To pick the winners was extremely tough for the judges, comparing apples with pears.
Nick Palmer, though, deservedly rose above all others on the night, with a silver medal at the Youth Commonwealth Games and his high global ranking as a youth shot putter, helping continue the rise of shotput as a sport of choice among young Kiwis.
Georgia Hulls took out the female athlete of the year, growing her reputation as one of the best young sprinters in the country.
And Guy Harrison continued his amazing exploits in the para athletics world, bringing home a silver from the Junior World Champs.
Aside from those major winners, there were many other outstanding performers for 2017.
Harry Lawson was voted MVP at the national U18 hockey tournament, and was recently selected for the senior Black Sticks squad.
Women's hockey is developing great depth in Hawke's Bay, with six local girls in the national title-winning Central U18 team, including overall female hockey award winner Olivia Shannon.
Hamish Legarth, following in the footsteps of his sister Elise, took out the competitive canoeist section, after competing at the Junior Worlds.
And, of course, who will ever forget the history-making exploits of the Hastings Boys High School, taking the national title in our national game - a great collection of athletes, and a great coaching combination bringing the best out of their young men.
The legacy of Jarrod Cunningham lives on, with funds from his trust awarded to a very deserving and hard-working young athlete Rhiarne Taiapa, the national U17 squash champion.
Rhiarne was one of a number of finalists who pushed Georgia Hulls hard for the female award.
Jaydi Taylor-Chaffey was the talented netballer of the year, Rose Morton made the NZ U17 Football team, and Rosalia Samia represented junior NZ teams in both Volleyball and Basketball - an outstanding achievement to be making it in two major international Olympic sports.
All those athletes who didn't get an award, or even a nomination, must be reminded to keep going with their sport, as they are all a long way from the finished product, and remember there will be athletes who didn't even get nominated for the awards, who will go on to make it in the long run and represent New Zealand.
Likewise, those award winners can't rest on their laurels, others will be improving and physically maturing later - so keep working hard.
Much of the emerging talent on the evening is already making use of the new athlete training centre at the Sports Park, working hard behind the scenes, preparing themselves to handle the increasing workload that lies ahead.
The Sir Graeme Avery-led Hawke's Bay Community Fitness Centre Trust is persevering to establish the Sport and Health Institute for Hawke's Bay, that aside from all the community healthy lifestyles work, will also provide opportunities for more youngsters with sporting potential, providing the aspirational pathway and the belief that all those underneath can make it too.
The institute will also be a source of education for coaches, parents and schools. All too often when an athlete shows potential, they end up getting thrashed with multiple teams and endless trainings, when actually often it's a case of "less is more".
The physical preparation to compete is crucial - breaking down the old myths that resistance training is outright dangerous for youth, when in fact it is quite the opposite, and critical for long-term performance and injury prevention - certainly better for the young athlete than high volume, year-round competition within a singular sport.
Having the institute will mean less of these great young people departing our region, and leaving a void, deflating the drive of all their peers they leave behind.
Kirsten Westwood, manager of the EIT Sport department, highlighted the abundance of support provided for local tertiary study options, and more and more are taking up the offer, embracing EIT and staying here in Hawke's Bay.
• Marcus Agnew is the health and sport development manager at Hawke's Bay Community Fitness Centre Trust and is also a lecturer in sports science at EIT.
