The shortlist for the 2014 Isle of Man Sports Awards, sponsored by Isle of Man Bank has been announced today. The event takes place on Thursday 26 March 2015 at the Royal Hall, Villa Marina in Douglas.
 
The Sportsman of the Year award sees last year’s winner, Mark Cavendish pitted against Commonwealth Games silver medallist Peter Kennaugh, enduro riders Daniel McCanney and David Knight, as well as European Baku Champion Aaron Cook, TT star Conor Cummins, cyclist Mark Christian, and Tim Kneale who set a world record in shooting during 2014.
 
The Sportswomen of the Year award is one of the most open categories for many years, featuring silver medallist at the Youth Olympics Charlotte Atkinson, as well as Olympian winner Zoe Gillings, British women’s fell running champion Jackie Taggart and young athletics star Sarah Astin. The category will also be contested by cyclist Anna Christian and Sue Denny the winner of three gold medals at the Scurry and Trials Driving World Championships.
 
This year Isle of Man Sport has added the new category for Veteran Sportsperson of the Year, which will prove to be closely contested. There will also be the presentation of a special Lifetime Achievement Award, often one of the most emotional parts of the evening.
 
Gary Corkhill, Isle of Man Sport Executive Chairman commented:

“The Island’s sports stars have yet again contributed to an amazing year of achievements. Shortlisting becomes a harder task as each year goes by. For example, eight nominations have been shortlisted for the Sportsman of the Year award, all of whom would make very worthy winners.
 
The Isle of Man Sports Awards, sponsored by Isle of Man Back, is an opportunity to bring the sporting community together, to share and celebrate their success and to inspire the next generation to achieve even greater things in the future.”
 
One of the nominations for Administrator of the Year, Mike McMahon, recently passed away. With agreement from his family, the dedicated work he did is recognised by including his name in the final shortlist in this category.
 
The event, which also includes the presentation of Sports Aid Scholarships 2015/2016 for young athletes, starts at 8:15pm and tickets are available to book online from www.villagaiety.com.