Nominate your local sporting greats for the Gauteng Sports Awards
Residents of Gauteng have been called to noninate the deserving sports players, administrators and teams for this year’s Gauteng Sports Awards.
The 11th edition of the prestigious Gauteng Sports Awards have officially opened for nominations on Thursday, August 18.
Members of various media organizations were invited by the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation at the Brixton Multipurpose Hall for the launch.
MEC Mbali Hlophe was joined by officials from her department, including leaders of the local federations representing the various sporting codes.
Speaking in support of the awards as partners, Chairperson of the Gauteng Sports Confederation, Vivian Lotteting, said that it is important that recognition is given to the performance of local athletes, coaches and technical officials.
“I would like to congratulate the Department and the Confederation for taking the initiative in recognizing our champions. We have seen in international and national competitions that Gauteng produces champions. We are the home of champions. We need to recognize those people,” Lotteting said.
MEC Hlophe emphasized in her keynote address that the province will continue to nurture talent coming from all parts of the country.
“We pride ourselves in being the home of champions and we nurture talent and take it to the next level. We have a formula that has allowed the province to excel overtime and that is paying attention to the development of sports at a grassroots level,” she explained.
One of the department’s programmes to support local champions at an early age is the Provincial After-School Sports Programme or the ‘Wednesday Leagues’.
“We are going to pay attention to the Schools Wednesday Leagues programme which introduces sports and arts in schools. A majority of the kids we are intervening on are kids from depressing backgrounds, are highly disadvantaged and do not have the means to participate in sport, so we are going to put more effort in the programme because in unearthing talent, the greatest thing to do is to consistantly make sure that they are motivated,” MEC Hlophe said.
According to the Department, the awards are aimed at honoring and recognizing sports excellence across the province and to appreciate those whose passion for sport has kept it alive through their participation and contribution in local and international sporting events.
The annual Gauteng Sports Awards will be held later this year with the date to be confirmed.
An independent adjudication panel consists of experienced individuals within sport, media and academia will be later decided.
The awards are organized by the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation in partnership with the provincial Sport Confederation Council.
The awards will look at the performance of athletes in both domestic and international platforms over the past year, ranging from 1st of September 2021 to the end of August 2022.
The Categories to choose from include:
- Sport Personality of the Year (by SMS public vote)
- Sportsman of the Year
- Sportswoman of the Year
- Sports Team of the Year
- Disabled Sportswoman of the Year
- Disabled Sportsman of the Year
- Disabled Sport Team of the Year
- Coach of the Year Most Promising athlete of the Year
- Technical Official of Year Sport
- Federation of the Year
- Administrator of the Year
- Amayanga-yanga Athlete of the year
- Sport Fan of the Year
- Community based Sport and Recreation programme of the year
- Online sport or recreation programme implemented (include egaming)
- Community Sport media of the Year
- Sports Journalist of the year (This includes print media, radio and television)
- Life Time Achievement Award (chosen by MEC)
By participating in the SMS voting process, one voter has a chance to win a vehicle or other prizes (to be announced).
For more information on the various categories, qualifying criteria and where to submit your nomination, visit the Gauteng Sports Awards website or the Department’s social media pages.
