New Zealand should ditch the Halbergs as the purveyor of just who the country’s top sportsperson is.
For too long now the the Halbergs have been out of touch with reality and more often than not New Zealand’s best sportsperson doesn’t win the top award. Minor sports, particularly Olympic sports have held too much say and sway on who is anointed to the supreme award.
An antiquated voting system gives these sporting minnows more power and punch than they deserve and they effectively hold the country’s best sports award to ransom.
On Wednesday evening, sensational coxless pairs rowers Hamish Bond and Eric Murray won the coveted supreme award, beating out hot favourite cricketer Brendan McCullum and the number one women’s golfer Lydia Ko, among others.
It seems churlish to denigrate the achievements of Bond and Murray as they really have been outstanding sportsmen and ambassadors for the country, and that’s certainly not my aim here. It’s just that McCullum’s performance was better and more meritorious of the supreme award.
One of the reasons put forward in support of Bond and Murray is that their success has forced their strongest competitors to flee the coxless pairs and take up other rowing events.
It’s difficult to reconcile the fact that part of the dynamic duos success is down to the fact they are competing against lesser athletes in their chosen discipline.
I’m not aware of any cricketers who have given up the game after being subjected to one of McCullum’s ferocious batting onslaughts. In short, Brendan McCullum continues to compete against and have success against the very best opposition the world and the game has to offer.
McCullum’s performances over the past year have been unparalleled in the history of New Zealand cricket. Almost singlehandedly he has restored the faith of the nation in a sport many New Zealanders have long dreamt to have success in. They are now some people’s favourites for the World Cup.
The day McCullum reached his triple century will long be remembered by those who witnessed it, either in person or on TV. The whole country stopped to bask in the glory of his achievement.
For too long, New Zealand has been considered the poor cousin in world cricketing terms. Finally, it seemed we deserved our seat at the big table. In contrast, Bond and Murray’s achievements were met with appreciable pride and satisfaction in their performance, however nothing to match the glow created by McCullum.
For an award purported to honour the top Kiwi sportsperson of the year, an analysis of the recent recipients suggests the very best sportspeople aren’t winning the award. Clearly, those competitors competing in Olympic sports (rowing, kayaking, track and field) have an advantage over non-Olympic sports.
It’s not just McCullum and cricket that have been treated shabbily by the Halbergs. Rugby, the sport synonymous with New Zealand around the world, has been reduced to a mere footnote as far as the Halbergs are concerned.
Sure, there have been successes. The World Cup winning teams of 1987 and 2011 each won the supreme award. However, in a land where rugby reigns supreme in the national psyche, only three individual All Blacks have won the overall award.
The last of these was Sir Wilson Whinneray way back in 1965, with Don Clarke winning in 1959 and Ron Jarden in 1951. While a small number of All Blacks have claimed the sportsman of the year award (McCaw twice, Jonah Lomu and Jeff Wilson), none have been deemed good enough to take out the overall title.
Imagine if the All Blacks ever got really good at rugby!
In 50 years, no single individual All Black has performed well enough to be considered New Zealand’s Sportsperson of the Year. Not Colin Meads, not Michael Jones, no Sean Fitzpatrick, Jonah Lomu, Dan Carter or even Richie McCaw.
Shame on you Halbergs.
Some claim that the All Blacks too often dominate the world rugby scene so the measure of their level of performance is diluted because there are fewer examples of outstanding highs, yet Bond and Murray are regarded so highly because they have dominated their discipline and remained undefeated over the last six years.
An achievement more than matched by the All Blacks.
Of course, these kinds of awards are always subjective. However, a perusal of the award winners going back to 1949 shows a distinct bias towards Olympic sports, and an even more distinct bias against the nations leading sport, rugby union.
It’s time for a change, we can do better than these current Halberg Awards and ensure that the very very best sportsperson of the year is recognised and honoured.
Pickett
Guest
Rowing is much more of a true international sport than Rugby. The NZ pair thoroughly deserved their award.
chucked
Guest
Rowing is simply the most overrated and over hyped 'sport' that new zealanders participate in. the entire Olympics are headed the same way. the halbert awards need to be changed to the Rowing Awards...because that's all they really are. Halberg award being given to the rowers YET AGAIN sums up just how sad rowing and the Awards are. Ones an embarrassment to be called a sport and the other is fixated on not acknowledging REAL sports that people actually care about..and u can be DAMM sure people don't give a flying f about rowing or The Olympics...look at the TV ratings figures for Olympics....shorthand Street rated higher some nights..
Pita
Guest
Why is an ex-Pommy cricket captain sticking his nose in our sporting issues anyway..?
firstxv
Guest
don't worry...no one from my school would ever be on the juice... :-)
ClarkeG
Roar Guru
I thought I was quite clear about what I meant and I was clear about what you meant. I disagreed with your opinion that rugby is a very minor sport only taken seriously by 3 teams at international level. I used NZ's results at rugby world cups to support my view. Let me be clear about Val Adams. You don't need to convince me about her achievements. I rate her highly. I didn’t mention her in my reply. I was simply commenting on your statement about rugby. Now you’re saying its played by smallish nations who don't excel at other big sports. Is NZ not a small nation that excels at other sports? Australia, South Africa, Argentina, France, England are much larger nations that play rugby and excel at other big sports. You state that in your opinion it was an anomaly NZ were unable to win any of five world cups I mentioned. An anomaly? seriously? They did not win it in five straight attempts. You think they had the best or near best team at every world cup and could/should have won them all. Well the fact is they didn't but doesn't that just support my conclusion that the rugby world cup is quite hard to win, certainly harder than you think. And again in 2011 they virtually fell over the finishing line to win the final by 1 point. In recent times leading up to the Halberg awards there has been much discussion about the merits of the respective nominees. It is ironic that the very points you hold on rugby, i.e. it is a minor sport lacking depth and competiveness, have been said by many as being reasons why Val Adams should not take out the Halberg award. But as I said I don’t hold that opinion in regard to Adams. I am simply commenting on your views on rugby.
Phantom
Roar Rookie
The right choice won. The kiwis were unlucky for TOTY.
richard
Guest
Sorry,wasn't implying that.If you look at my last post,it refers to Val Young,not Val Adams.And,that was in the sixties,at the height of the Cold War when doping was just coming into vogue. As for the current situation,call me naive,but I am not so sure that doping is as endemic as in the past.The fact only one shotputter,the Belorussian Natalya Ostapchuk,is the only one who has been caught on the roids suggests the sport is reasonably clean. With that in mind,with her ability,it's not surprising Valerie dominates the way she does.It's not that others have got banned (Ostapchuk is the only one to be caught) that gives Val the edge,it is her ability.And,I believe being clean,they just can't cut it with her. As an aside,I believe Val Adams will eventually retire as the greatest female shotputter ever.And what will make it such an achievement is she will do it without the benefit of PED's.
rae1
Guest
See Jerry's comment below. Its not an award for longevity its about what that person achieved in the calendar year. NZ Cricket was floundering. Through McCullum's own efforts and the leadership he provides cricket is enjoying a mini resurgence as a result.. On that note, I tend to agree with the author.
Jerry
Guest
"These athletes also get far less recognition than athletes in team sports" Only if you limit "team sports" to rugby and cricket.
Jarrod
Guest
McCullum was great in test matches last year but very poor in ODIs. McCullum did not deserve the award because realistically he is nowhere near the best cricketer in the world. In test cricket batting he is ranked 15, in ODI cricket he is ranked 30 and T20 cricket he is ranked 5th. I think that those who compete in individual sports generally put in a lot more effort and have a far more difficult job to get established. These athletes also get far less recognition than athletes in team sports. It is only right to me that individual athletes get a bit of head start.
Colfaxtim
Guest
Really good that NZ has some high achievers, and are top in multiple sports. I don't begrudge any who get the final nod over anyone else. It's an award. It's nice but I'm not sure that Valarie or anyone else would go home and be negative about missing out. It's a good night for a dinner and gather the cream of the country in one place. A celebration. Then everyone wakes up in the morning and gets back to work. There can only be one winner. Complaining about who gets picked is a bit like that fellow at the grammy's the other night. How embarrassing. The Halbergs have been around for a very long time. I'm glad there is a tradition. Albeit geared perhaps against individuals in team sports. Celebrate it.
Rower who wishes he could play rugby.
Roar Pro
I don't think you realise how good Bond and Murray are. They are two of the best if not the best rowers in the world. They haven't lost since the 2012 olympics, no one can beat them. I'm sorry, but as athletes, these two dominate McCullum or any rugby player for that matter. They deserve any award that comes to them.
Jerry
Guest
Not the only sport, in fact NZ tends to do well in the other sit down sports at the Olympics - Equestrian, Cycling, some Sailing, Kayaking. In fact, an NZer managed to win an Archery medal in the Commonwealth Games while sitting down (she was in a wheelchair to be fair).
Old Bugger
Guest
richard The reverse concept of your vigorous anti-doping regime is if Val's competitors did not use drugs in the first place, then they wouldn't be in the same competiton against someone who has proven that her success is because she doesn't stoop to such unacceptable levels, to succeed. It is because of her ability, her commitment, her training etc that her competitors have to cheat by taking drugs to defeat her - it is not because they got caught and banned, for using drugs, hence the level of women's shot put competition has diminished, as you have implied. That is IMO, a sad statement and reflection of NZ sporting achievement you make.....she's dominant because the others got banned taking drugs.
paty305
Guest
Rowing wins a lot more medals at an Olympics than basketball (only 2 available), and believe that it would be virtually impossible to break the USA's stranglehold on the gold. The priority for funding should be that it gives NZ the greatest chance at winning medals, and by heavily funding rowing the results have shown. I mean look at Bond & Murray winning another world championship and still being undefeated, in a sport that despite what naysayers argue is one of the most gruelling and competitive in the world.
spruce moose
Guest
The rowers haven't been beaten in 5 years. That deserves recognition Btw, I don't mind that ruggers and cricketers miss out on the awards. It at least highlights to the rest of the country there is a bit more to NZ than cricket, rugby and netball.
Daz
Guest
I used to row but my girlfriend at the time put a bit of a dampener on my successes by pointing out it's about the only sport you can do sitting down. The feeling of teamwork is awesome, like some metronomic super species advancing across the water and when you feel your bubbles under the boat it's almost sexual.
HUM
Guest
How many Kiwi's actually care?
Jerry
Guest
And that's great, but those are records of longevity. Which is an achievement, but not one within the calendar year the Halbergs are judged on.
Kane
Guest
Everytime McCaw takes the field he's setting a new record. Most ever test wins. Most ever tests as captain. Most ever test wins as captain. Gregan, who played 139 test won near enough the same amount of tests as McCaw has captained to test wins. All while doing it in the hardest team in the world to make.