CAN anyone break the Basingstoke Bison stranglehold on the Gazette Sports Personality of the Year?

Today we are asking Gazette readers to vote for the sportsman or woman who deserves the most prestigious award in local sport, which will be presented a week today.

In the two years of the competition to date, Bison players Wayne Crawford and Stephen Foster have carried off the glass trophy.

Make sure you get Friday's Gazette now to find out how to register your vote, either by telephone or by filling in and posting the coupon in the paper.

For the telephone poll, the listed nominations each have an assigned number, as shown on the panel.

Your vote must be registered by first post on Thursday and the presentation will take place next Friday as part of The Gazette Sports Awards at the Apollo Hotel.

Ice hockey fans may care to consider Bison leading goal-scorer Dru Burgess or Gary Clarke, his British counterpart with the Basingstoke team. The choice may also lie between Great Britain defenceman Neil Liddiard and Canadians Matt Cot and Mike Ellis. Canadian-born Robert Schistad and his stand-in netminder Dean Skinns, who is only 17, may also warrant your vote.

Basingstoke Town fans could choose from local central defender Jason Bristow, wing-back Mark Lisk, defender Paul Wilkinson, goalkeeper Scott Tarr or strikers Sean Gorman and Tim Sills.

If you're a rugby fan, you could be torn between Basingstoke's leading try scorer Australian Chris Norton or his chief rival, Gareth Jones. Another Australian, Ash Riley, has won praise as a hooker, or you could be impressed by the leadership qualities of player-coach Ian Calder or captain Richard Baker.

cricket fans may like to vote for Charl Willoughby, the South African paceman who finished as the leading wicket-taker in the Thames Valley League last summer. Other choices could be Hampshire cricketer Shaun Udal or Basingstoke players Lee Nurse, Dean Nurse and Ray Pavesi or footballer-cricketers Scott Dyer and Andy Neal.

Jonny Wilkinson and Justin Rose have been catching headlines around the world. Wilkinson is the England and British Lions star fly-half and golfer Rose found European Tour success in South Africa.

In women's golf, Kirsty Taylor from Overton won her European Ladies Tour card and turned professional while Ben Cummings was a quarter-finalist at the English amateur championships.

In athletics, Robert Tobin contested the European junior championships and finished 2001 as AAA national champion over 400 metres. Amanda Proctor finished as the individual women's champion of the Hampshire cross-country league. David Elderfield won five medals, including two golds, at the world vets championships.

Swimmer Laura Wood ended an injury-hit year by defending her Welsh titles and Colin Monk starred again at the Embassy World Darts Championship.

A number of gymnasts have reached national recognition - Peter Syckelmoore, tumblers Tom Owens and Julie Cheung and rhythmic gymnast Caroline Jackson.

A number of boxers who train under Trevor Francis in Basingstoke have impressed in professional fights - Steve Bendall and Allan Foster

World titles were achieved by Andy Bonner in powerlifting and Kyle Cannings and Steve Cross in kickboxing. Jean Maton won more national titles in powerlifting.