Athletes, sports officials, and invited guests were fortunate to witness the 32nd SP Sports Awards Presentation, under the theme ‘Discipline Starts with You’ at the Crown Hotel on Saturday night. Sponsored by SP Brewery, the SP Sports Awards recognizes the achievements of PNG athletes, officials, sports media, and sports community initiatives in various categories. Each of the 11 categories had its top three (3) finalists who were selected through open nominations. Winners in each category are as follows: People’s Choice Award – Kimbe Pirates (Rugby 7s) Male Athlete of the Year – Daniel Baul (Athletics) Female Athlete of the Year – Dika Toua (Weightlifting) Carbine Club Team of the Year – PNG Barramundis (Cricket) Brands Pacific National Performance of the Year – Kimbe Pirates (Rugby 7s) CPL Para-Athlete of the Year – Samantha Maiasa (Athletics) Community Sports initiative of the Year – National Kickboxing Federation (Kickboxing) Coca-Cola EuroPacific Partners Junior Male Athlete of the Year – Sugar-Ray Hakena (Tennis) Coca-Cola EuroPacific Partners Junior Female Athlete of the Year – Timonaliz Alarcos Kriebischi (Squash) Trukai Industries Sports Official of the Year – Mark Keto (Boxing) Trukai Industries Limited Sports Media Award – NBC Sports Desk Sports Photo of the Year – ‘Golden Girl’ by Patricia Keamo Former Australian Olympic Swimmer and Guest Speaker Liesel Jones referring back to the awards theme spoke on her experiences on discipline being a much-needed quality for athletes. She stated that oftentimes individuals mistakenly believe that motivation is the key to success. “Motivation is something that is fleeting.” “Most of the time, you’re not motivated to do anything and that’s when discipline comes in.” “It’s showing up for training and getting the work done even when you don’t feel like it.”