
SP Sports Awards (SPSA) announced thirty-five (35) finalists for the 2023 SP Sports Awards at Sir John Guise Stadium on Tuesday.
The finalists have been selected from thirteen (13) different categories chosen from the total of 175 nominations submitted in March.
“This is twice the number of nominations we received last year and the years before. Another interesting fact is that 65% of the nominations came in were from the online Platform Vele said.
After a week of screening by Deloitte as the SPA awards auditor, the top three finalists for each category were vetted. Their respective selections were recommended by the SP Awards Panel headed by chair Warwick Vele.
“This year we received an impressive number of high-quality nominations in each category from all over the country and abroad, and included new names and faces,” said Warwick.
“It was especially pleasing to receive nominations for categories outside of our high-profile ones, including Community Sports Initiative, Best Sports Person with a Disability, and National Performance” he said.
The finalists in each category are:
1. Male athlete of the year
· Morea Baru - weightlifting
· Matthew Stubbing -Tennis
· Alwin Komolong - Football
2. Female Athlete of the Year
· Violet Apisah- Tennis
· Dika Toua - weightlifting
· Tanya Ruma - Cricket
3. Team of the year
· PNG Lewas - Cricket
· Women’s tennis- Tennis
· PNG Lagatois – Football
4. National performance of the year.
· Morobe Hammerheads- Rugby Union 7s
· Lae Natives - Football
· Benjamin Aliel - Athletics
5. Community Sports Initiative Award
· Santos loves cricket programs - cricket
· Kavieng basketball- Basketball
· Roland Muluyaru - Football
6. Junior Male Athlete of the year
· John Kariko Jnr – cricket
· Sugar- ray Hakena – Tennis
· Adam Makai – Basketball
7. Junior Female Athlete of the year
· Idau Vagi – weightlifting
· Colita Hakena- Tennis
· Dika Lahia- Cricket
8. Best Sportsperson with a disability
· Dorna Longbut – athletics and Badminton
· Haoda Agari - Table Tennis
· Steven Abraham - Athletics
9. Sports Official of the Year
· David Yareboinen – Football
· Barbara Stubbing – Tennis
· Nelson Stone - Rugby League and Athletics
10. Sports Photo of the Year
· Jordan Sere
· Fidelis Wasari
· Charlie Dumavi
11. Sports media of the year
· Rickilah Wura – SP Sports Breakfast Show
· Patricia Keamo - The National
· Charlie Dumavi- Sunday Bulletin
12. Stan Joyce Award
· BSP Cricket
· Digicel PNG
· Sports Tok
13. People’s Choice Award. (PCA)
The candidates for the People's Choice Award (PCA) will come from the finalists in the four categories; Male Athlete of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year, Team of the Year and National Performance of the Year.
The winner is selected through a public vote, using FM100's SMS voting platform that will close on 26th May 2023.
The SPSA has annually presented awards for 31 years to individuals and groups in the private or public sector to recognize sporting excellence in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The event had been live streamed for three years due to covid-19 but this year it will be held at the Crowne Hotel on Saturday 27th May, 2023.
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