Changes are in the air for the Hawke’s Bay Sports Awards in a year which could pose as one of the most challenging to pick in its 60-year history.
Not yet finalised, the changes are expected to mean there won’t be an awards ceremony in this Olympic Games year, although performances in 2024 will be recognised, when the ceremony takes place, most likely in January-February.
The 2023 awards were presented at the end of October, and the ceremony had been a regular gala-dinner event in the Pettigrew Green Arena in May from 2004 (a few months after the venue opened) until disrupted by the Covid era.
Sport Hawke’s Bay chief executive officer Ryan Hambleton said the organisation had been reviewing its awards programme, including the Central Hawke’s Bay awards that were held in May and the Hawke’s Bay Secondary Schools awards, which will be held in Hawke’s Bay Racing’s Cheval Room on October 16.
The schools’ awards rethink included the addition of awards for all-rounders in multiple sports, and for students as coaches.