AIMES Awards

The acronym AIMES stands for:
**The ARTS, INNOVATION (Science & Technology), MUSIC, EDUCATION (Academic Excellence), SPORT; and SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY.**

The North Harbour Club & Charitable Trust awards grants annually through the AIMES Awards to outstanding young people, aged 13 to 25, who are achieving excellence in these fields. Since the North Harbour Club’s inception in 1995, over $3.2 million worth of AIMES Awards grants have been made, making the club one of the largest donors to individuals in New Zealand.

AIMES Award Categories

A

ARTS

Sponsored by Milford Asset Management

I

INNOVATION
(Science & Technology)
Sponsored by Bridgewest

M

MUSIC

Sponsored by North Harbour Club

E

EDUCATION
(Academic Excellence) Sponsored by Kristin School

S

SPORT

Sponsored by AUT Millennium

SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

Sponsored by Albany Toyota

The AIMES Awards are our top awards with a winner selected in each category. Recipients of these awards are aged between 13 and 25. An AIMES Supreme Award Winner is then selected from these recipients every year to receive the Sir Peter Blake Trophy. Sir Peter was the founding patron of the club in 1995. Eight AIMES Award category winners received $15,000 each in 2024, with the Supreme Winner – Emily McIsaac – receiving a total of $30,000.

Congratulations to our 2024 AIMES Award Winners (above L-R). Andrew MacDonald (Chair of Judges), Alicia Hoskin (Sport, Kayak Sprint), Arthur Adams-Close (Arts, Singing), Geena Hutton (Arts, Musical Theatre), Cecile McNeill (Music, Viola), Emily McIsaac (Innovation, Biotech & Supreme), Jaden Movold (Service to the Community, Para-Sports & Advocacy), Laura MacLean (Ross Finlayson Award), Cameron Senior (Education, Medicine), Mike Atkinson (President). Note: Alicia Hoskin, Arthur Adams-Close & Geena Hutton were absent)

ROSS FINLAYSON AWARD

Sponsored by Alvarium
A legacy award honouring the Founding President, Ross Finlayson. This special award is presented annually to a talented young person highlighted by the judging panels as having strong leadership qualities.

Laura MacLean was honoured to be recognised with this award in 2024.

AIMES EMERGING TALENT AWARDS

Sponsored by Bellingham Wallace

Emerging Talent Awards recognise individuals whom have applied for AIMES Awards and display considerable promise. Many of our Emerging Talent Award winners go on to win AIMES Awards in following years. Six AIMES Emerging Talent Award recipients received $7,500 each.

Congratulations to (L-R): Andrew MacDonald (Chair of Judges), Matthew Bellingham of Bellingham Wallace – Sponsor, Janayah Wadsworth representative (Music, Singing), Tara Vaughan repesentative (Sport, Kayak Sprint), Summer Osborne (Sport, Swimming), Shan Liu (Music, Piano), Miles Timmis (Arts, Choir/Musical Theatre), Josh Armit (Sport, Foil Windsurfing), Liz Blackwell (Patron), Mike Atkinson (President & Bellingham Wallace – Sponsor).

AIMES SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

Sponsored by Vantage Windows & Doors, North Shore

The Scholarship Awards are exclusively for those applicants aged 13-18 years, they are awarded $3,000 each. These awards are the first stepping stone of our AIMES Awards pathway.

Congratulations to our 2024 winners (L-R) Back Row: Andrew MacDonald (Chair of Judges), Paul & Pam Bayer (Vantage Windows & Doors North Shore – Scholarship Sponsors, Anna O’Reilly (Sport), Joel Bird representative (Arts), Luis Vallejo-Mohl (Education), Kaiha Gilbertson representative (Sport), Xavier Wetere representative (Service to the Community), Bailey Flavell (Sport), Liz Blackwell (Patron), Mike Atkinson (President).

Front Row: Fuwen Aston Ding (Innovation), Lisa Murata Gutierrez (Music), Haifeng (Charles) Xing (Music, William Mason (Sport).

Applying for an Award

Applications for our AIMES Awards, AIMES Emerging Talent Awards and AIMES Scholarships Awards are made online.

Applications for the 2025 Awards will open on 19 August 2024 and close on Friday 24 January 2025 at 5:00pm

After applications are closed a team of Judges – including North Harbour Club Trustees, Members and invited specialists with experience across the categories – convene to determine our winners. This process takes approximately 2 months and will involve interviews and dialogue with those shortlisted.

ALL applicants will be contacted AFTER the interviews have taken place to be advised of their progress. Awards are presented at our very special award functions, scheduled to be held at AIMES Awards Gala Dinner on Saturday 24 May at the Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna, to host our 30th anniversary!

**Please note that previous winners are invited and encouraged to apply, however they must follow the pathway – Scholarship > Emerging Talent > AIMES Awards > AIMES Supreme Winner. Applicants can apply once they have reached the next level. ie: Emerging Talent/AIMES Awards winners can apply after relevant achievements following their awards**

Application Criteria

To be eligible to apply for an AIMES Award, applicants must:-

Be aged between 13-25 years as at 24 January 2025.
Have lived, worked or trained in the North Harbour region and/or can demonstrate a strong affiliation with the region for a period of not less than three calendar years.
Be able to demonstrate the achievement of excellence in chosen category.
Be able to complete all sections and meet the expectations of the application form in full as requested.