Eligibility

The 61st ISPS Handa Halberg Awards ceremony will recognise sporting achievements from 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023.

The information below outlines the eligibility rules for each of the Major Award Categories (including the supreme Halberg Award, Sportsman of the Year, Sportswoman of the Year, Para Athlete/Team of the Year, Team of the Year and Coach of the Year).

The supreme Halberg Award is chosen from the winners of the Sportsman of the Year, Sportswoman of the Year, Para Athlete/Team of the Year and Team of the Year categories.

General eligibility

• Only sporting achievements within the dates of 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023 are eligible.
• Nominations close on 1 December 2023 at 8pm.
• Sporting achievements in New Zealand and overseas are eligible.
• Any entries made after 1 December 2023 will not be accepted.
• Any achievements that start in November 2023 but finish in December 2023 will be eligible for the 62nd ISPS Handa Halberg Awards only.
• All nominations will be reviewed by HPSNZ and the Nominations Board for approval to ensure the eligibility criteria has been met before submitting for judging

Category specific criteria

ISPS Handa Sportsman of the Year and High Performance Sport New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year

• Must be a New Zealand Citizen, or hold a Resident or Permanent Resident Visa. (An athlete in a team is eligible for the Sportsman/Woman categories)

ISPS Handa Para Athlete/Team of the Year

• Must be a New Zealand Citizen, or hold a Resident or Permanent Resident Visa.
• Must hold a national or international classification in a Para sport as an individual Para athlete or Para sport team.

A para sport team must be either:

•  A New Zealand representative Para sport team, or
• team that is a registered New Zealand entity.

(Two or more people competing in the same single event are considered a Para sport team, eg wheelchair rugby).

(Para athletes or Para sport teams competing in Para sport are only eligible for the Para athlete/Para sport team and the Emerging Talent award categories - not Sportsman, Sportswoman or Team but are eligible for supreme award.)

ISPS Handa Team of the Year

Must be either:

• A New Zealand representative team (ie representing a NZ NSO), or
• A team that is a registered New Zealand entity.

(Two or more people competing in the same single event are considered a team, eg a rowing pair).

Buddle Findlay Coach of the Year

For the purposes of the ISPS Handa Halberg Awards a coach is defined as; “A Coach is responsible for directing, instructing and/or the physical training of an athlete, team or Para athlete/team”.

• Must be a New Zealand Citizen or hold a Resident or Permanent Resident Visa.

• New Zealanders coaching athletes/teams from other countries are eligible.

• A New Zealand Resident is only eligible if coaching a NZ team, athlete or Para athlete/team.

Sky Sport Emerging Talent

• Must be a New Zealand Citizen, or hold a Resident or Permanent Resident Visa
• Must be an individual athlete or athlete in a team
• Must be under 20 years of age by nominations deadline
• Must not have achieved success at elite international level. Success at an elite international level is defined as having medaled at the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games or Senior World Championships (or that sports pinnacle competition). Dispensation can be sought in special circumstances e.g. a non- playing reserve
• Nominee personal statement needs to include their aspirations as an athlete and their qualities as a person, including but not limited to:
  • What their sporting goals are
  • What they are doing to achieve their aspirations and/or goals
  • How they have shown their commitment to the sport

Regarding the criteria, the Emerging Talent Voting Academy consider:

• Past performance and achievement, including;
• Significance of the athletes highest level performance or achievement
• Significance of the competition or event where the highest level performance was achieved
• Other performances or achievements of significance
• Global nature of the sport

• Past winners of the Award are ineligible