Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Another great year in heart of community
The cream of Scottish sport will again be recognised at the Sunday Mail and sportscotland Scottish Sports Awards in D e cember, and Gartcairn Football Academy in Airdrie will be hoping to be in the running after enjoying another fantastic year at the heart of the community.
Since its first days back in 2007, when there was a struggle to find enough players to field even one team, Gartcairn Academy has gone from strength to strength and now has more than 400 players and 80 coaches across 21 adult, youth and girls teams.
The academy has come a long way in the 11 years since it was founded thanks to an £ 8000 grant from sportscotland, and is exactly the type of community sports club that the Sunday Mail and sportscotland Scottish Sports Awards will once again be celebrating later this year.
Now in its 12th year, the annual event, which is sponsored by sportscotland – the national agency for sport – celebrates excellence t h roughout Sc o t t i s h sport by awarding our sportsmen, women, teams and volunteers for their outstanding achievements in 2018.
And Gartcairn certainly fit into that category, with a commitment to catering for everyone who wants to play football, highlighted by the creation of an autism section earlier this year.
There are 22 children registered in the section and Gartcairn Academy chairman Robert McCallum says their enthusiasm for the sport is there for all to see.
He added: “Those kids are so much fun; there’s some real good characters in there.
“And there’s some cracking footballers in that team, it’s just trying to curb their enthusiasm a bit.
“It’s important they are not moved because they need that consistent environment; they’re in a hall and it’s only that team that are in it so they don’t have to deal with coaches from other teams shouting or anything like that.
“But it’s great to see how much they enjoy it.”
Chief executive of sportscotland, Stewart Harris, said: “Once again it has been a momentous 12 months for the sporting system in Scotland and the Sunday Mail and sportscotland Scottish Sport Awards provides us with the perfect opportunity to reflect on many achievements of the past year.
“In commu n i t i e s across the country the transformative power of sport is in evidence on a daily basis, not least through our network of 192 community sport hubs and the national Active Schools programme, which are creating real opportunities for people of all ages to become involved in sport.
“The Scottish Sport Awards will shine a light on the successes of the past year, from the tireless work of volunteers and coaches in local communities right through to the performance of Scotland’s top athletes and sports stars on the global stage.
“It will be another night to remember.”
The beating heart of Scotland’s sports.
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Local Club of the Year
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Which team most impressed you during 2018?
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