Sports awards: 5 presented with Olympic Pins

As part of the Bay of Plenty Sports Awards, five of Bay of Plenty's Olympians will be presented with their Olympic Pins.

Adam McGeorge (football), Andy Hayward (hockey), Julia Edward (rowing), Mike Dawson (kayaking) and Carl O'Donnell (swimming) will be presented with the pins for their first appearance at an Olympics.

The pins will be presented to the athletes in a small ceremony before the main awards by New Zealand Olympians Club member Dave Rodger.

This year's Waiariki Institute of Technology 2012 Bay of Plenty Sports Awards sees a high calibre of nominees many of whom competed at this year's Olympics.

Finalists with achievements at the 2012 London Olympic Games include; JP Tobin (sailing), Brent Newdick (athletics), Jason Saunders (sailing), Lisa Carrington (canoe/kayak), Gemma Flynn (hockey), Luuka Jones (canoe/kayak), Mike Dawson (canoe/kayak), Peter Burling (sailing), Sam Bewley (cycling), Sarah Walker (BMX), Julia Edward (rowing), Mahe Drysdale (rowing), Kelly Hudson (hockey) and Samantha Charlton (hockey).

The awards, organised each year by Sport Bay of Plenty, salute outstanding achievements by Bay of Plenty sportsmen and women in sport at home and overseas over the past 12 months. The recognition that all category winners and the Supreme Award recipient receive are widely regarded as the ultimate accolade for sporting excellence in the region.

Also presented on the night are the Bay of Plenty Secondary School Sports Awards.

These awards recognise sports sanctioned by the New Zealand Secondary School Sports Association and include the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Secondary School Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards, the Office Products Depot Boys Team of the Year, the Rotorua Trust Girls Team of the Year, the Aurecon Best Student Contribution to Sport, the CodeBlue Coach of the Year and the BOP Principals Association Secondary School Service to Sport award.

There is huge competition for the Supreme Award with four athletes picking up medals at the Olympics - Mahe Drysdale and Lisa Carrington (gold), Peter Burling and Sarah Walker (silver).

Mike Dawson will be another strong candidate with his outstanding performances on the world kayaking stage.

The event being held at the Energy Events Centre tonight, begins at 6pm.