In 2000, New Zealand Soccer, the game's governing body, cocked a snook at the New Zealand Soccer Media Association by opting to hold their own awards evening, primarily to recognise the achievers in the National League.
To add insult to injury, the national body opted to hold the dinner on the eve of the Chatham and SWANZ Cup Finals, traditionally the night when the NZSMA held the event they had introduced to the New Zealand footballing calendar in 1970 ...
While the NZSMA was forced to switch their event to the eve of the National League Grand Final, another ludicrous situation developed - yours truly found myself in contention for six awards!!
Of the Soccer Media honours, I was among the hopefuls for Soccer Writer of the Year, Club Programme of the Year, Club Magazine of the Year and the Jim McMullan Trophy, while I was a final nominee in both the NZ Soccer Media Personality of the Year and NZ Soccer Service to the Game awards.
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It's an honour in itself to even be nominated for the last-mentioned honour or the Jim McMullan Trophy, as both are highly prestigious awards which recognise an individual's contribution to the game. To be among the final nominees for both ... wow!!
In the end, I was more than happy to return home with the Club Magazine of the Year trophy, as Editor of the best club publication for the third time in five years. But what a crazy situation to find oneself in - in contention for an unprecedented six awards in one season ...
Perhaps it was an omen for what happened between February 25 and August 24, 2001 ... perhaps this will remind you!
Meanwhile, common sense prevailed in 2001, with NZS and the NZSMA getting together again to hold what proved a highly successful combined awards dinner. Following are the NZS awards details - where the awards were replicated, details of the winner can be found on the NZSMA Honours List.
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