Long jumper Tyrone Smith will enter the race for the Male Athlete of the Year as firm favourite on Saturday.Smith became only the second Bermudian athlete to claim a gold medal at the CAC Games by winning the men's long jump in Puerto Rico last summer.The 26-year-old leapt into the history books with a personal best jump of 8.22 metres to follow in the footsteps of legendary high jumper Clarence (Nicky) Saunders who grabbed gold at the 1987 CAC Games.A strong contender for the Female Athlete of the Year award will be two-time winner Flora Duffy who won a silver medal in triathlon at the CAC Games. She also claimed two golds at the Elite Caribbean Cycling Championships in Guadeloupe.Both favourites though will face stiff competition from several other athletes who have been nominated for the top gongs at the Southampton Princess Resort on Saturday.Past male winners James Stout, who retained his World Rackets Champion title, and Roy Allan Burch, who represented the Island at the Commonwealth Games and the CAC Games, are both in the shake-up.As is Bermuda's 800 metre king Aaron Evans who won medals at the NCAA Championships and NAC Under-23 Championships. The University of Georgia student also broke Steve Burgess' national 800m record which had stood for 25-years.Rounding out the male contenders are Tyler Butterfield (triathlon) and Patrick Nesbitt (equestrian).Vying for the female award will be Arantxa King (track and field), Jenna Wade-Fray (basketball) and Kiera Aitken (swimming).Aitken, who will be gunning for her third-straight award, brought home four golds at the CISC Championships in Cuba.Alongside the main Athlete of the Year Award, which was won by Gavin Manders in the male category and Kiera Aitken in the female category last year, there are also several other awards including those for achievement, special achievement and special recognition. And for the first time in its 30 years, the award committee have created a new category of award for the Junior Athlete of the Year.Among the nominees in the male category are Jeneko Place (track), Micah Franklin (squash), Chris Rego (tennis), Owen Siese (sailing) and Footballer Nahki Wells who recently turned professional at English side Carlisle United.The female nominees are Tyler Smith (tennis), Emma Franklin (swimmer) and Jay-Lynn Hines (equestrian).The ceremony will be held in the Poinciana Ballroom at the Southampton Princess Resort at 7pm. Doors open at 6pm.Tickets are available for Saturday's awards ceremony from the Department of Youth and Sport, costing $10.