Eddie the Eagle lands at sports awards
INSPIRATIONAL sporting heroes were recognised at this year’s Hyndburn Sports Awards.
The Ballroom at Accrington Town Hall was packed with more than 250 people for the 15th annual event, recognising the achievements of local clubs, teams, schools, coaches, individual athletes and volunteers.
Ski jumping legend Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards was the special guest speaker at the ceremony and talked about his journey to become an Olympian.
The awards evening saw 11 winners, nine of whom will go on to represent Hyndburn at next month’s Lancashire Sports Awards.
Among the winners were Megan Lee’s dad Adam who was named ‘Coach of the Year’ for his work with young footballers
Phil Smithson was also presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award after running Bredakwai Judo Club in Accrington for 45 years.
Ciaran Wells, chairman of the board at Hyndburn Leisure, said it was ‘fantastic to see such a high-pro- file event to celebrate our local grassroots sports’.
Lyndsey Sims, chief executive of Hyndburn Leisure, said all the nominees were ‘amazing and deserved to be recognised’. The winners were: Community Club of The Year - Clayton Boxing Club; Coach of the Year - Adam Lee; Community Project of the Year - Clayton Chargers and Hyndburn Park Run; Volunteer of the Year - Kerry Reeves; Primary School of the Year - Peel Park, Accrington; Secondary School of the Year - Accrington Academy; Inspire Award - Sally Woods; Service to Under Represented Groups - Aawaz Sports Project; Changing Lifestyle Award - Kathryn Davies; Young Achiever Award - Jedidiah Lincoln; Lifetime Achievement Award - Phil Smithson.