While two Pretorians will face Springbok captain Siya Kolisi for the title of South Africa’s biggest sports star of 2021, several other local athletes, coaches and administrators have also been shortlisted for probably South Africa’s most prestigious sports awards, the official SA Sport Awards.

The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) together with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) embarked on the creation of the South African Sports Awards brand, in a bid to reward South African sports stars for their efforts in keeping the passion of sport alive in the hearts of millions of South Africans through their efforts in local and international sports competitions.

The South African Sports Awards (SASA) has been created to recognise and honour individuals and teams who have excelled both on and off the field.  The 2022 SA Sports Awards will be awarded for achievements during the period 01 September 2019 to 31 August 2021from 01 September 2019 to 31 August 2021.

Pretoria’s Olympic swimming champion, Tatjana Schoenmaker and the Paralympic star and former pupil of Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool (Affies), Ntando Mahlangu, will compete with Kolisi for the title of Sports Star of the Year.

Both Schoenmaker and Mahlangu have also been nominated in the Sports Awards People’s Choice category, where they will compete with Kolisi, motorcycle racer Brad Binder, and another Olympic medallist, Bianca Buitendag.

Schoenmaker’s third nomination is as Sportswoman of the Year, where she will compete with Buitendag and the cricket star of the Women Proteas, Lizelle Lee.

Mahlangu was also nominated in the category for Sportsmen with a disability.

The specialist long jump coach, Neil Cornelius, who is associated with TuksAthletics, is one of the nominees for coach of the year. He will compete with the Springbok coach, Rassie Erasmus and Schoemaker’s swimming coach at TuksSwimming, Roco Meiring.

The public can participate in the voting for some sections, such as the Sport Awards People’s Choice. Please visit the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture’s twitter page at @SportArtsCultur for further instructions.

Full SA Sport Awards 2021 Nominees are:

Sports Star of the Year: Tatjana Schoenmaker, Ntando Mahlangu, Siya Kolisi.

Sport Awards People’s Choice: Ntando Mahlangu, Brad Binder, Siya Kolisi, Bianca Buitendag, Tatjana Schoenmaker.

Sportsman of the Year: Greg Minnaar, Matthew Sates, Makazole Mapimpi.

Sportsman of the Year with a Disability: Pieter du Preez, Ntando Mahlangu, Mpumelelo Mhlongo.

Sportswoman of the Year: Tatjana Schoenmaker, Bianca Buitendag, Lizelle Lee.

Sportswoman of the Year with a Disability: Anruné Liebenberg-Weyers, Louzanne Coetzee and Guides, Estean Badenhorst and Claus Kempen-Sheryl James.

Team of the Year: Springboks, Spar Proteas Netball, Men’s 4×100 Relay.

Newcomer of the Year: Ronald Brown, Miné de Klerk, Janneman Malan.

Coach of the Year: Neil Cornelius, Johan (Rassie) Erasmus, Rocco Meiring.

Sport Administrator of the Year: Ndumiso Njabulo Nyawose, Cornelia Swanepoel, Anne Vermaak.

Volunteer of the Year: Jodie Ellinor Dreyer, Owen Gabaotswe, Renuka Ramoop.

Indigenous Games Team of the Year: Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape.

National Federation of the Year: SASAPD, Surfing, SA Rugby.

Recreation Body of the Year: Local Surf Lounge Academy, Skateistan (Gauteng), Fight With Insight (Gauteng).

Photographer of the Year: Roger Sedres, Frennie Shivambu, Reinhardt Hamman.

Journalist of the Year: Timothy Molobi, Thabiso Mosia, Robert Marawa.

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram