Quality field makes awards winners hard to pick

The 2009-10 Wairarapa Times-Age sports awards are set to be among the closest fought in the history of the event.
Finalists for six of the categories have been decided and there are no clear favourites.
All told, 10 sports are represented over the 18 finalists with athletics leading the way with four, followed by cricket and rugby with three.
There is one ''first'' this year with a fire brigade competitions team from Carterton making it to the last three in the Sports Team of the Year section. The high quality of the participants seems certain to lead to a record response when public voting starts through a special form which will be published regularly in the Wairarapa Times-Age, starting tomorrow. Winners will be announced at a function at Copthorne Hotel and Resort Solway Park on May 12. The finalists are:
Craig and Donna of Property Brokers Senior Sports Personality of the Year Award Ben Campbell: Campbell's return to competitive golf after a wrist injury sidelined him for several months has been remarkable. Highlight has been finishing runner-up in the Australian amateur matchplay championship, beating several high-profile Aussies. He made his debut in the number one singles spot for the New Zealand senior men's golf team in their recent transtasman clash with Australia, winning one of his singles matches and squaring the other. In December Campbell took on the professionals in the Australian Open and was the leading amateur there.
Rebecca Mahoney: Mahoney was selected in the Black Ferns New Zealand women's rugby team which undertook a brief tour of England last year. She played in both tests in her familiar role of first-five. Mahoney was also a member of the Wellington Pride side which made the semifinals of the national inter-provincial rugby competition and of the Eketahuna side which finished runners-up in the Wellington premier division inter-club competition.
Seth Rance: Rance was part of the Central Stags men's cricket side which won the national Twenty20 competition and with it the right to represent New Zealand in the Indian champion's league. He broke the NZ domestic Twenty20 record for most wickets-least runs on debut with his 4-13 against Canterbury. The medium-fast pace bowler also played for the Stags in the national limited-overs and four-day competitions and for Wairarapa and Greytown on the local scene.
Nikolaison Photo Centre Youth Sports Personality of the Year April Campbell: Campbell won the gold medal in the girls' under-16 100m hurdles at the national track and field championships and also in the junior girls' 80m hurdles at the national secondary schools championships. She won both the under-16 100m flat and 100m hurdles events at the Wellington senior champs and set new centre records when winning the girls' 15yr 100m hurdles and 200m sprint events at the Wellington junior champs.
Alex Fafeita: Fafeita won the boys 16yrs hammer throw at the New Zealand track and field championships and also at both the national and North Island secondary schools champs. He set a new record in winning the men's 16yr discus at the Wellington junior champs and won discus, javelin and shot put titles at the Wellington secondary schools meet.
Isaac Foote: Foote was third in his age group over 10km and fourth over 5km while representing New Zealand at the 2010 New South Wales open water swimming championships and won a gold medal in the open men's 10km at the Waikato open water champs. He won one gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the New Zealand age group swimming champs and was the only Wairarapa swimmer to be selected for the SNZ tri-series tour which involved the country's top-ranked age group competitors.
Waipoua Lions Junior Sports Personality of the Year Georgia Atkinson: Atkinson represented Tennis Central in the 12yr section at the tri-series tournament in North Harbour and at the Wanganui junior open she won the 10yr girls' singles and doubles titles and repeated the effort at the Hutt Valley Christmas tourney. She won the girls' 12yr singles and doubles events at the Manawatu summer junior open and the 12yr singles at the Wairarapa junior closed champs and was part of the Gladstone side which won the Wairarapa junior inter-club grade.
Bella Biggs: Biggs was in sensational form at the New Zealand junior swimming championships. From eight events in the girls' 10yr and under division, Biggs recorded the fastest time in half of them, was second fastest in two others and third fastest in one, leaving her with four gold, two silver and one bronze medals. She mirrored that level of success at provincial meets all over the lower North Island.
Zac Nolan: Nolan destroyed his opposition in the 6-8yr 50cc trail bike class at the New Zealand mini motocross championships. He contested and won five events over the two days, earning a national title. He was second in the national Spectro series and in a major meet at Woodville had four starts for four wins.
Copthorne Resort and Solway Park Administrator of the Year Doug Bracewell: Bracewell took over the role of coach of the Central Hinds women's cricket team heading into the the 2009-10 season and had immediate success. They won both the national Twenty20 and one-day competitions.
John Quinn: Quinn was selected to be a throws coach for the New Zealand team contesting the Oceania track and field championships in Sydney. He was selector and coach for the Wellington 12-13yr and 14-15yr inter-provincial athletics teams and has been chairperson of Team Wairarapa Athletics for four years.
Valerie Scarr: Scarr will be one of two New Zealand table tennis umpires adjudicating at new year's Commonwealth Games in Delhi. She is one of only three ''blue badge'' Kiwi umpires and has umpired at international meets in Croatia, South Africa, England and the US.
Cross Country Rentals Sports Team of the Year Carterton Fire Brigade Competition Team: The Carterton Fire Brigade competition team were named New Zealand Fire Service Sports Team of the Year after going through their 2009-10 season with an unbeaten record. They are the current Australasian, New Zealand, North Island, Wellington and Wairarapa champions.
Eketahuna Women's Rugby Team: Eketahuna contested the Wellington premier division competition for the first time in 2009 and made it all the way to the grand final where they were narrowly defeated by Norths. Six of their players made the Wellington NPC side and two others played for Manawatu.
Wairarapa College Junior Girls' 4 by 100m Relay Team: The Wairarapa College junior girls' 4 by 100m relay team of April Campbell, Stevie Paine, Molly Creagh and Laura McKenna broke a national record which had stood since 1988 at the New Zealand secondary schools track and field champs.They also set a new Wairarapa secondary schools record for the intermediate girls 4 by 100m relay.
Trev's Sports Sports Club of the Year Douglas Villa AFC: Douglas Villa AFC has had such a huge increase in junior registrations for the 2010 season they have lifted the number of junior teams from 17 to 24, including two which will compete in Capital competitions. The club's senior men's team won the Wairarapa championship last year and are playing in the Capital third division competition this season.
Greytown Cricket Club: Greytown Cricket Club appointed its first professional coach leading into the 2009-10 season and a number of the lofty goals set were achieved. The senior men's team winning the limited-overs and two-day competitions, their two open grade teams contested their Twenty20 final and the junior hardball team won their grade.
Masterton Red Star Rugby Club: Masterton Red Star Rugby Club now boasts the biggest JAB membership in the whole of the Wairarapa-Bush union. A record 182 players of junior age registered with the club last season with they picked up three of the six titles on offer. No fewer than 38 of the juniors won representative selection. On the adult front their senior team won the Wairarapa-Bush premier division title for 2009.
Nominations were also called for the Wairarapa Times-Age Lifetime Achievement Award, a new award recognising long service to Wairarapa sport. The first recipient will be announced on May 12 as will the supreme champion, the finalists for which are the winners of the six categories.