Local sports stars invited to shine and show off their talent
Nominations are now being invited for the 4th Annual Sports Awards for the Winchester District.
The Winchester District Sport and Physical Activity Alliance (SPAA) is asking local sports clubs, community organisations and residents to name the best of the District’s sporting talent as the build-up starts to the big award ceremony on Thursday 1 December.
Last year saw a record number of nominations received with the awards being presented at a ceremony in the Winchester Guildhall which will again be the fitting venue for this year’s ceremony. With sporting talent improving year on year, 2011 is hoped to be the best ever awards ceremony with junior and senior awards now available to vote for. As the event evening continues to grow there will now be a junior awards ceremony starting earlier and senior awards to follow. It is also hoped that the evening will have even more celebrity hosts which in previous years have included Olympic swimmer Julia Beckett, Rod Carr the Royal Yachting Association Chief Executive and Dervis Konarulp, world record holding champion Paralympic swimmer.
The awards aim to recognise publicly the commitment and excellence of coaches, volunteers, sportsmen and sportswomen across the Winchester District and clubs can request nomination packs now.
Last year nominations were received from Worthy’s Youth Football Club, Hampshire Thrashers, Winchester and District Athletics Club, Winchester Rugby Club, Winchester City Penguins Swimming Club, Winchester Gymnastics Club, University of Winchester Football Club, St Cross Symondians Cricket Club, South Wonston Table Tennis Club, Itchen Valley Shooting Club and Winchester City Basketball Club to name a few. It is hoped that many more clubs and organisations will take the opportunity to submit nominations as the event continues to grow and reward those individuals and teams who commit so much of their time to sport in the Winchester District.
Nominations for awards will be considered in the following junior categories:
Sportsman of the Year
Sportswoman of the Year
Disability Sportsperson of the Year
Male Volunteer of the Year
Female Volunteer of the Year
Team of the Year
School Team of the Year
(All Under 18 years of age)
Nominations for awards will be considered in the following senior categories
Senior Sportsman of the Year
Senior Sportswoman of the Year
Senior Disability Sportsperson of the Year
Master Sportsman of the Year
Master Sportswoman of the Year
Coach of the Year
Volunteer of the Year
Official of the Year
Team of the Year
Service to Sport
Club of the Year
The awards will be for achievements during the sporting year of 2011, with the exception of Service to Sport which will be for service, coaching, officiating or volunteering over a number of years.
All nominees must either be resident within the Winchester District or registered to, or working with, clubs based in the Winchester District. All entries must be supported by a written statement of no more than 200 words, explaining why you think the nominee deserves this recognition.
Cllr Patricia Stallard, who is Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and Sport at Winchester City Council said, “With the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games only one year away there is a great deal happening in the Winchester District and this event provides clubs and individuals with the chance to show how much they have done in the last year, celebrate their achievements and showcase talented sports people. It will be a fantastic evening once again and I would urge sports clubs, teachers, parents and coaches from across the district to nominate!”
Stuart Barlow, Chair of the SPAA, added, “Last year we had an incredible evening celebrating the successes of local sports people but this year we would like to recognise even more achievements and continue to see the event grow, with more celebrities and more nominations, which is why we have split the awards into two ceremonies for juniors and seniors in 2011.”
The closing date for entries is Monday 10 October 2011.
Download a nomination form or nominate online
Nomination forms can be downloaded from the Winchester 2012 website on http://www.winchester2012.co.uk/sport/awards or alternatively you can nominate online by going to Winchester City Council’s Do It Online pages on the main council website (www.winchester.gov.uk) and selecting Winchester Sports Awards.
Request a nomination form
Entry forms, along with further details, can be obtained by contacting Alex Chapman on 01962 848 532 or achapman@winchester.gov.uk