Sports Awards judging format amended

The format for deciding the various winners of the categories of the 2013 National Sports Awards has been changed.{{more}}

No longer will national associations be responsible for the submission of the performances of the nominees. Instead that has been put in the hands of a panel of adjudicators.

The panel is made up of mainly practising sports journalists, as well as another person closely connected to sports.

And, already things are in place, as members of the panel have been informed of their task.

Previously, the various national associations submitted their information on their nominees, which was then accessed by a panel of judges.

Acting manager of the National Sports Council Cecil Charles informed SEARCHLIGHT that the modified judging format is just one of the things the organisation is putting in place to add some shine to the event.

He said that he thinks the new format also added some credibility and greater transparency to the judging and lessens the possibility of subjectivity.

Lending his support to the venture was acting chair of the National Sports Council Jules Anthony.

Anthony, who is also involved in sports journalism, stated that the incorporation of the journalists who cover sporting events helps to show up their worth.

“… the sports journalists play a critical role in the development of sports, as they often have the first-hand knowledge,” he further said.

Reports are that many of the citations of the nominees in the past were either not well done, padded or were laced with inaccuracies, as there were no means of verification by the judges.

Also, issues surfaced in the past owing to late submissions by the national associations, at times resulting in the extension of the deadline.

The National Sports Awards event has been off the calendar for the past two years; hence, athletes and associations that excelled in 2011 and 2012 were not recognized.

But Charles confirmed that there will be sports awards next year, as the outstanding athletes for 2013 will be compensated with a night in the spotlight.

The acting manager also revealed that they are working towards having the ceremony very early in 2014, instead of the March-April period as in the past.

Among the categories to be recognized are the junior and senior sportsman and sportswoman of the year; the association of the year, the coach of the year; the international sports personality of the year, as well as the overall sports personality of the year.

US based female sprinter Natasha Mayers, who won a gold medal in the 100 metres at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India, was voted as the 2010 sports personality of the year when the last national sports awards were distributed in 2011. (RT)