The Sporting Excellence Awards are a prestigious event that offers our region the opportunity to acknowledge and pay tribute to the many achievements and successes of the Tairāwhiti sporting community over the last 12 months.
The Sports Awards this year will take place at The Vines on Friday 14 November. With live entertainment, dinner and dessert, the awards offer an excellent experience for attendees and sponsors alike.
- Guests will be treated to:
- Complementary drink on entry
- Platters, followed by dinner and dessert
- Guest Master of Ceremony: Jenny-May Clarkson
- Live entertainment
- Cash bar with eftpos available
Tickets are $85 and will be available to purchase from Whiti Ora Tairāwhiti by emailing [email protected]
Special Awards
Community Impact Award
Awarded to a project which positively impacts community sport and recreation.
Event Excellence Award
Awarded to a sport or recreation event displaying best practice.
Tairāwhiti Legend of Sport
Tairāwhiti Legends of Sport recognise and acknowledge outstanding achievements and performances by an athlete, coach or administrator at an international and national level. To define this level of success, inductees will have demonstrated a proven ability at the highest level over a considerable period of time.
2024-25 Volunteer Award
Nominated through a social media campaign, the ‘2024-25 Volunteer Award’ celebrates the dedication of grassroots sport volunteers. If you would like to nominate a volunteer, check in with our Facebook page in early October.
Trophy Awards
These awards are for all categories important to the world of sport, including coaches and volunteers, players and teams. Code Award recipients can also be nominated in the Trophy Award categories. This needs to be done independently from this category.
2024-25 Official Award
Open to any Administrator, Referee or Umpire who has made a significant contribution to a sport.
Services to Sport
Open to both men and women, in recognition of their long service (must have a minimum of 20 years service) and dedication to a club, organisation or sport. Achievements from outside of the qualifying period can be included in this category. Note: Only one nomination per sport. Those who have previously received this award will not be eligible.
2024-25 Junior Team Award
Open to any junior team where the members are under the age of 19, See point 7 in conditions for clarification of eligibility.
2024-25 Junior Sportswoman Award
Open to any female under the age of 19, who has excelled as an individual or as part of a team in one or more sports.
2024-25 Junior Sportsman Award
Open to any male under the age of 19, who has excelled as an individual or as part of a team in one or more sports.
2024-25 Club Award
Open to a sport organisation/sports club who has had an outstanding performance on models of best practice. There are three components:
- Improvements made over the qualifying period including growth in membership, participation in events (individuals, teams, officials/volunteers), facility improvements (if any)
- Awards/results, High Performance selection/appointments
- Effectiveness of Managing Members and Volunteers (e.g. upskilling and recruitment, facilities, and finances)
Include comparative data from the past three years of membership, coach and official numbers, along with strategic planning and outcomes.
2024-25 Coach Award
Open to any Coaches that have made a significant contribution to a sport at either or both grass roots and HP level.
2024-25 Team Award
Open to sports teams, who, through collective effort, have had outstanding performance(s) recognised by an award.
Elite Awards
2024-25 Sportswoman Award
Open to any female who has excelled as an individual or as part of a team in one or more sports.
2024-25 Sportsman Award
Open to any male who has excelled as an individual or as part of a team in one or more sports.
2024-25 Masters Sportsperson Award
Open to any male or female over 30 years of age, who has excelled as an individual or as part of a team in one or more sports – see point 7 in conditions for clarification of eligibility.
2024-25 Sportsperson Award
This award will be selected from the winner of the Junior, Open, Master Sportsman and Sportswoman, as well as the whaikaha sportsperson categories.
Nominations close: To be announced
Qualifying period: 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2025
CONDITIONS OF NOMINATION
- Nominations must be endorsed by the club and signed as accurate and true.
- Sports/Clubs submitting more than one nomination in any category MUST rank their athletes based on overall performance. In the Code Award nominations, a club can submit up to three names but must also rank them 1-3 with an elected winner.
- In the Services to Sport category, only ONE nomination per sport can be submitted (see Service to Sport nomination criteria for more info).
- The judging panel can only assess each nomination on the information recorded on these nomination forms. Please ensure enough information is provided to give those without an in-depth knowledge of your sport a clear understanding of the significance of the achievement(s).
- Selection of finalists and winners will be made by an independent panel of judges. The judging panel’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
- Juniors are athletes who are under 19 years of age at 30 June 2025, or in a school team. Any nominees who are within the junior age group (teams included) are applicable for the junior category only. Please note, under 19 years during the qualifying period means 18 years or younger up until 30 June 2021.
- Masters are athletes who are over 30 years of age (during the qualifying period). Nominees in the Masters category MUST have competed in a sanctioned event as a Masters participant. Nominees who are within the masters age group can choose to be nominated for either the Open or Masters category.
- Whaikaha nominees must be 14 years or over as at 30 June 2025. They must have competed in a sanctioned event as a disabled athlete including physical or intellectual or both.
- Sportsperson Award – this award will be selected from the winner of the Junior, Open, Whaikaha, and Master Sportsperson.
NOMINATION CRITERIA
Candidates under consideration for awards must meet the nomination criteria under (a) and (b), (c), or (d):
a. Nominees respect the spirit of fair play and act accordingly at all times.
b. Nominees must be a financial member of a club, school or organisation in the Tairāwhiti region.
c. Nominees have represented and competed for that body for the entire qualifying period.
d. Because of the nature and/or demands of the chosen sport, the nominee lives and/or works out of the Tairāwhiti region to gain further training and competition, but promotes him/herself as a Tairāwhiti athlete.
Services to Sport
Achievements from outside of the qualifying period can be included in this category. Those who have previously received this award will not be eligible. Must have a minimum of 20 years’ service to an organisation/sport. Only one nomination per sport.
Compliance with the Privacy Act By returning these forms and any additional information you are consenting to Whiti Ora Tairāwhiti using these details for the purpose of administering the Sporting Excellence Awards, and acknowledge your right to access and correct the information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1993.
JUDGES’ CONSIDERATIONS
Individuals & Teams:
- Was the result it in that sport's pinnacle event - Local/Regional/National/International.
- Was the result a world record, world ranking or special recognition - Level of achievement.
- Difficulty of qualification - Qualification criteria.
- The global nature of sport - participation numbers globally, numbers of competing countries globally, and competition numbers globally.
Coaches & Officials
- Time spent: Up-skilling, developing others, coaching or officials duties.
- Skills used while making an impact on the sport
- Team/Athlete achievements. (N/A - Officials).
- High performance appointments e.g rep teams/national teams.
2024-25 Club Award
- Improvements made over the past 24 months including growth in membership, participation in events (individuals, teams, officials/volunteers), facility improvements (if any).
- Effectiveness of managing members and volunteers (e.g. up-skilling, recruitment, facilities and finances).
- Awards/Results, high performance selection/appointments
Community Impact Award
The purpose of the Community Impact Award is to identify, celebrate, promote and encourage collaborative projects which have a positive impact on community sport. Nominations may involve collaborations between schools, clubs and other local organisations, sporting or otherwise, that provide participation experiences in play, active and outdoor recreation, sport or talent development.
Considerations to determine the winner of the Community Impact Award will be for their outstanding impact based on:
- Results against planning and objectives
- The barriers and challenges overcome
- Innovation/Bridge building
- Participation and growth resulting from the project
Event Excellence Award
The purpose of the Event Excellence Award is to identify, celebrate, promote and encourage best practice of event planning and delivery in the sport and recreation sector.
Considerations to determine the winner of the Event Excellence Award will be for their outstanding event based on:
- Event design and delivery
- Achievement of participation targets
- Financial planning and performance
- Stakeholder relationships and evidence of early engagement
- Quality management practices (financial, risk and people)
- Key results against planning and objectives
- Innovation
The judges shall have discretionary rights to consider a nomination that may fall outside the criteria but is perceived to be a performance(s) deserving of recognition.
Event sponsors to be announced.
