Winners are announced at the 2013 Sport Awards!
The City of Worcester Awards ceremony, held on Wednesday 18th September 2013 at the Iconic University Arena were our best to date! Hosted by Sport Worcester and Worcester City Council, the night was great fun where we welcommed the incredible; Heather Fisher, Yvette Baker and Luke Sugg as VIP Guest Speakers, along with The Mayor of Worcester- Councillor Pat Agar and more.
We would like to congratulate all winners on the night and would like to thank every single nominee for their time. This years competition was at its greatest, with some incredible runners up. Each winner received a trophy and a medal.
The winners name have all been put forward for an award at the County Sports Partnership Awards ceremony in November, 2013.
Congratulations to all involved,
The Sport Worcester Team
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City of Worcester Sport Award Winners 2013
Senior Male Sports Person of the Year – Garry Milward Runner Up: Daniel Staines
For a male individual over 18 years of age who has achieved a good standard of performance and has represented or contributed to a sport of club through their own dedication and commitment.
Gary has been an influential member of Worcester Dragonboat Racing for over 15 years. He represented Great Britain this year at the World Championships in Hungary won a Gold in the 200m and Bronze medal in the 500m. Gary trains with his club and the GB squad at weekends, is responsible for the planning, organisation and leadership of the premier club crew at Worcester and gets everybody revved up for their racing with his motivational speeches.
Senior Female Sports Person of ther Year – Ella Gibbons Runner Up: Anna Price
For a female individual over 18 years of age, who has achieved a good standard of performance and has represented or contributed to a sport or club through their own dedication and commitment.
Ella is 18 years old so just fits into the Senior Female category. She is ranked in the top ten in the UK for High jump and won the Senior Girls event at the National Schools championships with a jump of 1.75m which is just about 5’9” in old money. She recently finished 4th at the British and World Championship trials and was selected to compete for England in an International Athletics match in Cardiff. Ella also turns out for her club and school and includes running in the 4 x 100m and Long jump in her list of achievements. However if you asked what has been the best achievement of the year so far it would probably be having to give up cake and chocolate as part of her new scientific approach to training 6 days a week. She has a fantastic future ahead of her with her aim to be at the Commonwealth games in Glasgow next year and completing her first year at Loughborough University after gaining two A*s and an A in her A-Levels.
Junior Male Sports Person of the Year – Will Bird Runner Up: Alex Lloyd
For a male individual under 18 years of age who has achieved a good standard of performance and has represented or contributed to a sport or club through their own dedication and commitment.
Will was selected for the GB Canoeing Junior and Under 23 team to compete at the European Sprint regatta in Poland and made it through to the semi finals finishing in second place with a fellow competitor from Wey Kayak club. He is currently ranked 10th in the World after racing in the Worlds in Canada and is National Champion at K1 and K2 after winning both events in Nottingham earlier this year. He trains 15 times a week so has half a day off! He is an excellent role model, a diligent academic student and very modest about his achievements. His target is the Olympics in Rio 2016 and to be a guest speaker at the Sport Worcester Awards on Wednesday September 14th 2016.
Junior Female Sports Person of the Year – Kate Horsburgh Runner Up: Kirsten Campbell-Ferguson
For a female individual under 18 years of age who has achieved a good standard of performance and has represented or contributed to a sport or club through their own dedication and commitment.
Kate is the current Under 12’s Girls County Tennis champion and Ladies doubles champion at Worcester Lawn Tennis club with her sister Ruth. She represented Herefordshire and Worcestershire at Under 14 level and won 4 out of 6 of her matches. Kate also played at Wimbledon this year in the National Finals for Under 14’s. She practices between 8 and 12 hours a week at various tennis centres around the region and has, I’m sure, very dedicated parents and family helping her with her tennis commitments throughout the year.
Coach of the Year – Andy Poppleton Runner Up: Nigel Leigh
A person involved in coaching at any level; who has shown high levels of achievement when developing improved performance amongst sports people.
Andy is an athlete who coaches. He has led his team of young athletes to much success achieving Golds, Silvers and Bronze medals in many Indoor and Outdoor championships around the country. His commitment to training nights and weekends is outstanding and he clearly has shown excellent qualities as a role model, leader, organiser and communicator for the athletes and their parents. He puts coaching before anything else and is dedicated to the individual development of all of the young athletes he coaches.
Young Volunteer of the Year – Tom Rimmer Runner Up: Lois Brown
Those under 18 who are voluntarily fiven up their time to Coaching/Involvement to sport from an administrative, organisational or other supporting role.
Tom is one of those volunteers who always puts himself forward before being asked, wants to always be more involved and commits huge amounts of time and energy to helping other people in their sports interests. He has amassed over three hundred hours of volunteering this year so far and helps with all sports or activities. He has been nominated for all these aspects of his work but what stands out is his professionalism and high standards he expects of himself which is commendable for someone so young. The people he works with have the utmost respect and trust in his abilities and his qualities bode well for his future career.
Junior Club Team of the Year – Worcester Hockey Club Girls Under 12’s
Runner Up: Saracens Netball Club Under 14’s
Team who have achieved and attained a high level of performance. They have also displayed good attitude and aptitude in their chosen sport.
This has been a phenomenal year for the girls. They are undefeated in 34 matches and only missed out on a National Title on penalty strokes. They won the Cirencester tournament, won 15 of 19 matches at the Cheltenham festivals, won the England Hockey 12 ‘s Midlands championships. Many of their squad play county hockey or have been selected at regional level, all play in their school teams at Under 11 to Under 13 level. They have been described as feisty, strong, cohesive, firm friends, supportive, respectful (of their coaches) and role models for the rest of their club. They have shown excellent sportsmanship and most of all have had fun and lots of laughter while they have been playing together. Their coaches , their dedicated and committed coaches have named them the Golden Girls and they clearly all have a very bright future ahead of them.
Club of the Year – West Mercia Badminton Club & Performance Centre- Worcester
Runner Up: Worcester Dragon Boat Racing Club
A club who have achieved accreditation recognition, also who have had significant progress in developing opportunities for all over the last twelve months.
This club has made significant progress for talented players, coaches and their development where previously there was no pathway locally to do this beyond a certain level. Highly qualified Coaches are reaching into the community to find talented players with a good degree of success. The club now has a ‘Gold Player’ one of the highest ranked juniors in the country. Over two and a half years of planning and hard work has resulted in some amazing progress and an opportunity to put Worcester on the map for Badminton.
Disability Sports Person of the Year – Laura Gill Runner Up: Ray Masters
An individual who has shown commitment and have achieved success in their own right either through taken part in sport or volunteering.
Laura has evolved this year into a true sports woman and an incredible lady. She plays a number of different sports from Boccia to Horse riding, has developed her coaching skills and understanding of anatomy and sports in relation to students with disabilities and increased her communication skills in conjunction with her confidence. She is an innovator, creating opportunities and leading with ideas to push the boundaries and develop inclusivity whilst making sure people develop new skills and enjoy what they are doing. She is an ambassador for Snoezelen, runs her own Monday night club and is an inspiration to the staff and athletes she works with.
Volunteer of the Year – Lynne Newell Runner Up: Jacci Hunt
For those who have voluntarily given up their time to Coaching/Involvement to sport from an administrative, organisational or other supporting role.
Lynne has worked hard in the last 12 months to develop womens and girls cricket at Old Elizabethans CC from Under11 through to Under 17’s. She is secretary and welfare officer at the club and reinforces her commitment to working at the sharp end of coaching combined with the quiet ‘behind the scenes’ dedication that is so integral to clubs working effectively. She always develops her skills and knowledge through training courses and has recently started to branch out and form a visually impaired cricket team. Her enthusiasm is contagious and this has clearly helped her recruit players to help her projects throughout the club.
Howard Peters Award for Outstanding Contribution – Roy Mclaren Runner Up: Roger Ingram
For those that have made a long term significant contribution to the development of sport in an administration, organisational or other supportive role.
Roy, from Birmingham studied at Kings Heath Horticultural college, joined Edgbaston Cricket ground as a junior grounds man and after a playing/ grounds man apprenticeship joined Worcestershire County Cricket Club as Head Grounds man in 1983 at New Road. This job was his for 19 years after which he moved to Malvern College as grounds manager. He was a ‘ground breaker’ in other ways with the start of the first educational seminars on grounds maintenance and he became an instructor for the Institute. His skills extended further to Pitch Advisor for the ECB and held the chair at the Worcestershire Association of Grounds men from its founding time in 2002. We sometimes forget that performance on the pitch isn’t just about athletic and coaching preparation and that our best efforts can only be enhanced by the quality of the environment in or on which we play. So next time you do well in your sporting endeavours thank all the people around you and include on that list the person who has made a significant contribution to your efforts. Roy has devoted his lifetime to improving standards of sport development in his professional career and we should always be thankful for this.
Community Sports Award – Worcester Tae Kwon-Do Club Runner Up: Worcester Snoezelen
Individual or Club who have made a significant contribution to developing Community Sport whilst also increasing opportunities for people to be more active.
This club has an outstanding range of World championship medals in all categories of Sparring and Patterns across all weights and has three World Champions. The club also works very closely with their Local community running self defence classes for over 30 women and is closely linked to; NHS Change 4 Life Programme, Worcester Rape crisis project, Healthy Eating workshops, Family Learning courses in schools and Libraries. This is a real community club and as is often the case is run and managed by a totally dedicated and selfless instructor Sally Gleaves. The impact on the women in her community is outstanding and has allowed people, friends and family to become really empowered and improve their lives. Quote: ‘I have found no other sports club where I feel as comfortable or cared for as I do here’
Best Educational Sporting Achievement – Worcester College of Technology Football Academy
Runner Up: Northwick Primary Year 4 Swimming Team
This award is for a school team or individual that has performed significantly well or shown a particularly great dedication to their sport in school.
The team from Worcester College of Technology reached the top four of all Further Education colleges in the country for Elite Academy teams, was runner up in the West Midlands Under 21 Premier League and was runner up to Rugby Town Under 21’s in the cup Final. This has been an outstanding year for Coach Mark Owen and his squad who have also seen most of his squad representing the county under 18’s, been given the role of Club manager for Worcester City’s youth team and has had their club captain Dan Scarr selected to play for England colleges. Achievements on the pitch have also led to outstanding success off the pitch as these students combine academic studying with anything from 8-20 hours a week training and playing. All first year students completed their studies to return to continue with this outstanding success for their second year and are currently doing better than Liverpool with their results.
Contribution to Physical Activity – Sue Thomas Runner Up: Black Pear Joggers
For any individual or group who has made a significant contribution to physical activity on the last twelve months.
Sue runs the ‘Start to Push’ club out of Gheluvelt Park and has done for a number of years helping hundreds of people get back into shape with a mix of exercise classes and healthy advice on nutrition and lifestyle changes. She has changed peoples lives. This has been done with a high dose of enthusiasm, a fantastic attitude, leadership and commitment in and out of her classes. She has a forward thinking ethic and is determined to have a positive impact on others lives and uses her determination and motivation to get people through the difficulties they can’t do for themselves. A truly inspirational woman.
Higher Education or Further Education Sport Award- Hannah Porter & Samantha Childe
Runner Up: Steph Fisher
For any individual who has made a significant contribution to physical activity and sport in Higher or Further education over the past twelve months.
Both Hannah and Sam have been fantastic coaches this year for their cheer squad. They have committed to 8 hours a week of voluntary coaching and training to choreographing fantastic routines for all of the University teams. They have also entered and won 1st place at the Future Cheer Heart of England All Star tournament and came 3rd out of 24 squads at the Nationals in Telford. Since the club has started they have got over 40 members performing in three squads at Level 2 and Level 3. They have done all this whilst working on their own study programmes at the University and clearly set up a fantastic future for current and future members with pure dedication and commitment to students who have had little or no training or experience in the sport.
Award for Most Improved School- St Barnabas Primary School Runner Up: Whittington Primary
This award will recognise the most significant development of school sport during the academic year 2012/13.
Always looking for new opportunities to promote sport and activities with in the school. There has been significant progress with their Local High school , Christopher Whitehead High School and there are now formal established links that are working really well. This is especially the case with students working on the Leadership programmes who are working with St Barnabas to develop their communication and team work skills in Sport.
For more photographs from the evening, please visit Sport Worcester on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.599768766731869.1073741826.100278293347588&type=1&l=3c970a260f
