It was a significant breakthrough for athletes with disabilities because it proves their performances are now recognised alongside the deeds of able-bodied sportspeople.
Hall (22) added home-town recognition to his list of awards in the past year when he won the title.
At the Winter Paralympics in Canada in March, Hall, who has spina bifida, aced his first run in the slalom and led by more than 2sec - a huge margin in a sport in which medals are often decided by fractions of a second.
In his second run, Hall took a tumble two-thirds of the way down the course and looked to have blown his opportunity.
But he demonstrated the importance of the intense racing experience he has had over the past four years by recovering quickly and screamed to the finish to win the gold medal.
It was the fulfillment of a dream that Hall has had since he started competitive skiing as a 7-year-old in 1995.
Hall's combined time of 1min 45.40sec was 0.57sec better than Gerd Schonfelder (Germany) and Cameron Rahles (Australia) who won the minor medals. He also finished seventh in the super G and eighth in the combined.
The Paralympic gold medal was the culmination of a series of wins and podium finishes that he accumulated last season. It included a record-breaking fifth win at the World Invitational event.
Hall also won the Otago sportsman of the year title.
Cyclist Alison Shanks won the sportswoman of the year title again this year. She was fourth at the world championships in her specialist 3000m individual pursuit, as well as gaining four podium places in World Cup events.
She was the top rider in the New Zealand team that won the bronze medal in the team pursuit in a world-record time.
Her coach, Craig Palmer, also won back-to-back titles when he won the Otago coach of the year award.
His work in sports science contributed to the success of cyclists across all disciplines in the BikeNZ high performance programme.
Of special note this year was that all three finalists in the coach of the year category are affiliated with the New Zealand Academy of Sport.
In the most closely contested category of the evening, the North Otago cricket team won the team of the year award for winning the province's first Hawke Cup.
For only the second time since it was added to the awards in 2005, the junior sportsperson of the year award was not won by perennial finalist Jossi Wells.
Snowboarder Kendall Brown won the award after career-best results on the World Cup circuit and her 15th place in the half pipe at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, after twice dislocating her shoulder in qualifying.
Prominent Dunedin company Animation Research Limited won the innovation in sport award for its world-leading work in sports broadcasting technology.
The services to sport award was presented to Paddy O'Neill, who works voultarily as the full-time manager of the Dunedin Bowls Stadium.
The guest speaker at the dinner was the chief executive of Rugby New Zealand 2011, Martin Snedden.
Master of ceremonies Steve Davie interviewed him on his career as an international cricketer and high level sports administrator. In a surprise move he was joined on stage by his previous team-mate and fellow bowler, Ewen Chatfield.
A charity auction was held to raise funds to help children with a disability access sport and recreation options.
The ASB-sponsored Otago Sports Awards are organised annually by Sport Otago in conjunction with the Halberg Trust.
