51 Nominations Received For 2007 Halberg Awards

51 Nominations Received For 2007 Westpac Halberg Awards

Outstanding performances by New Zealanders on the world stage during the year resulted in 51 nominations being considered for the 2007 Westpac Halberg Awards.

The awards, organised by The Halberg Trust, salute outstanding achievement by New Zealanders in sport both at home and abroad.

Each year the Halberg Trust calls for nominations from all New Zealand national sporting bodies and a Voting Academy to determine four finalists for the Westpac Sportsman, Sportswoman and Sports Team categories. From those 12 finalists the Voting Academy selects one, by secret ballot, to receive the supreme accolade for sporting excellence, the Halberg Award. This will be announced at the 2007 Westpac Halberg Awards dinner at the Christchurch Convention Centre on Tuesday 19 February, 2008.

There were 18 nominations for the Sportsman category, 12 Sportswoman, 11 Team and 10 nominations for Coach of the Year. The category finalists will not be announced until early next month so late performances by individual athletes or teams during 2007 can be considered by the Academy. Last year's Westpac Halberg Awards attracted a record 73 nominations across the four categories.

A new category, the Westpac Emerging Talent Award, included for the first time in 2006, received 18 nominations this year. For the winner, this award carries a $25,000 scholarship from Westpac. The four finalists for 2007 are Edward Dawkins (cycling), who finished 2nd in the 1000m time trial at the world under-19 cycling championships this year, Brendan Hartley motor sport), who won the 2007 Euro Cup Formula Renault Championship, Danny Lee (golf), runner-up at the Callaway Junior World Golf Tournament at San Diego and Anna Twigg (rowing), world under-23 single scull champion who also finished 6th in the women's senior single scull which earned her a nomination for next year's Beijing Olympics.

The criteria for Halberg Award selection is:

The Halberg Award will be awarded to the athlete (or team) whose level of achievement in 2007 represented excellence in sport at the highest level.

To be eligible for nomination for an individual award an athlete or coach must be either a New Zealand citizen or have New Zealand residency as defined by the Department of Internal Affairs.

To be eligible for the team award the team must be either:

* A New Zealand Representative team (representing a New Zealand national sporting organisation)

* A team that is a registered New Zealand entity

The Voting Academy comprising 10 media representatives plus 19 athletes and coaches is:

Richard Becht, Harris Choy, Howard Dobson, David Leggat, John McBeth, Jonathan Millmow, Pete Montgomery, Ron Palenski, Brendan Telfer, Kevin Tutty (media), Chris Cairns, Ron Cheatley, Kerry Clark, Graeme Crosby, Matthew Cooper, Andy Dalton, Steve Gurney, Debbie Hockley, Danyon Loader, Lance O'Sullivan, Ramesh Patel, Anna Rowberry, Ian Smith, Mark Sorenson, Mike Stanley, Blyth Tait, Howie Tamati, Dick Tayler, Greg Turner.

The full list of athletes and coaches nominated for the 2007 Westpac Halberg Awards:

Westpac Sportsman of the Year
Tom Ashley (wind surfing), Brad Butterworth (yachting), Moss Burmester (swimming), Josh Coppins (motocross), Scott Dixon (motor racing), Bevan Docherty (triathlon), Mahe Drysdale (rowing), Kris Gemmell (triathlon), Duncan Grant (rowing), Tony Grantham (bowls), Michael Johnson (para athlete, shooting), Jonny Reid (motor sport), Hayden Roulston (cycling), Daniel Sharp (para athlete, swimming), Dan Slater (yachting), Liam Watson (underwater hockey), Tim Wilkinson (golf), Jonathan Wyatt (mountain running).

Westpac Sportswoman of the Year
Nicole Begg (speed skating), Barbara Kendall (wind surfing), Joanna Lawn (triathlon), Sofie Pascoe (para athlete, swimming), Katherine Prumm (motocross), Kimberley Smith (athletics), Debbie Tanner (triathlon), Paula Tesoriero (para athlete, cycling), Valerie Vili (athletics), Sarah Walker (BMX cycling), Casey Williams (netball), Sam Warriner (triathlon).

Westpac Sports Team of the Year
Georgina & Caroline Evers-Swindell (rowing), George Bridgewater & Nathan Twaddle (rowing), Men's Coxless Four (rowing), Nina & Lisa Daniels (synchronised swimming), Black Caps (cricket), Silver Ferns (netball), NZ Men's Underwater Hockey, Auckland Rugby Team, Emirates Team New Zealand (yachting), Black Sticks (hockey), Warriors (rugby league) .

Westpac Coach of the Year
Andrew Carr (underwater hockey), Robyn Broughton (netball), Grant Dalton (yachting), Calvin Ferguson (rowing), Kirsten Hellier (athletics), Pat Lam (rugby), Shane McLeod (hockey), Chris Nilsson (rowing), Gordon Tietjens (rugby), Kevin Towns (hockey).

ENDS

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