Complex sentence: As it is awarded on merit it is not an annual award; between the award's creation and 1999 it had been awarded a total of 48 times and it was not awarded in the years 2000-2010.
Split into simpler sentences: As it is awarded on merit it is not an annual award; between the award's creation and 1999 it had been awarded a total of 48 times. It was not awarded in the years 2000-2010.