Te Taiwhenua o Tamatea hosted the 2009 Ngāti Kahungunu sports awards in Waipukurau on 7 November 2009 with the support of Te Puni Kōkiri. World champion shearer Johnny Kirkpatrick took out the overall sportsperson award after winning the sportsman of the year award. Maea Tua-Davidson was awarded sportswoman of the year for her international league career with the Kiwi Ferns. Billy Ropiha, Shaarn Waru and Tiffany Piper were award winners in the junior sports sections. Conrad Waitoa was named administrator of the year with the coach of the year award going to Tania Hunter.