The awards will be held in Auckland on 24 June and see 22 finalists vying for five main awards: Community Impact, Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion, Event Excellence, Commercial Partnership and the Future Leaders' Scholarship.

Chair of the judging panel, Diana Puketapu, said the panel was highly impressed by the calibre of entries in each award category.

"The entries and our finalists are an encouraging indicator of the increasingly diverse ways in which the sector is working to get more people physically active and improve wellbeing, and how the sector is responding to our changing society."

The Future Leaders Scholarship, introduced last year, will see $10,000 awarded to an individual who has shown a proven track record of leadership and potential to make a major contribution to the sporting sector.

Meanwhile the Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion Award has been introduced as a new category this year.

Sport NZ CEO Peter Miskimmin said it's important that Sport NZ and the sector evolve with society and that these awards reflect the great work partners are doing.

"The Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion Award is a great example of this. Ensuring more women and girls realise their potential in and through sport and active recreation is a key priority for Sport NZ. The applications have highlighted some fantastic examples of how partners are driving collective action across women and girls and disability, helping to develop a more inclusive society," said Peter Miskimmin.

Winners will be announced at the NZ Sport and Recreation Awards dinner on Monday 24 June 2019, held in Auckland at the Cordis Hotel to coincide with the Sport NZ Connections Conference.

The finalists by category (in alphabetical order) are:

Commercial Partnership Award Finalists:

- Auckland Council and Downer

- New Zealand Football and McDonalds

- New Zealand Rugby and AIG

Community Impact Award Finalists:

- Aktive Auckland Sport & Recreation - Good Sports

- Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti - Waikirikiri Park Playground Project

- Sport Waitakere - Gear up our Schools

- Sport Whanganui - Community Bike Park

Event Excellence Award Finalists:

- AIMS Games - Anchor AIMS Games International Sporting Championship

- Basketball New Zealand - Tall Blacks v China (FIBA World Cup Qualifiers)

- Waka Ama New Zealand - 2018 Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Waka Ama Sprint Nationals

Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion Award Finalists:

- Harbour Sport - ActivAsian

- New Zealand Cricket - A game for all New Zealanders, A game for life

- Paralympics New Zealand - Excellence and Equity through Sport

- Sport Waikato - This is ME

Future Leaders Scholarship Finalists:

- Andrew Corkill - Sport Waikato

- Jan Rowsell - New Zealand Golf

- Michael Woodside - Sport Wellington

- Peter Caccioppoli - Auckland Council

- Sarah Murray - Wellington City Council

In addition to the shortlisting for the above categories, the judges considered nominations for the C.K. Doig Leadership Award. Recipients of all awards will be announced at the award ceremony on 24 June.

The judging panel comprised Diana Puketapu (Chair), Sir John Wells, Peter Miskimmin, Andrew Leslie, Sarah Beaman and Maddi McLean.

Media contact   

Philip Clark, Sport NZ

M: 027 8385 710

E:  philip.clark@sportnz.org.nz