Hawke’s Bay Sports Awards postponed indefinitely due to lack of nominations

The Hawke's Bay Sports Awards, an annual event dating back about 60 years, weren't held last year and have been postponed indefinitely this year. Ceremonies have attracted over 400 people in recent years. Photo / NZME

This year’s Hawke’s Bay Sports Awards have been postponed indefinitely because of a shortage of nominations.

The decision follows the awards not being held last year and was announced by the regional sports organisation last week.

Nominations closed on March 5 and last week’s Sport Hawke’s Bay statement said “some fantastic entries” were received, but the overall number of nominations was “insufficient to uphold the high standard of competition and recognition these awards represent”.

The Hawke's Bay Sport Awards in 2016, the 50th anniversary of the first single award in 1966. There was no event last year and this year's event has been postponed indefinitely because of a shortage of nominations. Photo / NZME

The celebration, which was to have been next month in Napier’s War Memorial Centre and cover the calendar year of January 1 to December 31 last year, originated in the mid-1960s as the Hawke’s Bay Sportsman of the Year Award.

It was held annually for more than 20 years as an anchor event at the Pettigrew Green Arena in Taradale.

“We will review the awards process and work closely with our community to encourage greater participation,” the statement from Sport Hawke’s Bay said. “The new date for the awards will be announced in due course.”

“We understand the importance of acknowledging the achievements of our community, and we are committed to delivering an event that truly reflects the depth of talent and contribution across Hawke’s Bay,” the statement said.

The last Hawke’s Bay Sports Awards ceremony was held in November 2023, when the top honour of Supreme winner went to rower Emma Twigg for a record fourth time.

Despite the question marks over the celebrations, the Hawke’s Bay Secondary Schools Sports Awards were held in October, the top honour going to Napier Boys’ High School basketballer Jackson Ball, now, at the age of 17, already a looming candidate as Hawke’s Bay’s top sportsperson in 2025.

The Central Hawke’s Bay Sports Awards were held last May.

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today and has 52 years of journalism experience, 42 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.