Junior varsity and varsity student athletes and coaches pose with the 2024 Sportsmanship Award from the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association in the Belmont High School Gymnasium on Tuesday afternoon. Athletes represent all teams which participated last year, including cross country, golf, soccer and volleyball in the fall; alpine skiing, basketball, ice hockey, indoor track, swimming and cross-country skiing in the winter; and baseball, lacrosse, softball, and track in the spring. While not available to students this year, football was also included. To determine who wins the award in each of four divisions, the NHIAA takes input from coaches and schools about nominated teams. Feedback takes into account fan behavior and team sportsmanship, and the school with the highest rating receives the award. Belmont, home of the Red Raiders, is in Division III, which goes all the way to Berlin in the North Country, and all the way to Conant and Monadnock in the south. Most Lakes Region schools are in D III, including Gilford and parts of Laconia. Belmont's Athletic Director Cayman Belyea said he would take a sportsmanship banner over any other. "When other people come here, obviously you want them to feel welcome. Our kids are cheering like crazy on the sidelines, which I love to hear. And you're hearing the positivity or the encouragement of their own peers, instead of the taunting of other schools or stuff like that," he said. "The coaches and kids put a lot of hard work and emphasis on the sportsmanship side of things. It's nice to see that all that hard work for those kids kind of paid off, and they were recognized for that." (Daniel Sarch/The Laconia Daily Sun photo)
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