Namibia Sport editor Helge Schutz on Friday won the FNB Namibia Sport Reporter of the Year award.
According to the judges it was in recognition of his hard work and passion to promote Namibian sport locally and internationally, through the Namibia Sport magazine and itâ??s website, www.namibiasport.com.na
The competition, which has been running for close to a decade, was sponsored by FNB Namibia and presented by the Namibia Sport Commission.
Schutz said he felt honoured to win the award, especially since it was not expected.
â??I really did not expect to win this award, so itâ??s a nice surprise and a great honour for me and my team at Namibia Sport. I want to thank the main sponsors FNB Namibia and the judges for recognising our work and hope that the competition will serve as inspiration for the other journalists who participated,â? he said.
The first prize, a laptop computer to the value of N$10 000 was handed over to Schutz by FNB Namibia Holdings Group CEO Advocate Vekuii Rukoro, while the patron of the FNB Sport Media Awards Dr Hage Geingob, the president of the Namibia National Olympic Committee, Agnes Tjongarero and the chief administrator of the Namibia Sport Commission, Rusten Mogane were also in attendance.
Dr Geingob called on sport journalists to try and bring out the passion of sport in their reporting.
He also acknowledged the role of sport journalists, saying that it was not an easy task.
â??I donâ??t know if I would want to be a journalist. We all want to have the story, but itâ??s often a thankless task for the journalists who are pushed around or who have to sit on the ground at stadiums. But you are doing a good job and Iâ??d like to thank FNB Namibia for their support as well. It is through initiatives like this that we can build our nation,â? he said.
Schutz also won a cash award for the best online reporting and website to the value of N$3 000.
The other prize winners, who all won cheques to the value of N$3 000 were as follows:
Best Television Producer: Lesley Tjiueza (One Africa TV)
Best Reporter Print: Boet Matthews (Republikein)
Best Columnist: Boet Matthews (Republikein)
Merit Award: Natasha Diergaardt (Nampa)
Reporterâ??s Reporter Award: Natasha Diergaardt (Nampa)
Overall Runner up: Boet Matthews (Republikein)