The Arizona Republic and azcentral sports will honor student-athletes during the upcoming school season. We’ll also pay tribute to the unsung heroes in our communities, reward the ultimate game-day experiences and celebrate with a year-end awards gala.

Awards

The Arizona Sports Awards will recognize student-athletes on a weekly, monthly, seasonal and year-long basis. These awards will be determined through:

• Athletic, academic and community service achievements.
• Nominations from athletic directors, coaches, parents, fans and others.
• Female and Male Athletes of the Week, High Achiever of the Week, Unsung Heroes and All-Arizona teams will be chosen.
• An awards gala will be held in June 2016 to celebrate the year-long awards for these categories and more that fans can vote on.

Fans vote

Throughout the football and basketball seasons, students are encouraged to participate in voting for the Best Fan Experience through social media and online polling.

• Students at every Arizona high school can participate.
• Categories could include best band, cheer and stadium.
• The school with the most engagement wins a prize.

Journalism

This is an opportunity for young journalists to get real-world experience while spotlighting the importance of high school sports. Student media members will nominate athletes for awards weekly.

• Students also will shoot and submit photos and videos from sports events.
• That content will be featured on azcentral.com.

Contact Us

AZCentral sports high schools editor Johanna Huybers at [email protected] and 602-444-8669.