Halberg Awards: 31 sports make up nominations

New Zealand's Lisa Carrington wins gold in the women's K1 200m at the Rio Olympics. Photosport

The Halberg Disability Sport Foundation has announced the nominations received for the 54th Halberg Awards.

31 different sports are represented in the nominations which have been submitted from National Sports Organisations and an independent Nominations panel. The nominations will now be judged by the Halberg Awards Voting Academy and shortlisted into finalists.

The High Performance Sport New Zealand Sportsman of the Year has received the most nominations with 22 athletes put forward from 16 sports including; Beauden Barrett, Hayden Paddon, Joseph Parker Mahe Drysdale and Nick Willis.

Current supreme Halberg Award winners the All Blacks have been nominated for the Team of the Year award along with 16 other teams from ten sports including; yachting, motorsport, rowing, surf life saving, croquet, canoeing, squash and cycling.

Nine nominations have been made for the Disabled Sportsperson of the Year award including 2015 recipient Sophie Pascoe. Rio Paralympic medallists Cameron Leslie, Liam Malone, Mary Fisher and Nikita Howarth have also been put forward.

Twelve athletes have been put up for the High Performance Sport New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year including current winner Lydia Ko. The hotly contested category also includes Lisa Carrington, Valerie Adams, Eliza McCartney, Natalie Rooney and Portia Woodman.

Nominees in the Disabled Sportsperson, Sportsman, Sportswoman and Team of the Year categories will all be eligible for the supreme Halberg Award - the country's highest accolade for sporting excellence. The Award is presented to the athlete or team whose achievement is deemed by the judges as representing excellence in sport at the highest level.

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has been again nominated for the category he won in 2015. 18 nominations have been received for the Buddle Findlay Coach of the Year Award from 11 sports including; Hamish Willcox, Gordon Walker, Anthony Peden and Roly Crichton.

Nine athletes including Hamish McLean, Campbell Stewart, Monty Patterson and Dylan Schmidt have been nominated for the Sky Next Emerging Talent Award which is designed to assist in a young athletes' quest to become an Olympic, Paralympic and/or World Champion and hopefully one day the Halberg Award.

The Halberg Awards judges of former athletes, coaches and sports journalists now have the task of reviewing all the nominations to decide a shortlist of finalists which will be announced in early January 2017. Performances by athletes or teams that take place up until 31 December 2016 are still open to nomination.

Other awards presented during the ceremony include; New Zealand's Favourite Sporting Moment (public vote category), Sport New Zealand Leadership and Lifetime Achievement. Inductees into the Sports Hall of Fame will also be made at the event.

Full list of nominations for the 54th Halberg Awards:
Sportsman of the Year
Beauden Barrett (Rugby), Brayden Graham (Mixed Martial Arts), Byron Chivers (Mixed Martial Arts), Chris Wood (Football), Danny Lee (Golf), George Bennett (Cycling), Hayden Paddon (Motorsport), John Kennard (Motorsport), Joseph Parker (Boxing), Jossi Wells (Snow Sports), Mahe Drysdale (Rowing), Max Beattie (Surf Life Saving), Nick Willis (Athletics), Peter Michael (Skating), Sam Gaze (Cycling), Sam Meech (Yachting), Shane Van Gisbergen (Motorsport), Shannon McIlroy (Bowls), Steven Adams (Basketball), Tom Walsh (Athletics), William Trubridge (Diving), Winston Reid (Football).

Sportswoman of the Year
Abby Erceg (Football), Amy Satterthwaite (Cricket), Christy Prior (Snow Sports), Eliza McCartney (Athletics), Laura Quilter (Surf Life Saving), Lisa Carrington (Canoeing), Luuka Jones (Canoeing), Lydia Ko (Golf), Natalie Rooney (Shooting), Portia Woodman (Rugby), Valerie Adams (Athletics), Zoe McBride (Rowing).

Disabled Sportsperson of the Year
Amy Jane MacDonald (Para-Waka Ama), Anna Grimaldi (Para-Athletics), Cameron Leslie (Para-Swimming), Corey Peters (Para-Skiing), Liam Malone (Para-Athletics), Mary Fisher (Para-Swimming), Nikita Howarth (Para-Swimming), Rick Dodson, Andrew May, Chris Sharp (Para-Sailing), Sophie Pascoe (Para-Swimming).

Team of the Year
Women's 49erFX - Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (Yachting), All Blacks (Rugby), Black Ferns (Rugby), Blackjacks Men's Fours - Mike Nagy, Mike Kernaghan, Blake Signal and Ali Forsyth (Bowls), Hayden Paddon and John Kennard (Motorsport), Men's 49er - Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (Yachting), Men's Blackjacks (Bowls),Men's Pair - Hamish Bond and Eric Murray (Rowing), New Zealand Black Fins (Surf Life Saving), New Zealand Golf Croquet Team - Chris Clarke, Jenny Clarke, Duncan Dixon, Phillip Drew and Mike Crashley (Croquet), Paddle Ferns (Canoeing), Rowing Women's Eight (Rowing), Rowing Women's Pair - Rebecca Scown and Genevieve Behrent (Rowing), Squash New Zealand World Doubles Team (Squash), Team Sprint - Eddie Dawkins, Ethan Mitchell and Sam Webster (Cycling), The Hurricanes (Rugby), Women's 470 - Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (Yachting).

Coach of the Year
Anthony Peden (Cycling), Brent Ward (Para-Athletics), Chris Boyd (Rugby), Dale Stevenson (Athletics), Gordon Walker (Canoeing), Hamish Willcox (Yachting), James Mortimer (Para-Athletics), Jason Pocock (Surf Life Saving), Jeremy McColl (Athletics), Jim Maloney (Yachting), Kiwi Campbell (Waka Ama), Mark Howard (Yachting), Nathan Handley (Yachting), Raylene Bates (Para-Athletics), Roly Crichton (Para-Swimming), Sean Thompson (Snow Sports)
Simon Mayne (Para-Swimming), Steve Hansen (Rugby).

Emerging Talent
Dylan Schmidt (Trampoline), Finn Bilous (Snow Sports), Monty Patterson (Football), George Gautrey (Yachting), Nick Johnson (Yachting), Jason Matthews (Baseball), Hamish McLean (Para-Swimming), Maynard Peel (Cycling BMX), Campbell Stewart (Cycling).