New Zealand’s ‘Favourite Sporting Moment’ For 2010
New Zealand’s ‘Favourite Sporting Moment’ For 2010
- Your Chance To
Vote
Auckland, 29 December
2010 - The people of New Zealand will get the chance to
vote for a new award - ‘New Zealand’s Favourite Sporting
Moment’, which will be announced along with other winners
at the Westpac Halberg Awards in February.
For the first time in the history of New Zealand’s pre-eminent national sporting awards - which date back to 1949 when cricket great Bert Sutcliffe was named the country’s first ‘Sportsman of the Year’ - The Halberg Trust will involve a ‘Public Vote’ component at the dinner on February 10, which will also crown the winner of the ‘Halberg Award’ for 2010.
New Zealand’s Favourite Sporting Moment, sponsored by SPARC, is a new initiative introduced by the Halberg Trust to engage the public more closely in the Westpac Halberg Awards and at the same time serve to stimulate greater public awareness of the work the Trust does in linking disabled people to sport in their community.
“We know how much New Zealanders care about their sport and now they get a chance to become involved in a meaningful way,” says Halberg Trust Chief Executive Steve Hall. The criteria for ‘New Zealand’s Favourite Sporting Moment’, bought to you by SPARC, is “the most exciting, remarkable or compelling sporting moment, game or series during 2010 involving New Zealand sporting teams and individuals both at home and abroad.”
A panel made up of representatives from The Halberg Trust, SPARC and media partners have selected a shortlist of 8 special 2010 sporting moments, from which the public can select their ‘Favourite Sporting Moment’. They are (in chronological order):
1. Brendon
McCullum - 116 not out off 56 balls; Black Caps vs Australia
T20, Christchurch
2. Adam Hall - recovers and wins slalom
Gold; Vancouver Paralympics
3. All Whites - Winston
Reid’s last minute goal vs Slovakia; FIFA World Cup, South
Africa
4. All Blacks - Israel Dagg’s last minute try to
beat Springboks; Tri Nations, Soweto
5. Nikki Hamblin -
late surge for 800m Silver; Delhi Commonwealth Games
6.
Silver Ferns - double extra-time victory over Australia for
Gold; Delhi Commonwealth Games
7. Men’s Pair - Hamish
Bond & Eric Murray win Gold; World Rowing Championships,
Karapiro
8. Kiwis - Nathan Fien’s last minute try to
beat Australia and win Four Nations; Brisbane
SPARC Chief Executive Peter Miskimmin says SPARC is delighted to partner with the Halberg Trust in bringing together an award which he feels will capture the imagination of the New Zealand public. “SPARC invests in high performance sport because it excites and inspires the nation. This award celebrates those special moments. I think Kiwi sports fans will enjoy the opportunity to share their thoughts on the moments that excited and inspired them.”
Mr Hall says in addition to the support of SPARC as the naming rights partner of ‘New Zealand’s Favourite Sporting Moment’ the Halberg Trust has been joined by SKY Sport, the presenting partner of the live telecast of the awards on February 10, plus TRN through Radio Sport, Newstalk ZB and Fairfax Media, in promoting the new award to the public.
Voting for New Zealand’s Favourite Sporting Moment can be made by text and online at skysport.co.nz, starting on January 1. Voting closes at lunchtime on Thursday February 10 - the night of the Westpac Halberg Awards. For full voting details go to www.skysport.co.nz.
The feature of the public voting is a prize of four tickets to attend the Westpac Halberg Awards Dinner on February 10, which includes travel and accommodation, walking the red carpet with the stars and sitting with three - time Halberg Award winner, Valerie Adams.
The public is asked to go to www.skysport.co.nz and check the terms and conditions of the competition, which is only open to New Zealand residents. The public can vote more than once but may only cast one vote per day.
“We are confident the
New Zealand sports public will be keen to get involved in
determining the outcome of this new award,” says Mr Hall.
“There have been so many special sporting moments
involving New Zealand sports men, women and teams this year,
what with the Football World Cup, the Commonwealth Games,
the World Rowing Championships, the Kiwis Four Nations
triumph and the All Blacks Test successes, to name just a
few,” he
says.