We could hand them ALL an award!
FOSTER ADMITS THE JUDGES HAD TOUGH TASK
IF winning a Pride of Sport award is tough then spare a thought for the judges who have to pick the winners.
The expert panel met at London’s Grosvenor House last week for two hours of passionate debate about the shortlist, which was compiled by the Pride of Sport research team from thousands of nominations.
The Mirror’s Pride of Sport Awards, in partnership with TSB, celebrates the unsung heroes of grassroots sport, with categories including Team of the Year, Coach of the Year, TSB Community Partner and Young Achiever of the Year.
Chaired by Mirror editor-inchief Lloyd Embley, the judging panel set about their task with the kind of competitive zeal you would expect from Olympic athletes.
Joining swimmers Mark Foster and Karen Pickering were Rio hockey gold medallist Sam Quek, London 2012 star Beth Tweddle, Leicestershire County Cricket Club chief executive Wasim Khan, and disabled cycling star Martin Ashton, a Pride of Sport winner in 2016.
That sporting cast was supplemented by the awards’ host Ben Shephard, Rachel Lock, HR Director at TSB, the Pride of Sport Awards’ partner, and the Mirror’s sports editor David Walker.
As ever, choosing the winners was a huge task and one that prompted some heated debate around the table.
“It never gets any easier,” said Ben. “By the very nature of having professional sportsmen and women around the table things get competitive, because these are people who have spent their whole life competing and winning things.”
That was certainly the case again this year. It’s the sheer scale of the achievements of nominees, in both the individual and team categories, that makes the task of the judges so mountainous.
“So many of the entries offer everything you want from the categories in these awards,” said Wasim.
Mark Foster was also impressed by the unheralded heroes who made a splash in 2017. “You could give an award to everybody,” he said.
Karen was certainly determined to put her point across. She said: “I’ve got a bit of stick but I think you have to stand up for the nominations you’re fighting for.”
Perhaps the final word, though, should go to Martin.
“I was so proud to win one of these awards last year,” he said. “But sitting around this table, getting an idea of what the competition must have been like, doubles that pride.”
The winners chosen by the panel will be honoured at the star-studded awards dinner at Grosvenor House next month.