The Seychelles Sports Awards of the Year will return in February 2024 after a three-year hiatus, the chief executive of the National Sports Council (NSC), Marc Arrisol, said on Tuesday.

The last time the event took place was in February 2020 when sailor Rodney Govinden and swimmer Felicity Passon won the Best Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year for 2019.

The Seychelles Sports Awards is an annual event that recognises athletes who have excelled in their sports discipline in the archipelago in the western Indian Ocean.

In the past, the winners of the titles walked away with a cup presented by the President of the country and a cash prize.

Arrisol told reporters that at the moment, there is no specific date set as NSC is working with sponsors.  

"This event will give recognition to athletes, coaches, youth and officials for their accomplishments in 2022," said Arrisol.

The deadline for sports federations to submit their nominations for the awards will be in January. This year federations can nominate up to five athletes for the senior categories, three for the youths, one for a coach and one for official.

"It's possible that during the final selection, five people from the same sports could be in the top five this year since there can be five nominees from each sport," said the chairman of the selection committee, Bernard Denis.

He said this change was made to allow all sportsmen and women to be recognised for their achievements.

"For example, there can be an athlete who was selected as the best in his sport, and finds himself in the top 10, despite not really achieving much in the year, as opposed to an athlete who did much better, but is not recognised because his federation could not nominate him," explained Denis.

Once all nominees are in, the selection committee will name the 10 finalists for senior men and women, and 15 days before the actual crowning event takes place, the list will be whittled down to five. This will give the public the chance to share their views on who could win but the final decision remains with the selection committee.

As for the ceremony, there will only be the crowning of athletes and a cocktail event instead of a dinner, said Penny Belmont, the event's organiser. 

She added that they will also have sponsors presenting the awards to the athletes, as was the case in the past, while the event will highlight the athletes themselves rather than entertainment.