The 2021 Gauteng Sports Awards will on Sunday, November 14, honour a roster of South Africa’s top performing athletes, teams, administrators, and media personalities.
The finalists announcement for the 10th edition of the prestigious awards took place on Friday (October 15), at an exclusive event hosted by the Gauteng MEC of Sport, Mbali Hlophe in the Sedibeng District Municipality.
This year, three more categories have been added, resulting in 19 awards in total, with the introduction of the Online Virtual Sport and Recreation Programme of the Year category coming in the aftermath of Corona virus, and the need for sporting codes to become more creative in finding ways of keeping their sport active.
Delighted to announce the return of the award following a year break due to Covid-19, Hlophe said: “The pandemic caused us to put a halt to sport for more than a year, and we have had to find unique ways in which to bring back sport to our communities.”
She added:” Sport is such a vital part of our lives and more often than not unites us as communities. So it was really difficult for us to have to cancel the 2020 edition of the Gauteng Sports Awards and gives us immense pleasure to be able to once again honour and reward Gauteng’s best athletes, administrators, coaches and media personalities who have been able to keep us entertained and who have overcome so much in the past 18 months.”
Among the top contenders for Sportsman of the Year is none other than Olympic gold medalist and world recorder holder, Tatjana Schoenmaker and Proteas cricket captain, Temba Bavuma.
Gauteng Sports Awards 2021; top contenders
Paralympians Kgothatso Montjane, and Ntando Innocent Mahlangu lead the Disabled Sportswoman and Sportsman of the year award respectively, while the legendary swimming coach Rocco Meiring (coach of Tatjana Schoenmaker) is, as expected, on the list of Coach of the Year.
Meanwhile, discus double world record holder Kyle Blignaut is among contenders in the Most Promising Athlete category after his 6th place showing in the men’s Shot Put Final at the Olympic Games.
This category is arguably one of the most tightly contested of the awards, as Blignaut will be up against Caitlin Rooskrantz, who became the first South African gymnast to qualify for the Olympics since Zandre Labuschagne in 2004 and is the first woman of colour to don the Green and Gold at an Olympics, while Simone Kruger finished in 5th in the Paralympics in the F38 category in the Women’s Standing Discuss.
Schoenmaker, Bavuma and Montjane are further nominated in Sport Personality of the Year Award, while award-winning Journalist Mpumi Manyisi has been nominated in the Journalist of the Year and Community Sports Media of the Year Award for Soweto TV.
Tuks Aquatics are among the list of Sport Team of the year after Schoenmaker’s exploits in Tokyo. Her incredible performance dragged team mate, training partner and friend, Kylene Corbet to three lifetime best performances and a 5th place in the 200m breaststroke finals at her first Olympic Games.
Sports Personality of the Year Award Voting
The Sports Personality of the Year Award will be awarded by public votes which opened on Friday, October 15 and close at midday on November 14.
- To vote for Montjane SMS Sport01 to 45682
- To vote for Schoenmaker SMS Sport02 to 45682
- To vote for Mahlangu SMS Sport03 to 45682
- To vote for Bavuma SMS Sport04 to 45682
To vote, sms Sport followed by your nominee number, eg: Sport01 for (Kgothatso Montjane) to 45682, SMS charged at 1.50 free SMS do not apply.
There is no limit to the number of SMSes sent per cellphone number.
The full list of awards are as follows :
- Sport Personality of the Year
- Sportsman of the Year
- Sportswoman of the Year
- Sports Team of the Year
- Disabled Sportswoman of the Year
- Disabled Sportsman of the Year
- Disabled Sport Team of the Year
- Coach of the Year
- Most Promising Athlete of the Year
- Technical Official of the Year
- Sport Federation of the Year
- Administrator of the Year
- Amayanga – Yanga athlete of the Year
- Sport Fan of the Year
- Community Sport and Recreation Programme of the Year
- Online Virtual Sport and Recreation Programme of the Year
- Sports Journalist of the year (print, radio, television)
- Sport media of the Year (mommunity media)
- Lifetime Achievement Award (chosen by MEC)
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