What are the 5 to Watch Signature Awards?
The 5 to Watch Signature Awards are the essence of sports business excellence in Canada.
Presented by George Brown College in partnership with TSN, the awards recognize sports business professionals who have demonstrated significant success during the course of their early to mid-careers and are poised to become the next generation of industry leaders.
They annually celebrate five leaders from Canada who have achieved remarkable career success before the age of 40.
Click through the tabs below to learn more about the eligibility criteria and nomination process.
Past winners
Check out past winners from our awards show.
Eligibility
The awards are open to sports business professionals from all sectors of the industry. Candidates must be Canadian citizens and have been employed in the business of sport for a minimum of five years. Nominees must also have been 40 or under the age of 40 as of December 31, 2022. Canadians working internationally are eligible.
Candidates can only be selected from the following segments of the Sports Industry:
- Sport & Entertainment Properties
- Amateur sports bodies including National/Provincial Sports Organizations and Educational Institutions
- Media Platforms
- Event/Promotional/Sports marketing agencies
- Advertisers, Licensees, Sponsors
- Large Sports Events
Candidates' accomplishments are assessed 100% on the business impact of their role in sport-related operation(s). General management roles are acceptable in light of the commercial requirements of their job.
Prior winners of the 5 to Watch Signature Awards are not eligible.
Nominees must be available to attend the 5 to Watch Awards Ceremony in person at George Brown College's Waterfront Campus in downtown Toronto. However, modifications may need to take place due to unforeseen in-person attendance challenges.
Voting Process
The entire pool of candidates will be reviewed by the Nomination Review Team after the nomination period closes. This team is comprised of accomplished sports business professionals from a variety of backgrounds. Each team member will identify their top ten candidates from the pool.
A second round of voting may be required by the Nomination Review Team to determine the top dozen candidates. The call for a second round will be made at the discretion of the Organizing Committee. In the event of a tie, or a clear divide in the scoring, the final candidate list may be more or less than the anticipated dozen.
Once the final Nomination Review Team votes have been tabulated, the top candidates will move on to the final round of voting. Finalists will be contacted directly by the Organizing Committee. They will be asked to submit a resume and/or bio for review by the Selection Committee. This committee is comprised of senior sports business executives from across the country.
The resumes and/or bios will be the sole criteria used by the Selection Committee to rank the finalists. Each finalist will be given the same opportunity (a two-page resume and/or bio) to tell their story to this group of judges. Each committee member will independently review the finalists’ resumes (and/or bios) and vote for their top five candidates. The nominees with the five highest vote totals will be declared winners of the 5 to Watch Signature Awards. In the event of a tie, a second round of voting focused on the relevant candidates will be administered.
Nomination Window
Nominations for the 2023 edition of the awards will be open from 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 24th until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 29th.
Any member of the public may submit a nominee although candidates may not nominate themselves. Candidates may receive multiple nominations provided they are from different individuals.
Late nominations due to technical difficulties and other issues will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All decisions on eligibility will be made at the sole discretion of the event's Organizing Committee.
Nominations will remain confidential. The information will only be used for judging purposes.
