1. Based on performance between January-December 10th, 2009


2. Outstanding performance in own area of sports discipline


3. Excellent performance locally, internationally or both


4. Consistency in performance


5. Emerging/Promising talent


6. Outstanding discipline and integrity (role model)


7. Team spirit


8. Cohesiveness


9. Citizen of Kenya


10. Sports development initiatives undertaken (Federations and Community Hero category)


11. Financial Management (Federations)

THREE top Kenyan boxers want the Kenya Professional Boxing Commission and Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) to lift the game’s standards in the country to ensure pugilists are recognised and nominated for the Safaricom's Sports Personality of the Year Awards (SOYA).
The three boxers — Congestina Achieng, David Kiilu and Raymond Ochieng — think part of the reason why they are not considered for the sports gala is because of the dwindling boxing standards in the country.

They said poor management and lack of foresight had contributed immensely to the poor results in their spheres.



Congestina, who was a beneficiary of SOYA awards in 2005 when she finished runner-up to the marathon queen Catherine Ndereba, said the awards had grown in stature and everyone would like to be part of them.

“These awards symbolize sports excellence in the country and when your fraternity is not being mentioned then you have a reason to really scratch your head and re-focus,” she said.
Congestina, a former women’s International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion fought early this year in Germany but failed to impress amid murmurs of bias officiating.



Lately, Congestina has opted for non-title fights for the sake of survival. She said getting title fights is not easy as most promoters are not honest when it comes to negotiating purses.
David Kiilu who early this year won the World Boxing Commission (WBC) bantamweight title in Poland has been unable to defend the title due to lack of promoters. He said things need to be straightened up in the spheres if they are to share in national limelight.

Achieng said she didn’t know what was happening and the boxing fraternity was being run ad hoc. “We need to re-organise ourselves if we are to measure up to other sports.  It is a pity that boxers have been reduced to mere paupers. “With good organisation, I believe we have the talent and can go places just like other boxing super powers,” she noted.



Suleiman Bilali, who was one of the country’s top amateur boxers in the country, is the latest to join the paid ranks but he is yet to make an impact. He lost his debut fight to George Owenge and has since kept a low profile. ABA leaders have admitted that there is need to revamp boxing in the country if is to regain its lost glory.

The Soya Gala night is due to be held on December 11 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.

National Bank of Kenya became the first financial institution to partner Soya this year when they announced a Shs one million sponsorship.
The sponsorship was confirmed at a Press Conference by Isaih Mworia, the bank’s executive director – Finance.
Speaking at the function, SOYA founder and chairman, Paul Tergat said:

I would like to thank the National Bank of Kenya for their sponsorship support announcement for the awards.



National Bank becomes the first Bank and financial institution to become a co-sponsor for this awards and I truly feel proud of them. The Bank has demonstrated through its various support programmes for sports this year that it cares about our youth and their contribution to our national development.

We have already begun to witness the fruits of NBK’s investment in the junior athletics team that represented the country recently in Italy and returned with splendid results.
SOYA provides the crowning moment for NBK’s investment and I thank you for not declining my request for support to host this gala alongside our title sponsor and partner for long, Safaricom Ltd.

Mobile phone service provider Safaricom is sponsoring the annual Soya awards for the sixth year running.
This year’s sponsorship of Shs. 7 million was confirmed by Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph at a launch function held at Safaricom House. They are the event’s title sponsors.“Soya Awards have always been a noble idea and it is my pleasure to confirm our support once again,” said Joseph at the function also attended by national volleyball coach David Lung’ahu, captain Praxides Agalla and player Jane Wacu.



“I wish to thank Paul (Tergat) and his team for always working hard to come up with a great function,” added Joseph.

Tergat thanked Safaricom for always being there for Soya and appealed to other corporate firms to help bridge the Shs. 5 million deficits.

During this launch, the panel of judges was also launched. It is headed by Bismack Mutahi (Standard) while the secretary is Simon Chebon from FineTouch Communications, who organize this event.

Members are Finny Muyeshi (The Athelete), Chris Mbaisi (The Star), Elias Makori (Nation), Evelyn Watta (AIPS), Robert Soi (KTN), Torome Tirike (Citizen TV), Alloys Muganda (The People), Elynah Shivekah (KBC), James Wokabi (Capital FM), and Nelly Githaka (Safaricom).

Members of the public can participate in the SOYA Awards nominations by sending by sending an SMS to 5556, Soya chairman, Paul Tergat has announced.

“TO SMS, TEXT THE WORD “SOYA”FOLLOWED BY THE NAMES OF YOUR FAVOURITE SPORTS PERSON. SEND SAME TO NO 5556,” Tergat told a Press Conference in Nairobi.

I am sure many of us will take advantage and send your favourite sports person, team and federation to this number.
It is only the other day when we formerly launched the nomination process for the 2009 SOYA awards and I am glad to note that there has been a very encouraging response from the public by way of nominations received so far.
We would like to encourage every Kenyan to be part of this process so that no deserving person at the furthest corner of this country is left out. I know that there are people deep in the villages or secluded parts of our country that are making huge contributions to the advancement of sports in the community.

These are the people we would like to hear and nominate them for community category so as to motivate worthy sports initiatives that are abundant in this country.

Our very able panel of judges, who are themselves journalists, should be able to go deeper and obtain the profiles of these Kenyans so as to get the most deserving to be awarded during the gala night in December.

East African and National Secondary Schools basketball champions, Laiser Hill and Shimba Hills are among the 18 schools nominated for the Soya Awards schools category.
Laiser Hill beat 75-65 in the East African final in Fort Portal to extend Kenya’s region the throne. Laiser Hill won national championships in Kanguru, Embu.
Shimba Hills defeated compatriots Lang'ata 30-27 in the final to become the second team after Mombasa High to lift the girls’ trophy.
Both Shimba Hills and Lang’ata were making their debut at the regional event. Soya organisers also nominated East African girls’ handball champions, Mukumu and national queens Maraba to the list of schools to contest for the honours in the newly introduced category. Both Mukumu and Maraba came out of the blues to reign supremacy at both national and regional games. Mukumu handball team was the first from the school to play at the national championships since their volleyball side won in 2005.
The event organiser, Paul Tergat said he has been following the schools event and is very impressed. He said he is happy that the schools that have won Soya awards had continued to maintain top standards.

Full list of nominees:

 Boys:

Cheptil volleyball team (2nd at EA and national)

Lang’ata football team (4th EA and national champs)

Laiser Hill basketball team (EA and national champs)

Kakamega 15s rugby (EA and national champs)

Malezi College lawn tennis team (National champs since 2004)

Malava volleyball team (Form ones and twos outfit winning nationals and qualifying for EA. Lost at preliminaries)'

Kamusinga boys’ hockey team (Winners EA and 2nd nationally)

Kisumu Day (2nd EA Games)

Girls:

Shimba Hills basketball team (EA and National champs)

Cheptil volleyball team (2nd EA and 3rd nationally)

Lugulu volleyball team (Won EA and nationals)

Lwak hockey team (2nd EA and national champs)

St Cecilia Misikhu (EA queens and 2nd nationally)

Mukumu handball team (EA champs and 2nd nationally)

Maraba (2nd EA and national champs)

Malezi College lawn tennis team (national champs since 2004)

Olympic 800m champion Pamela Jelimo, has added another crown to her glittering career.

The youngster was named the 2008 Sports Personality of the Year (Soya) after a splendid 2008 that saw her become the first Kenyan woman to win an Olympic gold medal.



The youngster from Kiptamok Village, Nandi District had little challenge in winning the Soya prize with her close challengers being 1,500m Olympic champion Nancy Jebet Lagat and 3,000m steeplechase bronze medallist Eunice Jepkorir.

Lagat managed second position while Jepkorir was contended with third position.

While Jelimo was a clear winner in the women category, there was stiff competition in the male award what with Olympic champions Samuel Wanjiru, Wilfred Bungei and Brimin Kipruto all in contention.



As if that was not enough, the 2007 Soya winner Jason Dunford was also in contention after an impressive run at the Olympic Games in Beijing last year where he set an Olympic record that stood for less than ten minutes.

After voting it was, however, Wanjiru who got the nod from the Soya panellists to join Jelimo in the role of honour the 2008 Soya male winner.

Bungei, who was also the Beijing Games overall team captain, was voted the runner-up while Dunford was the second runner-up.

Apart from being a Soya winner Jelimo was also shortlisted for the 2008 IAAF Athlete of the Year women’s category award alongside Russian multiple world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva.



She, however, did not win the award but didn’t come back home empty handed from Monaco as she was awarded the Revelation of the Year Award.

Apart from winning the Olympic gold in Beijing last year, Jelimo had announced her arrival to the scene with victory at the Africa Athletics Championships in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Then aged, 18, she ran one minute 58.70 seconds, a new national record beating former world and Olympic champions Maria Mutola of Mozambique in the process.



On 25 May she won 800m at the Hengelo Grand Prix event and set a new world junior record of 1:55.76.



The previous record (1:57.18) was set by Yuan Wang of China in 1993.

Jelimo’s time in Hengelo was also a new Kenyan record, previously held by Janeth Jepkosgei (1:56.04 in 2007).

golden league



On June 1 Jelimo ran an impressive 800m race in Berlin and won the ISTAF Golden League in 1:54.99, a new African record.

The previous African record (1:55.19) was set by Mutola in 1994.

On July 18 she bettered the record slightly to 1:54.97 in Paris. It was also her fourth consecutive win in _F Golden League, where she was one of only two remaining jackpot contenders, the other being high jumper Blanka Vlaši of Croatia.



On August 18 she won gold at the Beijing Olympics in 1:54.87 to also become the first Kenyan women to win an Olympic title.

She continued her unbeaten streak by winning the Weltklasse Golden League meeting in Zurich on August 29 improving her personal best to 1:54.01.

World record



This was the third fastest performance ever, behind Nadezhda Olizarenko and the world record of Jarmila KratochvÌlov•.

At the Memorial van Damme competition in Brussels, the IAAF Golden League final, Jelimo won with a time of 1:55.16.

As the only athlete to win the same event at all six Golden League meetings, she won the competition’s jackpot of $1,000,000. (then about Sh70m).

She crowned her unbeaten season by winning her race at the 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final. After the event she returned to Kenya for the first time since the Olympic trials and was welcomed by major festivities. On 18 September 2008 in Kapsabet Town, a street — Pamela Jelimo Street— was named in her honour after a homecoming party attended by the who is who in the society.



On his part Wanjiru managed to beat Bungei and Dunford for the male prize after not only winning the Olympic gold but also breaking the games record that had stood for over 20 years after clocking 2:06.32 smashing the previous record of 2:09:21 set by Carlos Lopes of Portugal in the 1984 Olympics.

Apart from the glory at the Olympics, Wanjiru had also finished second at the London marathon in April behind countryman Martin Lel and also broke the 2:06 barrier.



The Soya ceremony, the third in a row was attended by a star guest list that included vice president Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, Sports Minister Hellen Sambili, former vice president Moody Awori and Soya founder, Paul Tergat.

Bismack Mutai (Standard)