Votes flood in for sports awards

Finalists for the 2007-08 Wairarapa sports awards can rest assured that any honours won there won't come
easily.
Public voting in each of the five sections has been in progress for some days now and judging by the response to date no clear favourites have emerged.
Friday is the closing date for voting form to be returned with the winners to be announced at a function to be hosted by the major sponsor, the Wairarapa Times-Age, at Copthorne Hotel and Resort Solway Park on Wednesday, May 7.
Guest speaker there will be Bob Francis,the former Mayor of Masterton who will speak on his experiences as a referees appointments panel member at the 2007 Rugby World Cup,an event which left a sour taste for many Kiwis when the highly-favoured All Blacks were eliminated in the quarter-finals.
There is one notable addition to the awards list this year with the sectional winners contesting for the overall Sportsman of the Year trophy, a similar scenario to that which occurs at the national Halberg awards.
A brief profile- and we stress it is brief because space simply doesn't allow for their full cvs to be published so extensive are they- of the finalists is:-
SENIOR SPORTS PERSONALITY
BEN CAMPBELL: At just 16yrs Campbell displayed his remarkable potential in the sport of golf by winning the national under-23 stroke play title.Other notable successes for the New Zealand age group representative included the Wellington under-23 title.
JENNY CHAMPION: Champion and her mount Freckles qualified to represent their country at a major horse riding endurance event in Malaysia later in the year when they won the New Zealand 160km title at Kurow,the second time they had won the event in three years.
COURTNAY FAFEITA: Fafeita has been a sensation on the national age group track and field scene, winning the women's 16yrs discus title at the New Zealand open championships and the junior discus at the New Zealand secondary schools championships.She is a Wellington title holder in javelin, shot put and hammer as well.
RICHARD MASON: Rally driver Mason had another successful year on both the national and international front, placing third in the 2007 New Zealand championship with his co-driver, wife Sara, despite missing one round because of overseas committments.He also achieved pleasing results in China and Japan.
JUNIOR SPORTS PERSONALITY
GREG BENTLEY: Claybird shooter Bentley has showed that age is no barrier to him, at just 12 he has already competed successfully against adult competition.His wins have included the Western Lakes club's Box Shoot Plate and C grade Barrel and Triples championships and their C grade points title.
STEVIE PAINE: Paine has continued to be a revelation on the athletics scene with her host of successes including a national cross country title and victories in the 1500m, 800m and 400m at both the North Island and South Island Colgate Games. She won no fewer than six golds at the Wellington centre athletics championships.
CHARLOTTE POPE: The Wellington long course swimming championships highlighted Pope's considerable promise.There she won gold in the 100m and 200m freestyle and silver in the 400m freestyle.She qualified to contest both the national junior and division two championships in a wide range of events and has been selected for the Swim New Zealand development programme.
KATRINA SIMMONDS: Simmonds too has had remarkable success in swimming, earning one silver and three bronze medals at the New Zealand junior championships-where she also gained seven first place ribbons for the central region- and five golds and two silvers at the national division two championships.Selection in the Swim New Zealand development programme has come her way as well.
SPORTS TEAM OF THE YEAR
SARAH AND EMMA BERRY: The Berry sisters have impacted hugely on the sport of yachting, winning both the under-16 and under-19 titles at the world 420 class championships in Auckland as well as placing fourth in the open women's section. Their long list of impressive results also includes a ninth placing in the 29er class at the world youth championships and a 12 th placing at the North America open 29er championships.
GIANTS MEN'S SOFTBALL TEAM: The Hutt Valley premier men's league is deservedly regarded as one of the toughest softball inter-club competitions in the country and for Masterton-based Giants to win the 2008 title was something special.They also made the semi-finals of the Inter-City series and had a number of players in the successful Hutt Valley NPC side.
MASTERTON WOMEN'S SQUASH TEAM: The sport of squash in the Wairarapa was given a significant boost when the Masterton Squash Club's team won the national B grade women's teams inter-club event, beating several bigger and higher profile clubs in the process.
WAIRARAPA SENIOR TENNIS TEAM: The Wairarapa senior representative team had never gone through a season undefeated, that is until the 2007-08 season.They beat off formidable opposition from the likes of
Wellington, Hutt Valley, Manawatu and Hawke's Bay to win both their quadrangular and quinrangular tournaments and their efforts were marked by them being awarded the Adidas Cup for being the best-performed team in the Central Districts.
SPORTS CLUB OF THE YEAR
DALEFIELD HOCKEY CLUB: Dalefield is the largest hockey club in Wairarapa and next year will celebrate their 100 th birthday. Last season they fielded seven junior, four social and two premier sides, the latter playing in the highly competitive Wellington competition, the only Wairarapa-based teams to do so.
GIANTS SOFTBALL CLUB: Giants is the only softball club operating in the Wairarapa.
They have three teams contesting competitions in the Hutt Valley region with the premier men's team being the current Hutt Valley champions. Giants have also been responsible for organising local secondary schools and intermediate schools competitions at their South Park headquarters.
MASTERTON SWIMMING CLUB: The Masterton Swimming Club celebrated their 100th birthday over the past 12 months and continued to make a huge impact with their policy of providing opportunities for swimmers of all age groups and abilities.
They have the largest competitive squad of all clubs in the Wairarapa and have achieved outstanding results both locally and nationally.
WAIRARAPA CRICKET UMPIRES: Small as they may be in actual numbers the Wairarapa Cricket Umpires Association have made a their presence felt in a big way, both on the local front and at representative level where members have officiated in key matches in the Central Districts region.
SPORTS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE YEAR
MARK HARRIS: The excellent results achieved by several young Wairarapa athletes both here and in Australia over the past 12 months has been due in large part to the coaching abilities of Harris..He was also selected himself to participate in a prestigious coaching seminar held across the Tasman.
STEVE HURLEY: Hurley was sole selector of the Wairarapa senior tennis team which went through the 2007 08 season undefeated, achieving notable "firsts" for them by winning both their annual quadrangular and quinrangular tournaments along the way.He has also coached successfully in rugby, both with the Carterton club and the Wairarapa-Bush academy.
TONY NIXON: What a memorable last 12 months it has been for Giants men's softball coach Nixon.In that time he has taken Giants to victory in the Hutt Valley premier men's league, as well as to the semi-finals of the Inter-City series featuring the top clubs in both Hutt Valley and Wellington. Nixon also made his debut as Hutt Valley men's coach and took them to success in the national NPC competition.
ANDY THACKRAY: Thackray confirmed his reputation as one of the country's elite basketball referees.
His appointments over the past 12 months have included officiating at a women's international tournament in Taiwan, refereeing the Tall Blacks in a three-test series against Venezuala and their Olympic qualifying event in Australia and, at home, controlling the NBL men's final.