Congratulations to Madeleine Chapman and the Hex Work Production team who won the award for Best Sports Programme at the recent New Zealand Television Awards for their work on Scratched: Aotearoa's Lost Sporting Legends. We were so stirred by Madeleine's acceptance speech that swe're sharing it here so you can all cheer at Madeleine's words!
Madeleine was the programme's interviewer and co-director of the first season, and is director of the second season. WIFT members Kelly Chen and Ainsley Calderwood have also worked on the series in various roles.
"Thank you for this, we are truly honoured to be here tonight. I'm speaking on behalf of the Scratched team - producers Amber (Easby) and Natalie (Wilson), EPs Duncan and Scotty, and trusted editor Eddy - to thank NZ On Air for believing this series important enough to fund, The Spinoff for providing the perfect platform, and most importantly the athletes who trusted us with their incredible stories.
Scratched has a clear purpose: to shine a light on athletes who have been overlooked in our collective sporting memory. All but one of the athletes we've documented so far have been women and or people of colour. We haven't found many overlooked P?keh? men because P?keh? men don't typically get overlooked.
I hope that soon there'll be no need for this show because all athletes today will be recognised as they should be in this moment.
Until then it's important to remember that women play sport, women watch TV, and women tell stories.
The sooner those with funding and decision-making power realise the connection between these three facts, the better off we'll all be."