Finalists for the 2021 SP Sports Awards (SPSA) were announced today in Port Moresby.
This was after the Selection Panel met last week to deliberate on nominations that were received from around Papua New Guinea and reached an agreement for the top three finalists for each of the 12 categories on offer in this year’s awards.
This year’s nominations were slow but eventually picked up during the last two weeks before the closing date for entries, much to the delight of the SP Sports Awards (SPSA) Committee. Apart from the National Capital District, a good number of the entries received were from the other provinces.
Chairperson for the SPSA Selection Panel, Warwick Vele, said: “Being nominated is an achievement as it demonstrates recognition by the sporting community and public at large. There can only be three finalists for each category and one final winner but to make it to the final list is something everyone can be proud of because they are all outstanding sportsmen and women in their own rights.
“Congratulations to all the finalists and I thank the public for showing their appreciation and support by nominating.”
The Selection Panel met once to deliberate and were quite impressed with the nominations that came through. Here now are the finalists of the 2021 SP Sports Awards (in alphabetical order by surname):
Male Athlete of the Year:
Baru Morea
Olam Justin
Vanua Norman
Female Athlete of the Year
Tere-Apisah Abigail
Kaputin Rellie
Team of the Year
Oil Search PNG Orchids
PNG Baramundis
PNG Special Olympic Bocce Team
National Performance of the Year
Kroton Hela Wigmen
Kamau Leeroy
Nest Athletics Club
Community Sports Initiative
Basketball for Good
Hevea Cup & Wellness Fair Expo
Sembo Sports Association
Junior Male Athlete of the Year
Baea Sammy
Tuna Timothy
Vare Hila
Junior Female Athlete of the Year
Apisah Patricia
Korowi Monica
Toua Konio
Best Sports Person with a Disability
Abraham Steven
Agari Hoada
Moi Judy
Sports Official of the Year
Dawes Joseph
Green Tony
Stubbings Barbara
Sports Photo of the Year
Keslep Simon
Sere Joseph
Taule Troy
Sports Media of the Year
EMTV
NBC-Paul Taumik Jnr
Stan Joyce Award
Bank South Pacific
Institute of Business Studies
Trukai Industries Limited
The announcement of the finalists marks the opening of SMS voting for the People’s Choice Award. The winner of the People’s Choice Award is selected through a public vote, using FM100’s SMS voting platform. The more vote a finalist gets, the more chances of them winning.
Candidates for this category come from four finalists of the following:
Male Athlete of the Year
Female Athlete of the Year
Team of the Year
Sports Official of the Year
Voting for the People’s Choice Award category will close on May 25th 2021. The Awards Presentation will be hosted virtually from the home of the SPSA –Crowne Hotel– on Saturday May 29th 2021. It will be live-streamed on EMTV and social media.
