Nominations are open for the 2024 Waitaki Sports Awards.

Sport Waitaki coordinator Sara Harding says the nominations close at the end of November, and are for this year, from 1 January to 31 December.

The awards evening will be held in March next year.

The categories are Male and Female Emerging Talents (a year 8 pupil), Male and Female Junior Sportsperson of the Year (aged 18 and under as of 1 January 2024), Male and Female Sportsperson of the Year, Team of the Year, Masters Athlete of the Year (aged 50 or over as of 1 January), Athlete with a Disability, and Coach of the Year, 

A Waitaki District Sportsperson of the Year will then be decided from other winners.

Nominations for the Denis Birtles Memorial Services to Sport Award – for lifetime service to sport - and Stewart Mitchell Award for Official in Sport, are also open - but are not always awarded.

The North Otago Sports Bodies Association is overseeing the awards, which can be traced back to 1963… but have potentially been running longer, Sara says. 

“It is a wonderful evening's entertainment celebrating the amazing achievements of our local sportspeople and sports administrators,” she says.

The evening also includes an induction to the Waitaki Sports Hall of Fame, a guest speaker, and a buffet meal. 

To make a nomination, or for information about entry criteria, please contact Sport Waitaki on 029 4349379 or email [email protected].