Kiwi Campbell of Ngāi Tūhoe and Ngāti Porou descent has claimed the award for Te Maru o Tūmatauenga- Māori Sports Coach of the Year at the 2016 Māori Sports Awards.
Campbell was the coach of the New Zealand Women's Waka Ama Team that won every race they competed in at the International Va'a Federation World Sprint Championships in Australia in May this year.
She Coached the team to the highest standard possible winning all events including the following;
- V6 500m
- V6 1500m
- V12 500m
Campbell, who used to paddle in the above teams continues to contribute to the success of the sport. She has coached her Winning Club team Horouta to multiple National Championship Titles.
Other finalists in this category include Rugby Sevens Coach Sean Horan and Māori All Blacks Coach Colin Cooper.