Southland’s best sporting performances from the past 12 months will be celebrated at the ILT Southland Sports Awards at the Ascot Park Hotel on June 25. 

The annual event, which is owned by the Southland Amateur Sports Trust and presented by Sport Southland, are New Zealand’s longest running sports awards. 

“We are really looking forward - touch wood - to being able to celebrate together as a sporting community after being forced to hold the awards ‘virtually’ in 2020,” Sport Southland chief executive Brendon McDermott. 

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“Even with Covid-19 and border restrictions cancelling the majority of overseas competitions, we know that Southlanders have continued to achieve in sport at an extremely high level and it will be great to have the chance to get together to recognise those achievements. 

“We are also looking forward to acknowledging our category winners from last year, who missed out on that chance to walk the stage and be celebrated.” 

“We look forward to seeing a really diverse range of nominations from the community.” 

ILT Sales and Marketing Manager Angee Shand said it was great to have the ILT Southland Sports Awards back as a ‘physical’ event in 2021. 

“ILT is proud to support this event that celebrates the sporting successes and achievements of the nominees, it’s particularly pleasing to recognise them in person after what was a significantly disrupted year.

Sport Southland will also present a celebration of Southland sport in early June at ILT Stadium Southland. 

“Now more than ever it's really important that achievement across the Southland community is recognised, not just the highest achievers, and so we are going to be working with regional sports organisations to identify and showcase those stories,” McDermott said.

Nominations for the 2021 Awards - which cover the period from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021 - are now open. 

Application forms are available online at www.sportsouthland.co.nz