The 2015/16 Southland Sports Award finalists have been announced and eight are from Cycling Southland.
Thirty two finalists were revealed at a special function at Stadium Southland on Thursday night.
They represented sports ranging from basketball to boxing, athletics to alpine ski racing and plenty more in between.
All up 18 different sports have been included in the finalists and Sport Southland Chief Executive Brendon McDermott has been hugely impressed with the standard.
"Every one of these finalists has produced exceptional results over the qualifying period," he said.
"Looking at the list, it makes you truly proud to be a Southlander. One of the aims of the ILT-sponsored Southland Sports Awards is to inspire the Southland sporting community, but I think these people and teams really inspire the whole province – regardless of whether you're involved in sport or not, these finalists show that you can achieve huge things from Southland."
Southland Amateur Sports Trust Chairman Tom Pryde said there had been an extremely high calibre of nominations across all categories this year.
"There have been so many outstanding performances during the past year that to be named a finalist is really a huge achievement in itself," he said.
"It's so exciting to see the talent spanning the ages. From junior level right through to masters, Southland boasts a wealth of exceptional athletes, coaches, teams, administrators and officials."
"It's also great to see so many different sports represented, which shows there is talent right across the board."
The Southland Sports Awards will be held on Friday June 17 at the Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill. The awards celebrate performances between April 1, 2015 and March 31 2016.
Along with the winners of seven categories (Senior, Junior, Team, Coach, Administrator, Official and Masters), winners of the Sport Southland Services to Sport Awards and the
winner of the People's Choice Sporting Moment of the Year will also be announced on the night.
SOUTHLAND SPORTS AWARDS FINALISTS
Senior sportsperson of the year
Genevieve Behrent – Rowing
Alanna Columb – Downhill MTB
Eddie Dawkins – Cycling
Laura Thompson – Cycling/Para-Cycling
Lima Sopoaga – Rugby
Shannon Francois – Netball
Junior sportsperson of the year
Jack Beaumont – Athletics
Emma Cumming – Cycling
Brad Knipe – Cycling
Atipa Mabonga – Athletics
Sammy Murrell – Football
Flynn Thomas – Rugby
Elizabeth Reid – Alpine Ski Racing
Team of the year
SGHS First XV – Rugby
Southland Sharks - Basketball
Southland U21 Women – Touch
Southland Women's Masters – Golf
Aiden Thwaites and Shane Twiss - Speedway
Coach of the year
Dave Beadle and Sid Cumming – Cycling
Paul Henare – Basketball
John O'Connor – Rowing
Dennis Thompson – Touch
Karl Watson – Cycling
Administrator of the year
Greg Sheppard – Tennis
Karyn Flett – Squash
Tom O'Connor – Boxing
Official of the year
Wayne Shieffelbein – Motorsport
Kristie Simpson – Netball
Masters achievement
Erin Criglington – Cycling
Gail Kirkman – Athletics
Simon Callaghan – MTB
Debbie Telfer – Athletics/Cross Country
Article courtesy Stuff