They were one of three finalists alongside Hockey New Zealand, who ran the Owen G Glenn FIH Champions Trophy and the AIMS Games, who organised the NZCT AIMS Games National Sporting Championships.

Although Hockey New Zealand were announced as the overall winners of the award, Paralympics New Zealand chief executive Fiona Allan claimed that her organisation were delighted to make the shortlist.

"We were thrilled to be finalists alongside such high calibre events and organisations," said Allan, who was also chair of the Local Organising Committee for the Championships.

"The team at Paralympics New Zealand, the event Local Organising Committee and the team of volunteers worked very hard to deliver the best possible event for over 1,100 athletes from 73 countries and their supporters.

"This was the last major qualifying event for the 2012 Paralympic Games in London and as a result the event attracted international athletes of an extremely high calibre with many outstanding results, including 57 world records and 173 championship records."

The competition, which took place in January 2011, injected approximately $12 million (£7.4 million/€9 million) as 900 officials, 600 volunteers and 160 accredited media from 73 countries converged on the city of Christchurch.

The highlight came in the T44 100 metre final, were America's Jerome Singleton sensationally handed South Africa's Oscar Pistorius (pictured below) his first defeat in Paralympic sporting competition in seven years after a dramatic photo finish.

The two are set to face off again at the London 2012 Paralympics in a rematch that could prove the highlight of the entire Games.


Meanwhile the judging panel for the New Zealand Sport and Recreation Awards including chairman Sir Wilson Whineray, former Sport Canterbury chief executive and Olympian Selwyn Maister; NZ Community Trust chairman Peter Dale, ANZ head of sponsorship Sue McGregor, sports administrator Sir John Wells and Sport NZ chief executive Peter Miskimmin.

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