WeeklySA_AdminCONTRIBUTION: South African sporting excellence will take centre stage at Sun City on Sunday as the country’s leading athletes, teams, coaches and administrators compete for honours at the 19th South African Sport Awards…
By Sipho Maluka
South Africa’s most accomplished sporting figures will gather at the Sun City Superbowl in North West on Sunday, for the 19th edition of the South African Sport Awards.
Held under the theme “Crowned by Greatness”, the awards will celebrate athletes, teams, coaches, administrators, officials, volunteers and journalists whose contributions strengthened South African sport during the period from January 1 to December 31, 2025.
The evening’s most anticipated contest will be for Sport Star of the Year, where Proteas Test captain Temba Bavuma faces sprint sensation Akani Simbine and Springbok powerhouse Malcolm Marx.
The category brings together three prominent figures from cricket, athletics and rugby, reflecting the diversity of sporting achievement the awards seek to recognise.
Bavuma’s leadership and performances for the national cricket team earned him a place among the finalists, while Simbine’s continued excellence on the international athletics circuit secured his nomination. Marx, a central figure in the Springboks’ formidable pack, completes the high-profile shortlist.
Competition will also be fierce in the Sportsman of the Year category, where golfer Christiaan Maas, swimmer Pieter Coetzé and heavyweight boxer Kevin Lerena are in contention.
Proteas captain Laura Wolvaardt leads the nominees for Sportswoman of the Year alongside canoeist Kira Bester and middle-distance athlete Prudence Sekgodiso.
Sekgodiso has earned a second nomination in the Youth/Junior Sport Star of the Year category, where she is up against boxer Siseko Teyisi and sprinter Bayanda Walaza.
South Africa’s Paralympic and para-sport champions will also be honoured. Wheelchair tennis star Kgothatso Montjane, athlete Sheryl James and discus thrower Simoné Kruger are shortlisted for Sportswoman of the Year with a Disability.
The corresponding men’s award will be contested by swimmer Christian Sadie and athletes Mpumelelo Mhlongo and Puseletso Michael Mabote. Cricket, athletics and swimming are represented in the Coach of the Year category, with Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad nominated alongside swimming coach Rocco Meiring and athletics mentor Thabo Matebedi.
The nominees for Sport Team of the Year are the Golf RSA Eisenhower Trophy team, the Proteas men’s Test cricket side and South Africa’s men’s 4x400m relay team.
Junior teams will have their own moment in the spotlight. The Junior Springboks, the South African Under-19 tug-of-war team and the Proteas Women’s Under-19 T20 cricket team are competing for Youth/Junior Sport Team of the Year.
Golf RSA, Tennis South Africa and Cricket South Africa have been shortlisted for National Federation of the Year, an award recognising the organisational structures behind the country’s sporting success.
The awards will extend beyond competitors and acknowledge the people whose work makes sport possible at community, administrative and technical levels.
Jonathan “Jono” Leaf-Wright of Central Gauteng Lions, cycling administrator Sonja Schultz and tennis administrator Anthony Moruthane are nominated for Sport Administrator of the Year.
Moenyane Dementia Modikwe of roller sport, rural horse-racing volunteer Nqobile Kunene and mini-cricket volunteer Puleng Moeketsane will contest the Sport Volunteer of the Year award. The finalists for Recreation Body of the Year are Khokho Association South Africa, Swartland Community Sport Centre and Durban Africa Sports Club.
Technical officials will also be recognised, with para-sport official Ernesta Strydom, football referee Abongile Tom and rugby referee Aimee Barrett-Theron competing for Technical Official of the Year.
Those responsible for documenting and communicating South Africa’s sporting stories are included in the honours. Palesa Manaleng, Rachel Makhura and Vuyo Macoba are nominated for Sports Media Journalist of the Year.
Photographers and visual storytellers Hlobisile Khumalo, Alché Greeff and Skhu Nkomphela are shortlisted for Sport Visual Journalist of the Year.
With leading names from across the sporting spectrum converging at Sun City, the ceremony promises to celebrate not only championship performances but also the coaches, officials, volunteers, administrators and media professionals working behind the scenes.
For Bavuma, Simbine and Marx, however, the night carries an additional prize: the opportunity to be crowned South Africa’s Sport Star of the Year.
