Glenn Moore. Photo supplied.It is shaping up to be a busy month of awards ceremonies for Mid Canterbury’s Glenn Moore after he was nominated for the Buddle Findlay Coach of the Year at the upcoming Halberg Awards.

The award comes after Moore was also nominated for the coach of the year award at the New Zealand Rugby Awards.

It was a busy and successful year for the former Mid Canterbury player and coach, who won the World Cup with the Black Ferns in what was a dominant overall victory for the side at the tournament.

Moore also brought a winning touch to the Mid Canterbury Hammers, winning back-to-back Meads Cups in the 2013 and 2014, before jumping ship to coach in Super Rugby for the Blues.

Another Mid Canterbury connection in the nominations in netballer Kate Lloyd, who was part of the under-21 team that won the world championships in Botswana earlier this year.

The team was nominated for the team of the year award, alongside other teams including the All Whites, Black Sox, Black Ferns and Emirates Team New Zealand.

Sheep shearing, stand up paddleboarding and taekwon-do athletes are among the more than 70 nominations that have been received for six categories at what will be the 55th Halberg Awards, with 27 different sports represented in total.

The nominations go to the Halberg Awards Voting Academy for judging to be shortlisted into finalists.

Sixteen athletes from 12 sports have been put forward for the Sportsman of the Year award.

The hotly contested category includes Tom Walsh, Kane Williamson, Beauden Barrett, Brendon Hartley and Michael Venus.

The 2016 High Performance Sport New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year Lisa Carrington, is nominated again in the female category.

Carrington is joined by seven others including Ali Riley, Amy Satterthwaite, Portia Woodman, Roisin Giles and Sarah Goss.

Seven nominations have come in for the Halberg Disabled Sportsperson of the Year award including four time winner Sophie Pascoe.

Corey Peters, Holly Robinson, Jessica Hamill, Keegan Pitcher, Stephen Hills and William Stedman round out the list.

Nominees for the Disabled Sportsperson, Sportsman, Sportswoman and Team of the Year categories will all be eligible for the supreme Halberg Award – the country’s highest accolade for sporting excellence.

The award is presented to the athlete or team whose achievement is deemed by the judges as representing excellence in sport at the highest level.

The 55th Halberg Awards ceremony will be held on February 8.

Other awards presented during the ceremony include New Zealand’s Favourite Sporting Moment (public vote category), Sport New Zealand Leadership, Lifetime Achievement and inductees into the Sports Hall of Fame.

By Jaime Pitt-MacKay © The Ashburton Guardian - 9 December 2017