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Four sporting events held in the Edmonton area have been named finalists for the 2017 Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance Awards, to be handed out in March.

The awards honour a wide range of local, national and international sporting events and tournaments. They also recognize volunteers and organizations that do the bidding, hosting and staging of sporting events across Canada.

“Each one of these finalists has contributed to the over $6-billion sport tourism industry in Canada,” Rick Traer, CEO of the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance, said. “We are proud to honour the people, the events, the sponsors and the communities who have helped make Canada a world leader in the sport tourism industry. It was quite remarkable to see the breadth of nominations from across the country.”

READ MORE: Creative Edmonton Tourism campaign threatens to ‘capture’ Calgarians

The following events have been nominated, three of which were sponsored by Global News.

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The 2016 Global News Canadian Gymnastics Championships, held in Edmonton, were nominated for the Canadian Sport Event of the Year Award for events with a budget of less than $1 million. The Canadian Track and Field Championships and Selection Trials for the 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games were nominated for the same award.

Watch below: Scouts search for their next star at Canadian Gymnastics Championship in Edmonton

1:39 Scouts search for their next star at Canadian Gymnastics Championship in Edmonton Scouts search for their next star at Canadian Gymnastics Championship in Edmonton

The 2016 Alberta Summer Games, held in Leduc, were nominated for the Sustainable Sport Event of the Year.

READ MORE: Alberta Summer Games mean big economic boost for host communities

Candice Stasynec, the executive director of Edmonton Events, was nominated for the Sport Tourism Champion Award.

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The nominations come following a big win for the city at the awards last year, where Edmonton Events took home the Sport Tourism Organization of the Year Award, which recognizes the community or organization that best influences sport tourism in their region.

READ MORE: Edmonton Tourism attracting more visitors to ‘winter city’

Edmonton has built itself up over the past few years to become a national leader in sport tourism, having hosted high-calibre sporting events in soccer, triathlon, curling, track and field, figure skating, hockey, football, basketball, diving and swimming.

Watch below: Edmonton has quickly surged to the front of the pack when it comes to top destinations for sporting events. (Filed in April 2014).

The 2017 Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance PRESTIGE Awards will be handed out in Ottawa on March 21. For a full list of nominees, head to the CSTA’s website.

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