NZ's biggest country awards canned

New Zealand's second biggest country music contest, the Sun City Country Music Awards, has been cancelled for next year.

Nelson Country Music Club president Paul Nees said the club decided to scrap the awards after failing to gain enough sponsorship.

The contest was scheduled to run over a weekend next March.

Mr Nees would not say how much money the club needed to make the event viable, but said it was "a considerable amount" for a non-profit organisation.

Mr Nees said the club still hoped to hold a competition in 2006.