unnamed (6)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 in the categories 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 (6)

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