The judges on the panel considering entries for the New Zealand Sport and Recreation Sector Awards had some tough deliberations on their hands when they met in Auckland on 24 February to decide the finalists.
The judges on the panel considering entries for the New Zealand Sport and Recreation Sector Awards had some tough deliberations on their hands when they met in Auckland on 24 February to decide the finalists.
The judging panel, chaired by Sir Wilson Whineray, was impressed with the high quality of the finalists and the significant contribution they were making to sport and recreation in New Zealand.
The commitment to, and the passion for, the sport and recreation sector shone through in the entries.
The awards, supported by SPARC, recognise and celebrate industry excellence within the New Zealand sport and recreation sector.The judges agreed that one of the most difficult awards to decide was the Leadership Excellence Award, with so many strong contenders. ''It's a great problem to have,'' one of the judges said.
In the end, the tough calls had to be made and the finalists chosen. Outstanding events, innovative thinking and inspiring leadership can be seen in the results.
The winners will be announced at an awards dinner in Wellington on 26 April.
The finalists are:
Event Excellence
- 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games
- Winter Games New Zealand
- Special Olympics New Zealand National Summer Games
- Special Olympics New Zealand
- Michael Hill New Zealand Open
- New Zealand Golf
- Port of Tauranga Half Ironman
- Sport Bay of Plenty
Project Collaboration
- Community Swim
- The John Walker Find Your Field of Dreams Foundation, Manukau Leisure Services Ltd
- Nairnville Artificial Turf
- Wellington City Council, New Zealand Community Trust, Capital Football, Wellington Rugby
- Football Union
- New Zealand University Games
- Sport Taranaki, Western Institute of Technology of Taranaki, New Plymouth District Council,
- Stratford District Council, South Taranaki District Council.
- Push Play Neighbourhoods
- Harbour Sport, Rodney District Council, Harbour Health Primary Health Organisation,
- Coast to Coast Primary Health Organisation, Accident Compensation Corporation
Innovation Excellence
- Festival of Squash
- Squash New Zealand
- Ridestrong
- BikeNZ
- Rowbox
- Karapiro 2010 Ltd
- The Sport Development Support Centre
- Harbour Sport
Commercial Partnership
- BikeNZ – RaboPlus
- Netball New Zealand - Foodstuffs
- New Zealand Academy of Sport - Integria Healthcare
- New Zealand Recreation Association - Prophet IAM
Leadership Excellence
- Colin Stone
- Sport Hawkes Bay
- Dave Beeche
- Triathlon New Zealand
- Geoff Barry
- Surf Life Saving New Zealand
- Matt Cooper
- Sport Waikato
Across the five categories, there were 51 entries. This is the second year the awards have been made.
