With all other sports awards in Northland cancelled for the rest of the 2020 year, it is reassuring to know that the effects of COVID-19 won’t stop the acknowledgments of the outstanding sporting achievements of secondary school students that have occurred since the 2019 ASB Northland Secondary Schools Sports Awards, which were held last year in October.

When New Zealand moved to Alert Level 1, sport around the country began to take central stage once again. It also reignited the status of sport in the daily lives of our Northland Secondary School students. Now revived, are the prospects of opportunities for events and competition, many that for a while were thought deemed to be lost. Unfortunately, there are still many events around the country that have had to be cancelled and as a consequence of this, many year 13 students have lost their last opportunity to represent their school.

But just as there was sport, and life, before Covid, we will revel in both, once again, in the months to come. It is because of this that there will be a 2020 ASB Northland Secondary School Sports Awards. The aim is to be able to acknowledge students who have competed and achieved highly from October 2019. We are confident that there are plenty!

Because there will also be students unable, through no fault of their own, to fulfil their potential, the awards this year will have a very different format. The annual dinner has been cancelled and new ideas around presentations are currently being considered. There will not be a Sportsman, Sportswoman or Team of the Year named.

Online nominations for ASB Code Awards can now be made at www.sportnorthland.co.nz and in the usual timeframe associated with the awards, finalists will be announced by the end of term three. Code Award winners will be announced in the week beginning Monday 19 October.  

All inquiries regarding this should be directed to Robyn Richards, Regional Sports Director at Sport Northland by email robynr@sportnorth.co.nz or phone 0274379007