Thirty-five finalists for the prestigious 2023 SP Sports Awards (SPSA) have been announced today in Port Moresby.
After a week of deliberations by Deloitte, the auditor of the SPSA Awards, the top three finalists for each of the 13 categories in this year’s awards have now been vetted, after their respective selections were recommended by the SP Awards Selection Panel headed by Chair Warwick Vele.
“This year we received a good number of high-quality nominations in each category, from all over the country and abroad, and included new names and faces,” says Mr. Vele.
He added, “It was especially pleasing to receive nominations for the categories outside of our high-profile ones, these being for Community Sports Initiative, Best Sportsperson with a Disability, and National Performance.”
The finalists, in alphabetical order, for the SP Sports Awards are:
| Category | Finalist | Sport |
|
Male Athlete of the Year |
Morea Baru | Weightlifting |
| Matthew Stubbings | Tennis | |
| Alwin Komolong | Football | |
|
Female Athlete of the Year |
Violet Apisah | Tennis |
| Dika Toua | Weighlifting | |
| Tanya Ruma | Cricket | |
| Team of the Year | PNG Lewas | Cricket |
| Women’s Tennis | Tennis | |
| PNG Lagatois | Football | |
| National Performance of the Year | Morobe Hammerheads | Rugby Union 7s |
| Lae Natives | Football | |
| Benjamin Aliel | Athletics | |
| Community Sports Initiative Award | Santos Love Cricket Program | Cricket |
| Kavieng Basketball | Basketball | |
| Roland Muluyaru | Football | |
| Junior Male Athlete of the Year | John Kariko Jnr | Cricket |
| Sugar-Ray Hakena | Tennis | |
| Adam Maikai | Basketball | |
| Junior Female Athlete of the Year | Idau Vagi | Weightlifting |
| Dika Lohia | Cricket | |
| Colita Hakena | Tennis | |
| Best Sports Person with a Disability | Dorna Longbut | Athletics & Badminton |
| Steven Abraham | Athletics | |
| Haoda Agari | Table Tennis | |
|
Sports Official of the Year |
David Yareboinen | Football |
| Barbara Stubbings | Tennis | |
| Nelson Stone | Rugby League & Athletics | |
|
Sports Photo of the Year |
Jordan Sere | |
| Fidelis Wasari | ||
| Charlie Dumavi | ||
| Sports Media of the Year | Rickilah Wura – SP Sports Breakfast Show Host | |
| Patricia Keamo – The National Sports Desk | ||
| Charlie Dumavi – Sunday Bulletin Sports Desk |
The announcement of the finalists also marks the opening of Short Messaging Service or SMS Voting for the People’s Choice Award.
The winner of the People’s Choice Award is selected through a public vote, using FM100’s SMS voting platform. The more votes a finalist gets, the more chances of them winning.
Candidates for this category come from four finalists of the following.
Male Athlete of the Year
Female Athlete of the Year
Team of the Year
National Performance of the Year
Voting for the People’s Choice Award category will close on 17th May 2023.
The SP Awards Presentation Dinner will be held at the traditional home of the Awards, Crowne Hotel (formerly Plaza) this year, on Saturday 27th May 2023. Expected to return with all its glamour and spendour for the first time after a three – year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, it will be streamed live to the people of Papua New Guinea on the SP Sports Awards Facebook page.
