2023 Special Awards
Each year there are several awards presented at prizegiving. These awards represent the essence of the Lake Taupō Cycle Challenge and we are proud to be able to honour people in the name of these awards each year.
The Dan Dunne Memorial Trophy
This trophy has been donated by the Dunne family to commemorate Dan Dunne and is presented to a participant who has triumphed over adversity to complete the event. This year’s recipient is Steve Trevurza, well known in sailing circles and who’s found the love of cycling in recent years, and has ridden down from Auckland this week to take part in today’s Round The Lake.
The Matthew Dryden Memorial Trophy
This trophy is awarded to the most promising young cyclist. This trophy is donated by the Dryden family in memory of Matthew and this year the Matthew Dryden Memorial Trophy was awarded to Harry Shannon.
The Fred Ogle Memorial Award
The Fred Ogle Memorial Award is awarded for an Outstanding Good Samaritan act on the ride. This year’s Fred Ogle Memorial Award recipient is Richard Stevens. Richard stopped for at least 15 minutes to help David Cotton fix two punctures. David said he was absolutely awesome and it was very appreciated!
The Volunteer Award
Some of our volunteers have been helping out for a long time now and we think this is worthy of special mention so each year we give a special award to the Volunteer of the Year. This year the award went to Tony Reynolds. Tony is part of one or our largest volunteer groups, Taupo-nui-a-Tia College. He has been volunteering for 11 years as it gives him a great sense of community. He has been onsite from dawn to dusk, always generous with his time and sunny disposition. He’s one of those people where nobody really understands how much he does, beavering away without complaint. In short, he is a total legend.