Some of the region's most successful sporting personalities over the past 60 years will be honoured today at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel at the inaugural Caribbean Awards Sports Icon.

The event, which is being organised by Jamaican-born Al Hamilton, organiser of the annual Commonwealth Sports Awards, will hand out awards to athletes and administrators in a number of sporting categories, including football, boxing, cricket, athletics and netball.

"We are looking forward to the evening on the basis of the content and concept of the event," said Hamilton, who has been organising the Commonwealth Sports Awards for the past 27 years.

"We have been performing at the highest level for years, and it is a legacy we need to preserve and protect. So far, at least 80 per cent of those who have been invited are expected to attend, and the feedback is that they are all excited," he added.

The nominees for each sport are:

Athletics: Female - Deon Hemmings, Merlene Ottey, Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica) Chandra Sturrup and Debbie Ferguson (Bahamas).

Male - Don Quarrie and Bert Cameron (Jamaica); Hasely Crawford (Trinidad and Tobago), Alberto Juantoreno (Cuba), Avard Moncur (Bahamas).

Football: Theodore Whitmore, Lindy Delapenha and Robbie Earle (Jamaica); Clyde Best (Bermuda), Dwight Yorke (Trinidad and Tobago).

Boxing: Mike McCallum (Jamaica), Teofilo Stevenson (Cuba), Leslie Stewart and Claude Noel (Trinidad and Tobago); Elisha Obed (Bahamas), Andrew Lewis (Guyana).

Cricket: Michael Holding and Courtney Walsh (Jamaica); Sir Vivian Richards (Antigua and Barbuda), Brian Lara (Trinidad and Tobago), Sir Garfield Sobers (Barbados), Clive Lloyd (Guyana).

Netball: Janet Johnson and Patricia McDonald (Jamaica); Jennifer Frank (Trinidad and Tobago).

Administrators/coaches: Molly Rhone, Mike Fennell, Teddy McCook (Jamaica); Jack Warner (Trinidad and Tobago) and Gloria Ballentine (Barbados).

There will also be a special segment at the awards dedicated to the accomplishment of the region's athletes at the recent 2008 Olympics.