni Finau, 7. Luke Jacobson (c), 8. Wallace Sititi, 9. Cortez Ratima, 10. Damian McKenzie, 11. Leroy Carter, 12. Quinn Tupaea, 13. Daniel Rona, 14. Emoni Narawa, 15. Shaun Stevenson. Reserves: 16. Brodie McAlister, 17. Aidan Ross, 18. Reuben O'Neill, 19. Jimmy Tupou, 20. Kaylum Boshier, 21. Xavier Roe, 22. Josh Jacomb, 23. Etene Nanai-Seturo.
Scoop
4 days ago
- Scoop
Long-Time Volunteer Honoured For Raising Millions For Special Olympics
Laurinne Laing has taken the phrase volunteer to a whole new level. Laing has been the driving force behind the Special Olympics Howick-Pakuranga club and the Upper North Island Trust and in the process has fundraised millions of dollars for athletes with an intellectual disability. This week is National Volunteer Week and like many others Laing just wanted to lend a helping hand, but ended up putting her heart and soul into Special Olympics for over 35 years, often dedicating more than 30 hours a week to the organisation. Earlier this month, Laing was recognised in the King's Birthday honours for her incredible contribution to Special Olympics. 'I got involved through my brother Glen who has an intellectual disability and we wanted to encourage him to get him involved in sport, and I also wanted to take a bit of a load off my mother,' says Laing. She remembers how Glen was one of the Special Olympics pioneers and competed at the first National Summer Games in Hutt Valley in 1989. 'Glen competed in every National Summer Games until 2009 in Palmerston North,' says Laing, who joined the committee and also put her hand up to coach the ten-pin bowling team. 'And I had never played the sport,' laughs Laing, who acted as club secretary for a decade before she agreed to be acting chairperson for a few months in 2007, only to find herself in the role for the next 18 years. Since then, Laing has helped prepare the Howick-Pakuranga team for each National Summer Games and regularly acted as Head of Delegation. The former school teacher and director of a software development company turned out to have a special talent for finding money with funding agencies, gaming trusts and corporate sponsors to get teams to the National Summer Games, send a regional team to the annual Snow Camp in Wanaka and for the other regional costs of the 13 clubs in the Upper North Island Trust. 'The snow camp alone would cost us about $50-60,000 each year, and closer to $80,000 in a National Winter Games year, and this year we need to raise $87,000 to get athletes to the National Summer Games,' says Laing. She is reluctant to guess how much money she and her colleagues raised over the past 35 years, but a quick calculation produces some staggering numbers that run well into seven figures. 'I never looked at it like that, but yes, it does start adding up when you look back over the years,' says Laing. She explains that the key to good fundraising is building relationships with the funding agencies, with local councils and sponsors, like Freemasons New Zealand so they keep supporting the athletes. 'But there is a lot of paperwork involved, and you need to make sure you apply for the right items, with the right agencies and for the right amount. And of course then there is a lot of audit work afterwards reconciling where the money was spent, so you have to be organised. 'After a while you know what they want to see and they know that they can trust you with their money, so it's all about cultivating those relationships.' This week is National Volunteer Week and Laing encourages more people to put their hands up to give their time to help others, and not waste the opportunity to help out at the National Summer Games in Christchurch on December 10-14 which will need 700 volunteers to run the event. 'Give it a go. It's not everybody's cup of tea, but more often than not it's just such a wonderful rewarding thing to do. You can make such an impact on people's lives and give them the chance to feel good, and do what their brothers and sisters can do at sports,' says Laing who adds that volunteers help athletes gain a sense of well-being and confidence to be out in the community and interact with other people. Laing says that she retired almost 20 years ago, so had the space in her week to dedicate so much time to Special Olympics, but is slowly looking to step back. 'Maybe I'm a bit of a control freak, but I find it hard to hand over jobs when I know those people are all busy and have full-time jobs. It's not always easy for me after putting blood, sweat and tears into these jobs for so many years, but it's time to hand over the reins.' Laing says the National Summer Games in Christchurch will be the first event in decades where she will not be Head of Delegation. 'The person who is taking over is really excellent and she will do really well. I will be in Christchurch, floating around the team, but only as a fan.'
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Rotary Park track nears completion
Hundreds of hours of volunteer effort by local Rotarians are really paying off at Rotary Park, where a new, accessible loop track is nearing completion. The Waverley park is the focus of a major project to upgrade it, build tracks, plant native trees and shrubs and install shelters and equipment to make it a great place to visit for locals and tourists alike. Rotary Dunedin has rallied the city's seven Rotary clubs, Rotaract and other volunteers to tackle the project, working alongside Mountain Biking Otago stalwart and track-building expert Hamish Seaton. So far, the volunteers have put in 500 hours of work on the project since work began early last year, not including working bees for planting. Leading the project are Rotary Dunedin members Gordon Tucker and Peter Jackson, working alongside Mr Seaton and Dunedin City Council parks and recreation staff, who are delighted with the progress made on the upgrade so far. Mr Tucker said Mr Seaton and a large team of volunteers had virtually completed the 1km top loop track, which had been smoothed out and gravelled to make it easy to walk on and accessible for prams and wheelchairs. "The loop track now has a maximum gradient of 3 degrees, which means that most people should be able to walk on it easily, or use wheelchairs," Mr Tucker said. "And while people are out there getting some exercise, they can enjoy the spectacular 360 degree views over the harbour and the city," he said. The response of local residents to the project so far had been very positive. "We have had amazing feedback from locals, who have been telling us it is being used by a lot of people already, which is great to hear." Mr Jackson said, along with working on the top loop track, the Rotarians and volunteers were holding multiple working bees to plant hundreds of native trees and plants at Rotary Park. "So far, we have planted about 1200 natives, all with a maximum height of 3m, to beautify and provide shelter while protecting the view and the neighbours," he said. The most recent working bee was held over King's Birthday weekend, when Rotary district 9999 (South Island) district governor Dave McKissock visited the city for a "weekend of connection". Despite cold and rainy weather, Mr McKissock joined local Rotarians and visitors from Queenstown and Christchurch in planting more than 300 natives at the park. "It was great to have them here to acknowledge our efforts and take part," Mr Jackson said. More planting sessions are planned as the winter progresses. Now that the top loop track is complete, apart from some bedding in, the project will move towards working on building a steeper track from the bottom of the park to Harbour Heights. "We are hoping to have the track network completed by the end of 2025," he said. It is hoped future phases of the project will include shelters, seating, a barbecue area and a bike skills track.
