In its short two-year-old history, the widely acclaimed Sports Industry Awards (SPIAs) have become the definitive recognition for the sports industry in the Middle East, and the third year is no different with entries already starting to pour in within days of registrations opening.

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Since its inception in 2013 by Sport360, the SPIAs has gone from strength to strength recognising the achievements of leaders, brands, organisations and facilities that have made the region a leading international sports hub.

The 2015 SPIAs, sponsored by FGB and Lacoste in association with Dubai Sports Council, will be hosted on the evening of Wednesday, March 25, at the stunning new JW Marquis Marriott hotel and feature two new categories for a total of 13 awards.

The ‘New Sporting Product of the Year’, which is open to any sporting product launched in the last year, and the ‘Best use of PR in Sport’ – open to organisations and/or PR agencies that have delivered effective integrated campaigns – will add further excitement to the event.

The ‘Best Sports Event Professional’ category has been revised to ‘Best Live Experience at a Professional Sports Event’, while the ‘Sport and Recreation Facility’ has been split into two categories – outdoor and indoor.

Sport360° CEO Michael Chalhoub said: “Sport360 is pleased and honoured to host the extremely successful Sports Industry Awards in March, with an ever-growing number of participants and attendees that make the SPIAs a roaring success year after year.

“But more importantly, the true measure of the SPIAs’ success is the impact it has had on sports as a whole in the region, its events, its spectators, its players and its athletes, as learnings have been drawn and benchmarks that have been set by previous winners have been taken as example.

“We have seen SPIAs competitors aspiring to win gold and raise their game, trying to reach these benchmarks and new heights for their consumers, improve the way they do business and the quality of their facilities or services, and fine-tune their strategies.

“The Sports Industry Awards’ success is measured as companies innovate and create products and services that will benefit us all, our region, our readers, our tournaments, our stories, and ultimately the sports industry as a whole.”

Only those contenders who have hosted their events in one or more of the following GCC countries – UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar – between January 1 and December 31, 2014 are eligible to submit their entries.

Entries will only be accepted via www.sport360.com/spia. The ‘Early Bird’ costs $275 (Dh1,000) for each submission before January 22. The costs then rise to $350 (Dh1,285) until February 5, and $425 (Dh1,560) for entries submitted until February 15.

Entries will go through a rigid and transparent judging process, overseen by a judging panel of 18 of the region’s industry experts, and facilitated by Deloitte and Touche.