Hawke's Bay sports awards online with Laura McGoldrick

Sky Sport personality Laura McGoldrick will host this year's HB sports awards. Photo / File

Hawke's Bay's coveted annual sports awards will this year feature former All Blacks captain David Kirk and broadcasting personality, Laura McGoldrick.

But there's a catch.

Due to lockdown restrictions on public gatherings, the 2020 Forsyth Barr Hawke's Bay Sports Awards will be a "live online celebration".

Sport Hawke's Bay general manager, commercial and marketing, Ryan Hambleton, said the live online awards on May 28 provide the opportunity for more people to celebrate the performances and contributions from sport codes and local high achievers.

"Initially we thought it might be a setback to have the awards online, but we're now really excited about the opportunity," Hambleton said.

"We've always had a limited attendance capacity for the gala dinner awards, whereas by screening live online, more people both in Hawke's Bay and anywhere else in the world can sit down and enjoy the celebration and achievements of our sport community."

The awards will be screened live on Facebook and YouTube and will be hosted by SKY Sport personality Laura McGoldrick.

Inaugural Rugby World Cup winning captain David Kirk will be guest speaker at the HB sports awards later this month. Photo / File

The award finalists will also be announced live on Facebook and YouTube on Thursday May 21, a week out from the awards.

"The aim is to build a large audience for the awards ceremony and we will be doing a range of promotions to build the hype."

The award winners will be pre-recorded for the awards ceremony and sworn to secrecy.

Inaugural Rugby World Cup winning captain David Kirk will feature in the awards as a guest speaker. Kirk is the chairman of naming rights sponsor Forsyth Barr.

Forsyth Barr Hastings manager Matt Carney said: "Although we couldn't celebrate the achievements of local sport in person, everyone involved, including the local Forsyth Barr team, wanted the event to go ahead.

"The awards will be screened at a family-friendly time of 7pm and it will be great to have many more people watching including the wider families and friends of those that are finalists," Carney said.

All categories will be part of the online awards. The Hall of Fame inductees will not feature as part of the awards, with a special event proposed for later in the year.

To find out more visit hbsportsawards.co.nz