Every one a winner as Welsh sport salutes its local heroes
The Wales Sports Awards 2018 will be held tonight celebrating the best of elite and grassroots sport in Wales. Here are the community winners...
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD...
College maths teacher Gareth Lanagan, who is known as Dolgellau’s “Mr Cricket” will accept the award tonight at Celtic Manor.
The volunteer – described by one of his peers as “one of the linchpins of cricket in Gwynedd” – aims to introduce the sport to new audiences.
Stuart Evans, who nominated him, explained: “We’ve gone from a club that was just about surviving to one that it is thriving thanks to Gareth.
“Sometimes I wonder if he actually sleeps! He loves cricket and loves Dolgellau cricket club. He is most definitely our Mr Cricket.”
The head coach, first team captain and chairman has been key in developing a family-friendly club. He is passionate about the Welsh language and sport in Gwynedd.
He started up a female cricket team last year and has developed the club’s future with a thriving junior side.
Gareth, who lives in Aberystwyth but works and volunteers in Dolgellau, said: “Cricket is a game that has given me so much. I want others to have the opportunities that I’ve had.
“The dream would be that in years to come one of the youngsters I coach can take my place on the first team.”
INSPIRING YOUNG PERSON...
Wheelchair tennis star Fran Smith will be recognised tonight for putting in hundreds of volunteer hours despite having chronic fatigue and other health issues.
The 19-year-old Cardiff Met student is well respected in the world of disability sport, including wheelchair basketball, tennis and boccia.
Fran credits her caring nature to her mother Deb Bashford, who is also a wheelchair user and passionate sports volunteer.
“She’s taught me so much in life” explained Fran, whose mum won a Volunteer Award at the Wales Sport Awards two years ago.
She added: “When you grow up with a severely disabled mother who never lets anything stop her, you think why should I let anything stop me?”
The mother and daughter duo often help at Caernarfon Celts wheelchair basketball club in their Gwynedd hometown.
Deb added: “At just 19 years old, she has gone above and beyond what I could have ever imagined. It is mind-blowing. I am so proud of her.”
A few years back, Fran said she “hit rock bottom” in her life, but volunteering and competing in wheelchair tennis helped her through it.
She explained: “I didn’t know what to do with my life and I never want other people to feel the way I did when I was at my lowest point.”
She sits on the Disability Sport Wales Youth Board to help inspire others.
COMMUNITY COACH OF THE YEAR...
Carmarthen coach Aled Jones-Davies has been recognised for his dedication to Taf Running and Orienteering Team (TROTs).
Club member Yvonne Davies nominated Aled on behalf of the club, for encouraging them and helping them improve their running.
She explained: “He has brought sport into the lives of many through his tireless work. I’m not the fastest runner, but Aled has always motivated me to train and race.”
Yvonne also thanks Aled for helping her daughter Ffion, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, find a passion for running.
She continued: “Ffion has been fully integrated into the junior group and Aled helps her do the activities like all the others, but just adapts some for her.
“She absolutely loves the club and cannot wait for Thursday nights.
“His decision and hard work setting up the junior sessions and working with local schools shows his passion for the future of the sport. He is giving children opportunities otherwise not open to them.”
Builder Aled has not only used his spare time to grow club membership but also to promote the sport to the wider community. He re-introduced the Cilycwm fun run two years ago, something he loved taking part in as a child before it stopped.
The now-annual event helps to raise thousands of pounds for Llandovery Community Hospital and other local causes. He also helps marshal at the local Parkrun – including a Christmas Day special event.
ORGANISATION OF THE YEAR...
Gwenllian Dafydd, from Bethesda, Gwynedd, who lost who lost six stone when she started climbing, has praised award-winning charity The Outdoor Partnership for the part they played in her dramatic life change.
Over the past year the team has inspired more than 16,000 people, by working closely with its 45-member clubs, partners and local employers, to use outdoor activity to improve their lives.
Gwenllian, 30, who started climbing sessions at the Indy Climbing Wales in Llanfairpwll, Anglesey, last year explained: “I was at a crossroads in my life. I weighed more than I ever had, I was inactive and I felt really down.”
She went from a Size 20-22 to a Size 10 and now climbs, runs and has signed up to a skiing course.
She added: “My climbing instructor never made me feel like I wasn’t good enough or needed to change, but the sessions gave me the tools I needed to help me.”
Gwenllian realised how far she had come when she took part in her first outdoor climb. She recalled: “I sat at the top of the 300ft climb watching the sunset and realised I was living this life thanks to the Outdoor Partnership. It is something I would never have done before starting climbing with them.”
The Partnership has been recognised for their work in driving inclusivity. Their This Girl’s Adventure programme is just one of the initiatives going from strength to strength.
GETTING WALES ACTIVE AWARD...
A project that has got at least 1,500 inactive people in Wales moving has picked up this brand new award. Get Out, Get Active (GOGA), running across Wrexham, Pembrokeshire and Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT), is managed by Disability Sport Wales, thanks to Spirit of 2012 funding.
WGOGA sees disabled and nondisabled people take part in sporting opportunities together.
Michelle Daltry, partnership manager at Disability Sport Wales, explained: “We have been delighted to work in partnership to explore new and innovative ways of engaging disabled and non-disabled people who, prior to GOGA, have been considered as inactive.”
In RCT the focus is on getting disabled people and families of all backgrounds active together by enjoying children’s rugby, walking football and autism-friendly swimming for families.
One of the children who plays in the inclusive rugby sessions, Daniel Jacob Roberts, 11, explained: “I have autism. I love playing rugby and I have even made some new friends.”
In Pembrokeshire, the programme takes advantage of the beautiful coastline with a focus on disability access and the Welsh outdoors.
In Wrexham, the very popular Ladies Night helps get local women running, playing tennis, golf and more.
■ For more information about this year’s event, visit www.walessportawards.co.uk or follow #WSA2018