A wide variety of sportsmen have been recognized in the list of New Year’s 2021 awards.

Ms Deborah (Debbie) Ann Hockley

Companion of the NZ Order of Merit for cricket service

Nearly 20 years before her biggest win in a long and successful cricket career, the great Debbie Hockley of White Fern continues to strive to make the women’s game as strong as ever in New Zealand.

Hockley first became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit at the 1999 New Years awards before helping lead White Fern to victory in the 2000 World Cup final, the country’s only World Cup cricket title.

Hockley, who has been New Zealand Cricket President since 2016, has become the first woman to be elected to the position in the organization’s 122 years of history, said the latest award was a surprise.

“I was a completely stunned mullet. I received an email from the Honors unit and I have to admit I thought someone might be making fun of me,” Hockley told NZME.

Hockley had an international cricket career representing New Zealand between 1979 and 2000. He retired from playing after the 2000 World Cup, having amassed 1301 games, including four centuries in 19 friendly matches. He played 118 internationals one day and was captain for 27 matches, including six friendly matches.

In 2013 she became the fourth woman and first New Zealand woman to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.

Reflecting on his career, the victory over Australia at Bert Sutcliffe Oval has been in the spotlight after nearly winning the World Cup in previous years.

“I know that the tournament will be the last … having attended the previous four World Cups and being part of a successful team that has reached two finals which we unfortunately lost, winning that World Cup final at Lincoln College is undoubtedly the pinnacle of what has been. was so long trying to get that nice trophy, “said Hockley.

Since retiring Hockley has been a strong supporter of women’s cricket. She contributed to a major review by Cricket New Zealand in 2015 on the state of female cricket nationally.

As a result of the review, Cricket New Zealand has significantly increased the number of women represented on national and provincial councils and successfully promoted cricket programs that encourage school-age girls to participate in a stress-free, fun and enjoyable environment.

“I think especially in the last few years, New Zealand Cricket has really been involved with seeing if we can fix maybe a few years in which we might not pay too much attention to the females in cricket. I’m very happy about that.

“We have a fair way of going, but the fact that we recognize that we need to provide more resources for the girls and women who play cricket, I’m happy with that. We want cricket to be a game for all New Zealanders, especially us. want to encourage more girls and women to play. I can’t help but be a support for that considering I myself have so many opportunities. “

Mr. Albert Archibald (Arch) Jelley

Companion of the NZ Order of Merit on athletic services and bridge games

The 98-year-old’s list of accomplishments includes training Sir John Walker to claim his gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.Forty years later, Jelley is again making his presence felt at Olympic level, when 1500m runner Hamish Carson qualified for the Rio Olympics under his tutelage. Jelley was then the oldest top-level coach in New Zealand sports at 94 years of age.

Jelley said Walker’s Olympic gold was a career highlight, but known as a quiet coach, he said the most excited he had ever had during the race was the famous 1974 battle between Walker and the great Tanzanian star Filbert Baby at the Christchurch Commonwealth Games. Baby outperformed Walker in the 1500m final with both runners breaking world time records.

“My brother told me it was the only time he saw me excited at the end of the race. After the race I looked at my watch, got up from my seat and shouted ‘this is a world record’. It was very unlike me,” he told NZME .

The twenty athletes he trains represent New Zealand, with twelve competing in the Olympics or World Championships. Between 1976 and 1993 he was appointed coach or manager for twelve New Zealand or Oceania teams, including three Olympic teams. Outside of athletics, he has been involved with the Mount Albert Bridge Club and New Zealand Bridges where he was a bridge teacher since 1996 and was President from 2003 to 2013.

“It’s a huge honor for me and my family. But also a tribute to dozens and dozens of amateur trainers across New Zealand. Without an amateur coach, most sports would be lost,” said Jelley.

Mr. Burton Ross Shipley

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to basketball

Shipley is widely respected for his administrative work both within the country and in the international basketball game. He led the New Zealand National Basketball League from 1999 to 2004 and the New Zealand Breakers from 2005 to 2010. He joined the Oceania Basketball Board as an advisor in 2010 and was elected President in 2013, most recently re-elected in 2019.

He is the only New Zealander to sit on the Executive Committee of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). He has been the Vice Chairman of the International Basketball Foundation, which uses basketball as a vehicle for social change around the world. Shipley presided over the 2019 Basketball World Cup tournament hosted by China, and was later appointed Vice President of FIBA.

Ms. Kendra Margaret Cocksedge

New Zealand Order of Merit members for rugby services

Cocksedge has been a pioneer in women’s rugby and in 2018 became the first woman to win New Zealand’s rugby top award, Kelvin R Tremain Memorial Player of the Year. The Black Ferns midfielder has played in more than 50 tests, made his test debut in 2007, and is the Black Fern with the second most appearances.

She is a two-time World Cup winner as a member of the 2010 and 2017. She was named Women’s Rugby Player of the Year and New Zealand Women’s Rugby Player of the Year in 2015.

Cocksedge has also represented New Zealand in rugby seven, played in three tournaments for the Black Ferns Sevens and was part of the team that won the Women’s Seven World Series in 2013. Domestically, she has played for the Canterbury Farah Palmer Cup team since 2007 and is a player first in the competition to exceed 1000 points.

Cocksedge told NZME he thought the initial email alerting him to the award was spam.

“This is a great honor and very special,” he said. “It’s great to reflect on what I’ve accomplished in my career. I never thought I would achieve what I have achieved and something like this is the icing on the cake.”

Mr. William Trubridge

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for freediving services

Trubridge is the double world record holder for free diving and in 2005 became the first freelancer to dive Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas. There he broke his first world record in the discipline CNF (Constant Weight No Fins) in 2007, diving to 81 meters. In 2010, he became the first human to descend 100 meters without assistance and continued this record to 102 meters in 2016, which still stands. It also set the Free Immersion world record in 2016 with a distance of 124 meters.

He founded Vertical Blue, which is the most prestigious annual freediving competition as well as free diving school in the Bahamas, where he became Course Director. He has advanced the development of sport internationally through schools and events. In 2011 and 2012 he received the World Absolute Liberator Award. In 2019, Trubridge completed the Cook Strait ‘underwater crossing’ as a series of 934 breath-holding dives.