Winchester District Sports Awards 2009

Winchester District Sports Awards 2009

The Winchester District Sport and Physical Activity Alliance (SPAA) held its second annual sports awards at Winchester Guildhall on Thursday 3rd December.

Local Olympic star, Julia Beckett, was on hand to present the 12 awards to local sporting heroes alongside the Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Dominic Hiscock. There was also a guest presentation and inspirational speech by Rod Carr OBE, Chief Executive of the Royal Yachting Association.

The awards, which are sponsored by Wilds Sports in Jewry Street, aim to recognise publicly the commitment and excellence of coaches, volunteers, and sportsmen and women across the Winchester District and celebrate their successes over the past year

Cllr Patricia Stallard, portfolio holder for heritage, culture and sport at Winchester City Council, said:

"We are delighted to be supporting the Winchester District Sports Awards by sponsoring one of the categories. By supporting and encouraging the success of local sportsmen and women and celebrating their achievements we can help to drive talented Winchester athletes towards the London 2012 Olympics and beyond. It was amazing to witness first hand the wonderful array of sporting accolades over the past year and welcome Rod Carr OBE to speak at the event."

Stuart Barlow, Chair of the SPAA, added:

"These awards recognise the achievements and efforts of Winchester's top sporting athletes, coaches and volunteers. It has been an excellent evening of celebration hosted by Julia Beckett who herself came from grassroots participation in Winchester through to swimming at the Olympic Games last year in Beijing. As well as celebrating potential stars of the future the evening was also a perfect opportunity to show our appreciation for those who have put so much personal time and effort into helping others to get involved in sport at a local level. The SPAA has been working hard on delivering a number of initiatives over the last year and will continue to provide and develop opportunities to maximise sporting participation in the lead up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games."

Following a record number of nominations and with a talented pool of Olympic hopefuls and high number of exceptional volunteers, coaches and sports personalities attending the evening, each nominee and winner came away from the event with their head held high.

This year’s winners were:

Junior Sportsman – Richard Humby – Athletics (Polevault)

Junior Sportswoman – Amy Middleton - Gymnastics

Senior Sportswoman – Caroline Brownlie – Target Shooting

Masters Sportsman – Rory Fitzgerald - Swimming

Male Coach – David Vosser - Athletics

Female Coach – Patricia Francis - Gymnastics

Senior Volunteer – Anne Burridge - Cricket

Junior Volunteer – George Mann – Multi Sport

Junior Team – St Cross Cricket U13s - Cricket

Senior Team – Hampshire Thrashers – American Football

Male Service to Sport – David Chiswell - Tennis

Female Service to Sport – Sue Coles - Cycling