EVANZ Awards 2026

Celebrating the brightest and best in the New Zealand venues industry.

Entering the Awards

Enter Here
View Marking Rubric

Top Tip: Refer to the Marking Rubric – it outlines exactly what kind of answer will get you the most points.

Entries close:
11:59pm, Friday 25 September 2026

Entry fee:
Free

Eligibility period:
1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026

How to Enter

  1. Fill in your contact details on the entry form and select the category you’re entering. You’ll need a high res logo and a photograph ready.
  2. Supplier of the Year entries require details for 3 referees.

  3. For Team Member and Team Leader of the Year entries, you only need to provide the nominee’s contact details. Their entry will be a recorded interview based on the questions in the marking rubric.

  4. Remember – your entry should be based on your activity and achievements for the past 12 months – from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026.

  5. Please limit each answer to a maximum of 300 words. We recommend drafting your answers out first and then pasting them into the application form.

  6. Further supporting evidence can be emailed separately to admin@evanz.co.nz

 

Entry deadline:
All entries must be submitted by 11:59pm, Friday 25th September 2026.

Award Categories

Principal Sponsors

Large Venue of the Year 5,000 + capacity

Medium Venue of the Year
1,001 to 4,999 capacity

Small Venue of the Year
up to 1,000 capacity

Team Leader of the Year

Team Member of the Year

Rising Star

Industry Supplier of the Year

Award Criteria

For this category, simply nominate the great leader you know or work for. They don’t have to fill in a form themselves or collate heaps of evidence. The prize is a complimentary registration to the VMA Congress 2027. The nominees will then be interviewed to answer the questions outlined in the Marking Rubric. Nominees for this award may be General Managers, CEOs, Venue Managers etc. It is envisaged that the nominee would be in a senior management position with substantial influence over the strategic and operational direction of the venue or business. This category is open to both venue members and associate or partner businesses.

All you have to do for this category is nominate that team member who goes the extra mile. They don’t have to fill in a form themselves or collate heaps of evidence. The prize is a complimentary registration to the EVANZ Conference 2027 in Wellington for the winning Team member. The nominees will then be interviewed to answer the questions outlined in the Marking Rubric. This category is open to both venue members and associate or partner businesses.

Nominees for this award are our venue industry leaders of tomorrow. There is no set number of years a rising star must have worked, but it is intended to celebrate those who are building their career in the industry. This category is open to both venue members and associate or partner businesses.

Be prepared to answer the following (in around 300 words per answer). You can also send in up to 10 additional pieces of support material.

Rising Star (Receives a total bursary of $5,000 across the two years of VMS)

  1. What is the breadth of the nominee’s role and responsibilities?
  2. What have they achieved?
  3. How do they focus on the customer/hirer experience?
  4. How have they grown and developed personally and for the organisation?
  5. What makes them stand out as a future leader?
  6. How have they contributed to the wider venues industry?
  7. Outline the nominee’s achievements in line with the Conference/Awards theme: Whiria te tāngata (“Weave the people together”).

Be prepared to answer the following (in around 300 words per answer). You’ll also need a nice, high-res picture and a logo to submit with your entry. You can send in up to 10 additional pieces of support material.

  1. What is the venue’s strategic focus?
  2. What role does the venue play in its community and what have you achieved in that area?
  3. How do you meet or exceed the expectations of customers/patrons/guests?
  4. How do you meet or exceed the expectations of hirers/partners/suppliers?
  5. How are you managing the venue as an asset and what part does sustainability play in your planning?
  6. Outline the venue’s achievements in line with the Conference/Awards theme: : Whiria te tāngata (“Weave the people together”).

This award targets an outstanding associate member or partner, who has gone above and beyond to support our industry over the last year, or who has developed their products and services to achieve awesome results.

Be prepared to answer the following (in around 300 words per answer)

  1. How does the business display innovation and creativity?
  2. How is the business client focused?
  3. How does the business contribute to the venues industry?
  4. Outline the nominee’s achievements in line with the Conference/Awards theme: : Whiria te tāngata (“Weave the people together”).
  5. Provide contact details for up to three referees that we can call.

Gala Awards Evening

  • Wednesday 2nd December 2026
  • 7:00pm - 11:00pm
  • Te Pae, Christchurch
Get Tickets

Attendance is included with full EVANZ Conference registration, or a standalone ticket can be purchased.

2025 Award Winners

View all 2025 photos
Large Venue of the Year
5,000 + capacity
Medium Venue of the Year
1,001 to 4,999 capacity
Small Venue of the Year
up to 1,000 capacity
Team Leader of the Year
Team Member of the Year
Rising Star
Industry Supplier of the Year
Contribution to the Venues Industry

Conditions of Entry. By entering the EVANZ Awards 2026, you acknowledge and agree to the following:

Nominator information:

  1. The individual nominating may be a member or non-member of the Association. It is preferable to inform the nominee prior to the submission, however it is not mandatory.
  2. In all cases the nominee must be a paid-up member of EVANZ as of 1st October 2026. Employers, employees and colleagues may nominate each other as well as themselves.
  3. Non finalist nominations will remain confidential.
  4. Finalists in all categories will be announced on Monday 19th October.
  5. All Finalists will be required to submit a maximum 2-minute video introducing themselves and their entry, to be supplied no later than 4pm on Monday 9th November 2026. This will be played at the Awards Evening.
  6. The decision of the judges is final. The judges may choose to cancel any category at their discretion.
  7. Venue Members may enter the following categories: Large Venue of the Year (5000 seats +), Medium Venue of the Year (1,001 to 4,999 seats), Small Venue of the Year (under 1000 seats), Team Member of the Year, Leader of the Year and Rising Star.
  8. Associate Members and Partners may enter the following categories: Team Member of the Year, Leader of the Year, Rising Star and Industry Supplier of the Year.
  9. Judging will be caried out by a panel of judges, with three judges assessing each category.
  10. The judges reserve the right to alter the category an application has been made in if they determine that the applicant does not meet the basic requirements for the category they have applied for.
  11. Each application is judged purely on its own merits. The judges mark the answers based on the evidence provided, not on additional information they may know about the venue or nominee.
  12. All judging is completed in confidence, and only the EVANZ GM will know the marks awarded
  13. Should there be a tie for the winning nomination in a category, the GM will instigate a tie break process
  14. Each category will have an allocate tie break judge, separate from the main judges. They will only be utilised in the event of a tie break.
  15. The tie break judge will be provided with the tie-breaked applications (but not the marks awarded by other judges) and will conduct a final moderation judging of the applications. They will need to ensure one application scores higher than any others they are tie-breaked with, so will need to assess each question against the rubric, and against the other applications answers to ensure one scores higher
  16. Entrants should limit the answer to each question to a maximum of 300 words.

Remember – your entry should be based on your activity and achievements for the 12 months from 1st September 2025 to 31st August 2026.

  • You can see the full marking rubric HERE 
  • Each question has a maximum of 10 points available
  • The rubric for the question sets out the expectation of content for the answer to that question
  •  There is an expected level of quality for each level of marking. Whilst the number of examples can be used as a guide, it is quality of the examples that is just as important.
  • There is some discretion of points awarded in each grade, with a scale for each grade. This gives the judge an ability to distinguish submissions of similar quality and content
  • Each application is judged purely on its own merits. 
  • The judges mark the answers based on the evidence provided, not on additional information they may know about the venue or nominee.
  • All judging is completed in confidence, and only the EVANZ GM will know the marks awarded
  • Should there be a tie for the winning nomination in a category, the GM will instigate a tie break process
  • Each category will have an allocate tie break judge, separate from the main judges. They will only be utilised in the event of a tie break.
  • The tie break judge will be provided with the tie-breaked applications (but not the marks awarded by other judges) and will conduct a final moderation judging of the applications. They will need to ensure one application scores higher than any others they are tie-breaked with, so will need to assess each question against the rubric, and against the other applications answers to ensure one scores higher
  • The EVANZ GM reserves the right to alter the category an application has been made in if they determine that the applicant does not meet the basic requirements for the category they have applied for.