Talent spotters reward the best of Halton
THE 2017 Halton Sports Awards took place at The Select Security Stadium in November. Now in its 15th year, the annual event was this year called Sport’s Got Talent and continues to turn the spotlight on a number of dedicated individuals and teams who have been picked from among the many thousands of dedicated men and women across the borough.
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
As a reward for her efforts, Sarah Stinchcombe of Beechwood Netball Club scooped the Volunteer of the Year award.
Club secretary Sarah has been involved in volunteering for more than 13 years, consistently putting in more than 20 hours a week and overseeing everything from safeguarding to first aid.
And, in the words of her nominator, she was the ideal choice for the title, stating: “Apart from her work as a coach and a player she works tirelessly behind the scenes for her club.
“She does this for the good of the club and not for recognition.
“I cannot stress enough the hhd hard work k and effort she puts in for our club and the young people of Halton.”
ACTIVE HALTON AWARD
Next to take to the stage were representatives of Phoenix Park Parkrun, who were delighted to accept the Active Halton Award.
This is a new award for 2017 and is presented to a person, club or project that has made a difference to help improve the health of Halton residents.
Led by a team of volunteers, the Runcorn-based project has been running for less than a year, and has already organised more than 34 events with in excess of 1,000 participants taking part.
Despite being in its infancy, the intentions and willingness of its members to promote the ‘Get Active’ message to the wider public has not gone unnoticed and they were undoubtedly deserving of the sought-after accolade.
YOUNG SPORTS VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
The Winner of the 2017 Young Sports Volunteer of the Year Award was Alex Hurst of Halton and Frodsham Harriers ● Athletics Club.
A relative newcomer to the world of volunteering with just over three years on the clock, since taking over as team manager Alex has certainly played her part in dramatically increasing the number of club members participating in competitions. Leading by example, her many roles involve coaching, organising event calendars and preparing athletes to ensure they are ready for action.
YOUNG SPORTS PERSON OF THE YEAR
Representing the City of Liverpool Rebound Gymnastics Club, Scarlett Fletcher (pictured) was the worthy recipient p of the Young Sports Person of t the Year honour.
A specialist in the Double Mini-Trampoline discipline, Scarlett has dedicated the bulk of her life to her chosen sport for the past four years, with a regime that sees her training for more than 26 h hours a week, including w weekends at Lilleshall National Sports Centre for Elite Athletes. In what has already been a whirlwind year at club, national and international level, she has h also l become b the current 11-12 years British champion, won an international gold medal at the Loule Cup representing Great Britain and secured another Gold award whilst representing British Gymnastics in Portugal in July, competing against 64 other athletes.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Hot on the heels of a trophy-laden year for his club side, an individual award, namely the Coach of the Year, was handed to Andrew Dodd from Halton Farnworth Hornets Amateur Rugby League Club, in recognition of his services as head coach at the Widnes-based outfit.
Active in this particular department for more than 15 years, Andrew coaches up to 12 hours a week throughout the year, and his team have won both the Premier League and North West Counties Cup for the past three consecutive seasons.
Described by his peers as a dedicated and motivated coach, his commitment to his club is second-to-none and his appetite to share his passion for the game with as many people as possible made him a standout choice for this particular category. Halton Sports Awards ●
With several players selected to represent Cheshire and Merseyside and boasting close links with local primary and high schools in the area, Beechwood Netball Club came out on top in the Club of the Year group for 2017.
Always keen to grow as an organisation, at present, they have 15 volunteer coaches, 50 adult players and 130 junior players on board. The club provides a wide range of initiatives and team-building sessions in a safe and secure facility for participants to come back into sport and in doing so, also improve their wellbeing and fitness as part of the package.
SPORTS PERSON OF THE YEAR
The evening’s penultimate prize of Sports Person of the Year went to Robert Wright, a representative of Mersey Valley Golf Club and also the Special Olympics North West team.
Described as a great ambassador for sport and the Special Olympics, and with a CV that includes such highlights as collecting both a gold and a bronze medal in China, winning silver at the Regional Games held earlier this year and competing at the National Summer Games in Sheffield, Robert was a popular choice among the panel of judges.
As his nominator stated: “He clearly demonstrates what can be achieved if you try hard enough.”
To conclude proceedings, the coveted Lifetime Achievement award was presented to Ronnie Hough.
A football man through and through and honest and fair in all that he does, Ronnie has been involved in the game for over 50 years.
He was a well-respected player throughout his career and is now a valued founder member of the Widnes Football Forum.
He started his playing career more than half a century ago in 1966 at the newly-formed St Michael’s Football Club, and by the age of 22 had impressed his peers enough to captain the team.
He continued to play for St Michael’s until the age of 42 when he turned his hand to a player-manager role at an allnew Sunday League team, The Blundell.
In a fitting way to bring down the proverbial curtain on another well-attended and entertaining evening, the MC Roy Basnett read out an extract from a nomination form, quoting: “Without his enthusiasm, St Mike’s would not be the team that it currently is and football in the town of Widnes could not have developed in the way that it has without his efforts.” ● Next year’s nomination forms will be available from June 2018. If you are interested in this event, contact Halton Sports Partnership.