2024 Blues Awards winners
The 2024 Blues Awards were announced on 4 October. 116 Blues and nine major awards were presented to students who excelled across four categories - Arts and Cultural, Business and Innovation, Service and Leadership and Sports.
Major Award Winners
Most Meritorious Performance (Arts and Cultural)
Gabriel Luis Gerente
Gabriel represented New Zealand in London as a member of Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ’s Young Shakespeare Company 2024. Selected from nearly 4,000 students, he performed Much Ado About Nothing at the Globe Theatre after two weeks of intensive training with Globe Theatre professionals, showcasing his exceptional talent on the international stage.
Most Meritorious Innovation (Business and Innovation)
Jean-Luc Ellis
Jean-Luc founded WasteXpert, which won the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Velocity Challenge. WasteXpert is now a leading company in the waste reduction space, collaborating with major organisations like Auckland Council, The Warehouse Group and PlaceMakers with plans for international expansion by 2026.
Most Outstanding Contribution (Service and Leadership)
Joshua Glen McMillan
Joshua serves as the Vice-President and Board Director of Canteen Aotearoa and is a dedicated advocate for young cancer survivors. A cancer survivor himself, Joshua has led fundraising efforts and collaborated internationally, inspiring change and advancing youth cancer care on a global scale.
Most Meritorious Performance (Sport), Sportswoman of the Year and Pasifika Major Award
Theresa Setefano
After taking a break from rugby in 2023, Theresa returned to the Black Fern Sevens squad in 2024. Making her third Olympic appearance at the Paris Games, she helped lead the team to a historic victory, becoming part of the first women’s rugby team to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals.
Sportsman of the Year
Grant Clancy
Grant made his Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics, competing in the Men’s K2 and K4 500m events. After relocating to Cambridge to join the centralised canoe men’s sprint programme, Grant's rapid rise in the sport—having only started sprint kayaking two and a half years ago—also saw him compete at the 2024 ICF World Cup in Szeged.
Para-athlete Sportsperson of the Year
Salama Alkhateri
Salama made history as the first Emirati female para-cyclist, competing as the only female athlete in the C5 category at the 2024 Asian Road Cycling Championship in Kazakhstan. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Athletes Council for the Asian Paralympic Committee and has earned a Women Lead Sport certification.
Major Māori Award
Grace Baylis
Grace was a Grand Finalist at both the Officers Cup and the New Zealand British Parliamentary Championships and was named Best Speaker of the Joynt Scroll. She also became the first Māori person to achieve each of these milestones, including being appointed Chief Adjudicator of Australs.
Arts and Cultural Blue Winners
| Name | Activity |
|---|---|
| Aisha O’Malley | Debating |
| Andrew David Brunt | Mediation |
| Charles Delahunt Matthews | Negotiation |
| Daniel Minh Kit Tran | Negotiation |
| Esther Oh | Violin |
| Gabriel Luis Gerente | Dramatic Performance |
| Grace Baylis | Debating |
| Harper Smith | Debating |
| Harry Aickin | Debating |
| Jack Doyle | Choral Singing |
| James Boland | Debating |
| Jimin Seo | Negotiation |
| Judy Fong | Debating |
| Leticia Alvarez | Mooting |
| Liam Silverwood | Debating |
| Maddison Lewis | Mooting and Mediation |
| Mannat Kaur | Debating |
| Maria Eduarda Romero de Medeiros | Mooting |
| Melissa Connolly | Debating |
| Robert Donohoe | Debating |
| Rose Allison | Mediation |
| Sumner Hancock | Debating |
| Valentino Tew | Debating |
| Viviene Lazaro Bunquin | Negotiation |
Business and Innovation Blue Winners
| Name | Activity |
|---|---|
| Aditya Singh | Case competition |
| Agam Khanna | Case competition |
| Aliza Biviji | Case competition |
| Blake Walker | Case competition |
| Brett Chang | Case competition |
| Emma Jane Blackwood | Case competition |
| Eric Zhu | Case competition |
| Hannah Jones | Case competition |
| Isabel Dekker | Case competition |
| Jayden Tariq Hunter | Case competition |
| Jean-Luc Ellis | Innovation |
| Lucy Zhu | Case competition |
| Matthew Benjamin Welcome | Innovation |
| Oliver Jack Gunson | Case competition |
| Rebecca Clapp | Innovation |
| Roshan ter Wal | Case competition |
| Sharjil Hayat Kazi | Case competition |
| Sophia Kwong | Case competition |
| Trinayan Krishnan | Case competition |
| Yanlin Aneta Du | Case competition |
| Zach Kirby | Case competition |
Service and Leadership Blue Winners
| Name | Activity |
|---|---|
| Dylan Chand | Founder and Director of the Youth Climate Collective charity |
| Eva Kulkarni | Founder of the KickStartYouth |
| Joshua Glen McMillan | Board Director and Vice-President of the Canteen Aotearoa Charity |
| Laura Torpey | Founder of Little Labs Charity |
Sports Blue Winners
| Name | Activity |
|---|---|
| Adithya Ashok | Cricket |
| Alice Zeimann | Beach Volleyball |
| Benjamin F. Kavin Stein | Artistic Gymnastics |
| Breana Catley | Hockey |
| Brianna Louise Orams | Stand Up Paddle Boarding |
| Brianna Reynolds-Smith | Sailing |
| Catherine Hall | Netball |
| Chris Benzie | Badminton |
| Christy Tate | Canoe Sprint |
| Daniel Habakkuk Teariki Tolosa | Athletics - Track Sprints |
| Daniel Spencer Stoddart | Gymnastics |
| Dima Koptev | Ice Hockey |
| Dylan Muggleston | Field Hockey |
| Elizabeth Jane Walter Buchanan | Cricket |
| Elizabeth Joy Gault | Water polo |
| Ella James | Futsal |
| Ella Wyllie | Road Cycling |
| Elsie Lins | Fencing |
| Frazer Tam | Inline Hockey |
| Frazer Tavener | Springboard Diving |
| Grace Nweke | Netball |
| Grant Clancy | Canoe Sprint |
| Hamish Mclaren | Sailing |
| Hannah McCall | Ultimate Frisbee |
| Havana Rosalie Hopman | Rhythmic Gymnastics |
| Holly Sheaff | Canoe Slalom |
| Isaac Chan | Badminton |
| Isaac Lancelot Houlbrooke | Hockey |
| Isabella Gill | Hockey |
| Isabella Grace Matthews | Archery |
| Ivana Rowland | Netball |
| Jackson Fontaine | Ice Hockey |
| James Sadlier | Beach Volleyball |
| Jordana Bremner | Futsal |
| Ka Yi Nicole Leung | Karate |
| Katie Anne Sadlier | Beach Volleyball |
| Katrina Chan | Synchronised Ice Skating |
| King Maxwell | Rugby |
| Lex Revell-Lewis | Athletics |
| Lucy Macready | Handball |
| Lucy Matehaere | Canoe Sprint |
| Luke Frances Simon | Ice Hockey |
| Luke Grayson Allen Cashmore | Sailing |
| Mackenzie Marlo | Equestrian |
| Marielle Denise Castro Venida | Athletics - Track sprints |
| Mason Mulcahy | Sailing |
| Mattias Peter Thompson Coutts | Sailing |
| Mike Antamanov | Futsal |
| Nathan Lobo | Soccer |
| Nuala Edmundson | Archery |
| Prue Catton | Cricket |
| Rafe Couillault | Athletics - High Jump |
| Rebecca Alison Hume | Sailing |
| Rebecca Deen | Underwater Hockey |
| Ryan James Parr | Hockey |
| Salama Alkhateri | Paracycling |
| Sam Marshall | Underwater hockey |
| Samuel Oliver Tasman Dick | Gymnastics |
| Shaunna Li | Badminton |
| Sophia Frances Morgan | Sailing |
| Theresa Matauaina Setefano | Rugby sevens |
| Vincent Jin-Hao Tao | Badminton |
| William Fu-Allen | Artistic Gymnastics |
| William James Sheard | Curling |
| Xavi Asemaga Taele | Rugby |
| Zachary Penn | Kendo |
| Zaria Ireland | Ultimate Frisbee |