Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic athletes dominate the shortlists in the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards at the Counties Manukau Sporting Excellence Awards.
Nominations closed this week and judges, including Counties Sports Hub editor Dale Budge, will face the task of deciding which outstanding nominee deserves the top gong in each award category.
Bronze medal-winning trampoline star Dylan Schmidt headlines a Sportsman of the Year shortlist that includes outgoing Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, swimmer Andrew Jeffcoat, Black Sticks hockey star Jared Panchia, Counties Manukau cricket skipper Sam Varcoe and promising baseball pitcher Elliot Johnstone, who won Australian Baseball League Rookie of the Year and signed with the New York Mets during the qualifying period.
Tokyo stars Dame Valerie Adams (athletics), Tupou Neiufi (swimming), Megan Signal (weightlifting) and Katie Doar (hockey) head a list of Sportwoman nominations. Also in the running is White Ferns cricketer Brooke Halliday, White Sox softballer Tyneesha Houkamau and badminton star Courtney Trillo.
Motorsport heroes Scott Dixon, Shane van Gisbergen and Liam Lawson feature alongside talented baseball player Jason Matthews in the International Sportsperson category.
The team of the year will be fiercely competitive as well. Pukekohe Metro Cricket Club won every trophy on offer to them last summer, the Otahuhu Softball Premier Women’s team won every game they played while the Counties Manukau Stingrays women’s rugby league team captured the NZRL Premier trophy for the 10th year in a row.
Counties Manukau Orienteering, Franklin County Archers, Icon Trampoline Club are among the nominations for the Club of the Year award. Karaka Cricket Club, Papakura Athletics Harriers Club, Otahuhu Softball, Onehunga-Mangere Softball and Karaka Rugby Club, who won their first McNamara Cup this year, are also in the running.
Coach of the Year will be a difficult decision with Dame Valerie Adams (Lisa Adams) and Sheldon Kemp (Tupou Neifui) coaching their respective athletes to Paralympic gold medals. Angie Dougall helped Schmidt win a break-through bronze medal in trampoline at Tokyo while Craig Hill helped Karaka Premier Rugby team win the McNamara Cup for the first time. There were multiple other nominations that a deserving options as well.
A total of 14 different categories will be considered along with the overall Sporting Excellence Award.
Judges are meeting in November to finalise winners. The awards ceremony date is yet-to-be-confirmed while the greater Auckland region remains under COVID Alert Level restrictions.
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