Origin Dance Crew

By Sophie Harrison

Performing together for nearly two years, Nelson hip-hop group, ORIGIN has gone from strength to strength.

Representing New Zealand at international dance competitions, showcasing their talents at the Royal Easter Show and dancing on What Now have been some of the amazing events ORIGIN has been involved in.

This award winning team, having come second in the Australasian “Rumble” Hip Hop Championships and placed in the top three at the national hip hop competition two years in a row, consists of 11 dancers aged between 14 and 17.

The girls regularly take workshops at local schools and holiday programmes around the district, aiming to inspire and teach their passion. So make sure you head along to one of those!

During their short career, ORIGIN has been privileged to meet successful stars within the business, including one of their role models, Nacho Pop. Just recently the group performed alongside singer J. Williams at his live performance in Nelson, The One. ORIGIN certainly pulled off a flawless opening set!

To add to ORIGIN’s busy schedule they also competed in Nelson’s ‘Shake Down’ competition. ORIGIN’s choreographer and coach, Gemma Laing trains the girls at least twice a week at the Fargher Academy of Dance, in Nelson. At the beginning of this year Gemma also formed two development teams, ‘Uprising’ and ‘Evolution’.

Show your support for the incredible ORIGIN team and to find out any of their upcoming events, join their Facebook page ‘ORIGIN Dance Crew & FAD Hip Hop’ or check out their website www.origincrew.com.

Extreme Sports: Mountain Biking

by Jonty Comins and Harry Townsend

Have you ever been full of adrenaline up on a mountain, facing a vertical drop, relying on just two rubber wheels? No? Well you should try it - especially if you’re into extreme sports! Mountain biking is one of those sports that many people love and get a huge thrill out of…

What skills would I gain from taking part in this sport?
This beautiful sport is for people who have endurance, core-strength and balance, bike handling skills, self confidence and self reliance. When you become a more advanced rider you can get into riding steep, complicated downhill switch-backs, roll-overs and dropoffs. All of these mountain bike terms mean pretty much the time of your life. Where can you go mountain biking? You can start out mountain biking almost anywhere but most mountain bikers ride on “off-road” trails, including either country back roads, firebreaks, track roads or single tracks (thin tracks that curve through forests, mountains, deserts or fields.)

What equipment do you need to go mountain biking?
The equipment needed for this extreme sport includes a bike (preferably with front suspension), a good pair of sneakers that you don’t mind getting dirty, a drink bottle and some food, and of course the most important gear of all, a helmet - which could make the difference between life and death. We did say it was an extreme sport!

Why do you like mountain biking so much?
“I love the amazing rush it gives when you speed down hill and the pleasure it gives you when you finish the track.” - Harry “I really enjoy the challenge - both physically and mentally.” - Andrew “I like it because it’s fun when you go fast and the danger it offers. I am a risk-taker!” - Jonty

Shave For a Cure

by Emma Duigan

For a 13 or 14-year-old girl to shave her head is a big deal - and when it is just weeks before a school formal, it’s doubly scary.

Murchison Area School students Madeleine McLean and Romee Parkinson decided to shave their heads because they “wanted to help children with cancer have the chance to be normal kids and run around outside, get muddy and spend less time hooked up to plastic tubes and machines.” It helped that they knew they were doing it together and had lots of support. Madeleine said she did not have one particular person that she was doing it for, but that many of her family and friends had had cancer, or died from it. I asked Maddie and Romee how they felt as they were getting ready to shave their hair off… they both said they were “scared and really nervous”.

Madeleine was concerned about how her head would look, how it was going to be on the night of her formal, what colour it would grow back as, and if she would keep her beautiful blonde colour. It was a very emotional and nerve-racking few weeks for the girls leading up to the event, and they had to keep telling themselves every day that they were going to do it, that it WAS going to happen and that shaving for a cure was going to make an impact and bring people’s attention to the issue of child cancer.

I think it was brave for Maddie and Romee to do this, especially as it was done in front of the school in assembly.

Doing this really opened students’ eyes about child cancer, and Maddie and Romee can really pull off the ‘not a lot of hair’ look - you go girls!

Pic: Murchison Area School students Maddie (left) and Romee (right) shaved their heads to highlight the issue of child cancer.

Local Youth Volunteers Recognised

Youth Volunteer Awards 2010

Young people voluntarily contributing and making a positive difference to our communities were officially recognised at the 2010 Nelson- Tasman Youth Volunteer Awards, hosted at the New Hub during Youth Week. Over 160 nominations were received. This is the 6th year of the recognition scheme, with the TYC and NYC judges impressed with the quality of recipients, making their task of awarding the special awards extremely difficult.

TASMAN SPECIAL AWARDS:
Tara Forde (Motueka Community House)
Dyneta Hebberd (Hope Community Church)
Laura Mueller (Star Dance Academy)
David Wasley (St Johns Church, Wakefield)
Rosette Hailes-Paku (St Peter Chanel Vinnies)
Shania-Joy Nicholson (St Peter Chanel Vinnies)
Jessica Brooks (St Peter Chanel Vinnies)
Fiona Lowe (St Peter Chanel Vinnies)
Rebecca Lowe (St Peter Chanel Vinnies)
William Dugdale (St Peter Chanel Vinnies)
Ethan Irons (St Peter Chanel Vinnies)
Harry Curtis (St Peter Chanel Vinnies)
Daragh Edgar (St Peter Chanel Vinnies)
Jonty Peek (St Peter Chanel Vinnies)
Luke Nicholson (St Peter Chanel Vinnies)
Sareign Johnston (St Peter Chanel Vinnies)
Scott Dixon (St Peter Chanel Vinnies)
Jordan Harris (St Peter Chanel Vinnies)
Emma Hoult (St Peter Chanel Vinnies)

NELSON SPECIAL AWARDS:
Amani Waenga (SAVE)
Beth Falealili (SAVE)
Elle Marie Pittman (SAVE)
Ethan Williams (SAVE)
Johny O’Donnell (SAVE)
Kerehama Barrett (SAVE)
Khalarn Sowman (SAVE)
Manaaki Walker (SAVE)
Sarah Donald (SAVE)
Tahae Taia (SAVE)
Jemma Wastney (SAVE)
Lauren Murray (Natureland Zoo)
Tabby Besley (Q-Youth & Nayland College)
Tomo Chisnall (Nelson Hospice and The Nelson Cancer Society)
Johny O’Donnell (SAVE, Nelson Youth Council, Labour Party & Nelson Tasman Youth Workers Collective)