Sport Taranaki nominations open for sporting excellence and commitment

Nominations are now open for the Taranaki Sports Awards.

The awards are a showcase of our region's best in sport. It is a celebration of our sporting stars and the commitment of our sporting community.

Sports organisations, clubs, schools and individuals are encouraged to nominate athletes who have achieved outstanding successes between October 1, 2018 and September 30 ,2019.

The awards cover 13 categories, including junior and senior sports people, masters, teams, clubs, coaches, administrators, officials and volunteers.

The supreme overall award - Sportsperson of the Year - is sponsored by Silks Audit Accounting.

This year Sport Taranaki are introducing two new award categories: Club of the Year Award and Service to Sport Award.

The two new awards are further acknowledgements to the amazing commitments and contributions made by our community to sport and active recreation in Taranaki.

The Club of the Year is open to any outstanding sports and/or active recreational club which has made significant increases in membership, upskilling of volunteers, facility and financial successes and have had a positive impact on their community.

Sports Taranaki CEO Michael Carr says Sports Taranaki are very excited about the new categories added this year.

"Sports clubs are often the heart and hub of many of our smaller communities and we would like to acknowledge the important role that they play in connecting people."

The second new category is to honour long serving contributions to sport and/or active recreation.

If you know someone who has given more than 25 years of outstanding contributions to your club or organisation, make sure that a nomination is put forward and endorsed by a regional sports organisation.

"Our second new award acknowledges long serving volunteers. Their passion and commitment has been the driving force behind their chosen sport. Without this passion sport just wouldn't happen, so it is vital that we acknowledge just how special these people are to not only their own clubs and to our whole community," says Michael.

Last year's Taranaki Sports Awards attracted a large number of outstanding nominations showcasing the talent Taranaki has. The 2018 winners were excellent sporting individuals and teams, including the overall winner Sportsperson of the Year 2019 Michaela Blyde and Tenderlink Sportsman of the Year Beauden Barrett.

■ Nomination forms can be found online at www.sporttaranaki.org.nz or you can phone 0800 ACTIVE for more information. Nominations close Friday, October 11.