Maniototo farmer Sean Becker has claimed a major international award.
Becker, vice-skip of the New Zealand men's team, has been awarded the World Curling Federation's Collie Campbell Memorial Award.
Becker was selected for the award by fellow players at the world championships in Basel, Switzerland.
All curlers at the event were invited to nominate a fellow competitor who, in their view, best exemplified the traditional values of skill, honesty, fair play, sportsmanship and friendship.
Becker and team-mates Peter de Boer (skip), Scott Becker, Kenny Thomson and Phil Dowling finished fifth at the championships, the best finish for a New Zealand side.
Becker (36), from Ranfurly, has been curling since 1991. He is a four-time Pacific champion and skipped the New Zealand squad at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, finishing 10th.
Playing with his sister, Bridget, Becker won the silver medal at the world mixed doubles championships in Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2010.
Chief umpire Alan Stanfield made the presentation of the award to Becker during the closing ceremony.
Becker also won the award in 1999 and 2004, and becomes the first curler to win it for a third time. The Collie Campbell Memorial Award was created in honour of Canadian Collie Campbell, who served as president of the International Curling Federation (later renamed the World Curling Federation) from 1969 to his death in 1978.