ARE you ready for the sports party of the year? After 12 months of grand finals, grand slams, gold medals and group 1 winners, it's time to name the true sporting champions of 2008 with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age's Sports Performer Awards, presented by Colonial First State.

Our panel of expert judges has created shortlists for six of the main awards, but it's up to you, the Australian public, to decide who takes home the gongs in the second year of this prestigious awards ceremony, to be held at Crown Casino in Melbourne on Wednesday, November 26.

Get your thinking caps on, because there have been some outstanding sporting achievements over the past year.

Were Stephanie Rice's three Olympic gold medals better than Lance "Buddy" Franklin's 100 goals? Is pole vaulter Steve Hooker in pole position or will surfing world champ Stephanie Gilmore ride the crest of a wave to be named Sports Performer of the Year and take home a cheque for $50,000, courtesy of Colonial First State?

There are six awards to vote on, including Sports Performer of the Year, Team Performance of the Year, Coach Performance of the Year, Young Performer of the Year, Performer of the Year with a Disability and International Performer of the Year. The judges will also hand out special awards to some Australian sporting legends during the evening.

Voting starts on November 3 and closes on the 21st, so watch out for details in the Herald on how to make your opinion count. Sports performances must have taken place during the 12-month period from November 1 last year to October 31 this year. Everyone who votes will automatically go into a draw to win $5000.

Cadel Evans won the main award in the inaugural ceremony at Sydney Cricket Ground last year. Was his brave second place in this year's Tour de France enough for him to go back to back or does Hawaiian Ironman champ Craig Alexander deserve the prize?

The Australian cricket team won the team award last year but will Hawthorn's phenomenal triumph over Geelong hand the Hawks the award, or will Manly's record-breaking victory over Melbourne Storm be enough to take the trophy back to Sydney? Maybe the women's 4x200 metres freestyle relay team, who came out of the blue to take gold in Beijing, will top them all.