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The Contact Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge and Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines have shared the award as the Best New Zealand Owned Major Event at the New Zealand Association of Event Professionals (NZAEP) Awards.

Presented during this week’s Eventing the Future conference, among 10 NZAEP awards Lucy Ryan was named Best Emerging Event Professional, Balloons over Waikato was named Best Established Community Event and the Volvo Ocean Race Auckland Stopover was named Best New Zealand Hosted Major Event.

The conference has also seen 10 of the country’s leading events and event professionals recognised for excellence at the New Zealand Association of Event Professionals (NZAEP) Awards.

Spokesperson for the judges and Chief Executive of Tourism New Zealand, Kevin Bowler, says the judges were impressed by the quality of New Zealand events, stating “the economic and social impact of these events is phenomenal.

“They bring communities together, entertain hundreds of thousands of people, and drive national and international tourism.

“Picking winners from such a strong talent pool was really tough.”

Bowler judged the awards alongside Creative New Zealand’s Stephen Wainwright, award-winning journalist Amanda Millar, Brown Bread director Jo Blair and event consultant Chris Simpson.

The full list of NZAEP 2015 Award winners can be read below.

The two day Eventing the Future conference, being held on 22nd and 23rd July at Mac’s Function Centre in Wellington, has seen 200 New Zealand event professionals gather to share in the latest trends, growth areas and hot topics for the events industry in New Zealand and worldwide.

Day one of the conference was the setting for some scintillating presentations, with areas of focus including:

• The desire for New Zealand’s events industry to collaborate on major event pitching and cross sectorial partnerships between sports and arts.
• Being brave and considering reinvention of a brand at the height of its success.
• The need to react to the rapidly increasing Asian migrant population from the events industry's perspective.
• Embracing technology.

The full list of NZAEP 2015 Award winners are:

Best Emerging Event
Wellington New Years Eve – Evening at the Movies

Best One Off Event
Christchurch Stands Tall 

Best Partnership for an Event
The Partners Life DUAL Motutapu – Rangitoto Traverse

Best Emerging Event Professional
Lucy Ryan 

Best Established Community Event
Balloons over Waikato

Best Established Regional Event
Cemetery Circuit

Best Event Professional
Trina Tamati 

Best New Zealand Owned Major Event (two winners)
Contact Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge
Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines

Best New Zealand Hosted Major Event
Volvo Ocean Race Auckland Stopover

Rae Finlay was recognised with a special Lifetime Achievement Award.

Image shows the NRL Auckland Nines.

15th July 2015 - EVENTING THE FUTURE EXPANDS WITH SPORT NZ FORUM AND 2015 NZAEP EVENT AWARDS

12th May 2015 - EVENTING THE FUTURE 2015 RELEASES CONFERENCE PROGRAM

20th January 2015 - AUCKLAND NRL NINES TO TAKE CAREFUL APPROACH TO ALCOHOL MANAGEMENT

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