Van Leeuwen-Cruthers (48), who won the Ray Byrne Cup for Otago rugby volunteer of the year at the union's prizegiving last month, has been nominated for the Charles Monro volunteer of the year award.
She is up against Bay of Plenty's Mike Nitz and Horowhenua Kapiti's Dean File for the award, and said it was a privilege to be nominated.
''I'm a bit like a stunned mullet, actually,'' she said.
''I'm certainly in good company, but I feel a wee bit out of my league and humbled.''
Van Leeuwen-Cruthers won the Ray Byrne Cup for her work with the Cromwell Rugby Club and Central Otago junior advisory board, which she has been involved with for 10 and eight years respectively.
She has been instrumental in co-ordinating the Central Otago primary school competition, which has 102 teams from eight clubs, and includes teams from Rippa rugby to under-13 level.
The number of teams in the region has grown in the past three years under her watch, going from 94 in 2012 to more than 100 this year.
Van Leeuwen-Cruthers was also behind launching an open-grade tournament designed to introduce under-13 players to playoff rugby.
She also provided a key link between the Cromwell club and Cromwell College, helping the school find the resources to field a senior boys' team in the Otago secondary schools under-15 grade and a senior girls' sevens team in the Otago secondary schools competition.
If she wins the Charles Monro award, she will be the second Otago winner after Blair Crawford, who won the award in 2009 for his work as club captain and coaching co-ordinator at the Southern club.
Van Leeuwen-Cruthers will travel to Auckland with her family for the prizegiving on December 11.
- Robert van Royen
