Rowers headline the finalists for the 2026 Network Waitaki North Otago Sports Awards. North Otago Sports Bodies and Sport Waitaki announced the finalists earlier this week from more than 60 nominations. Rowing accounts for six finalists, followed by rugby with four and netball with three, while trap shooting, bocce and basketball each have two. 2025 supreme sportsperson of the year winner Hamish Elliot is once again a finalist for sportsman of the year after winning the men’s Longest Day at the Coast to Coast. Alongside him are basketballer Jack Andrew and rower Paddy Spillane. Fellow rower Emma Spittle is a finalist for sportswoman of the year alongside equestrian extraordinaire Emma Gillies and budding rugby star Abigail Paton. Two Oamaru Rowing club crews — the women’s novice coxed eight and men’s coxed four and quad — are finalists for team of the year alongside back-to-back Citizens Shield champions Excelsior.…