The finalists of the Sport Malta Awards- Għazliet Sportivi Nazzjonali organised by SportMalta and Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sports, were announced yesterday during a press conference held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre.
For another consecutive year the event will be divided in 7 main categories and it will be aired LIVE on TVM 2 on Saturday 25th February from the Mediterranean Conference Centre. The winners will be selected through a live voting system by sports journalists representing the different media houses in Malta.
This year’s edition that will recognize the achievements in the different levels of sports will comprise of the traditional below categories:
Sportsman of the Year, Sportswoman of the Year, Team of the Year, Coach of the Year, Official of the Year, Male and Female Youth of the year and Award for the best initiative for the organization of an international event in Malta., Male and Female Special Olympics Award and Best Gozitan Athlete.
The finalists were chosen following a vote carried out by the sports journalists, members of the Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sports. There are 6 finalists in 4 of the categories as there were equal votes for the fifth placing.
The finalists are:
Sportsman of the Year
Camilleri Stevie – Waterpolo
Chetcuti William – Shooting
Degiorgio Charles – Horseracing
Micallef Duncan – Drag Racing
Xuereb Nathan – Shooting
Sportswoman of the Year
Abela Sue – Ten Pin Bowling
Carannante Tiziana – Ten Pin Bowling
Pellicano Helene – Tennis
Wingfield Charlotte – Athletics
Zammit Stevens Yazmin – Weightlifting
Official of the Year: (6)
Azzopardi Esther – Football
Borda Joseph – Rugby
Camilleri Terry – Snooker
Caruana Jesmond – Weightlifting
Sultana Paul – Basketball
Zammit John – Cycling
Coach of the Year: (6)
Adamoli Angela – Basketball
Bugeja Jimmy – Shooting
Farrugia Anthony – Waterpolo
Holliday Daniel – Rugby
Izzo Karl – Waterpolo
Vella Silvio – Football
Male Youth of the Year: (6)
Cassar Kurt – Basketball
Galea Luke – Karate
Giordimaina Gary – Wrestling
Magro Matthew – Ten Pin Bowling
Plumpton Ben – Waterpolo
Sultana Kijan – Squash
Female Youth of the Year
Al Tumi Hannah – Basketball
Attard Gliveau Nicole – Athletics
Grillo Sana – Gymnastics
Pellicano Helene – Tennis
Shultheis Victoria – Sailing
Xuereb Sara – Ten Pin Bowling
Team of the Year
Basketball: Women’s National Team
Football: Men’s National Team U/21
Snooker: Team: Alex Borg & Brian Cini
Waterpolo: Men’s National Team – ‘A’
Waterpolo: National Team Under 19
Apart from the categories which will be voted for by sports journalists during the night of the event, there will also be the People’s Choice Award whereby the winner will be selected by the general public via a televoting system. The public can vote online through this link https://www.sportmalta.org.mt/peoples-choice-awards-2017. The finalists in this category are:
People’s Choice Award
Tiziana Carannante – Bowling
William Chetcuti – Shooting
Keith Galea – Triathlon
Dennis Thornton – Regatta
John Zammit – Cycling
During the press conference, certificates were presented to all this year’s semi-finalists .The Sport Malta Awards- Għazliet Sportivi Nazzjonali dates back to 55 years ago when in 1960 Wilfred Pirotta won the Sportsman of the Year Award during the first edition. Over the years the event has increased in its popularity with the participation of more Associations and Federations, sports journalists and the general public.
This year’s edition hosted by Pamela Schembri will take place on Saturday 25th of February 2017 at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta and transmitted live on TVM 2 at 20:15