Thirty-two finalists have been announced for the prestigious 2022 SP Sports Awards (SPSA) – celebrating the finest achievements in the sports sector in Papua New Guinea – a ceremony which has taken place annually since 1992.
There are 11 award categories ranging from Male Athlete and Female Athlete of the Year to Sports Administrator of the year and Sports Media of the year. There is also the Community Sports Initiative Award, which the sport for development programme Inclusive GymBad – PNG has been shortlisted for.
The annual event has also attracted some big name guest speakers to the country including the likes of Cathy Freeman, Bill Harrigan, Tim Horan and Ken Sutcliffe. Each year members of the sporting community look forward to being a part of PNG sports’ night of nights, the SP Sports Awards.
After weeks of deliberation, the SPSA Selection Panel has reached an agreement for the top three finalists for each of the 11 categories on offer in this year’s awards. You can view all finalists here, but the three programmes up for the Community Sports Initiative Award include:
| Community Sports Initiative Award | Hook in4 Health | Hockey PNG |
| Inclusive GymBad Program | Gymnastics and Badminton | |
| League Bilong Laif | PNG NRL |
Inclusive GymBad – PNG is part of Team Up – the Australian Government’s sport for development program in the Asia-Pacific, comprising more than 30 partnerships across the Asia-Pacific that are working towards key sustainable development goals.
Badminton Oceania supports these goals through the Inclusive GymBad program in Papua New Guinea, in collaboration with Oceania Gymnastics Union, Badminton Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea Gymnastics Federation and Motivation Australia.
The Inclusive GymBad program aims to remove or reduce the barriers experienced by people with a disability, particularly women and girls, to participate equally. We recognise that this may mean that some people require additional support or resources in order to participate.
“Despite the effects of COVID, we once again had a high-quality field,” said Warwick Vele, the Chairperson of the SPSA Selection Panel.
“It was great to see the efforts and achievements of our sportsmen and women, coaching staff, officials and administrators to get our athletes back into their respective sporting
arenas.”
He added that the efforts put into community sports and the good these initiatives have done was especially pleasing.
The Awards Presentation will be hosted virtually from the home of the SPSA, Crowne Hotel, on Saturday 28 May 2022. It will be streamed live on the SP Sports Facebook page – click here to view.
