New awards launched
A GREAT year for local sport and sports people is to be recognised at a new awards ceremony.
The Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Sports Awards are to honour the sports events, people and achievements of the last 12 months - and the public will pick the winners. The awards will be presented during a sports dinner event, at the Ricoh Arena on Tuesday November 15 which will include speeches by Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys and Paul Fletcher, former Burnley and Bolton star and Chief Executive of the Ricoh Arena, as well as other local personalities. It will also be attended by many of the local professional teams and sports personalities.
The public voting for all 16 awards is now open and to access the full list, visit www.gwsport.org.uk/awards. The closing date is October 28.
Co-organiser Mark Davies said: 'The region has had such a phenomenal year for sport. This is why it is important that we get votes from the public because they are the best guides as to who has done the most to promote sport in the area.
'The cut-off date for nominees closed before the success of the Coventry Bees and the Godiva Half Marathon, but they will be getting a special mention on the night and are already included in next years nominations.'
The evening has been organised by Coventry University with assistance from the Coventry Sports Development Team and Greater Warwickshire Sport as well as their other key partners including University Of Warwick, CVOne and Henley College.
Companies wishing to attend the awards evening should contact Mark Davies on 024 7679 5979.
JUNIOR/SCHOOL TEAM OF YEAR
City of Coventry Swimming Club - Junior League Team - Midland Champions for the fourth successive year. Also reached the top three in the National Finals for the past 3 years and were fifth at the GB Championships.
Bablake School - Under 16 Netball Squad - Finished third in the National Schools Tournament.
Bentley Heath Primary School - Kwik Cricket Team - This Solihull Primary School team recently reached the National Finals of the BBC Kwik Cricket Competition.
TEAM OF THE YEAR:
Coventry Blaze Ice Hockey - The City's most successful team - winning everything possible, including the Grand Slam.
Warwickshire Disability Cricket Team - Winners of the ECB National Disability Competition.
Warwickshire Men's County Hockey - National Champions for the third time in five years and runners-up in the other two years.
YOUNG SPORTSMAN OF YEAR
Sam Richardson - Sam is a member of the Coventry Blaze U14 Ice Hockey team. He was picked to join the England School of excellence in the spring - a few days following the school was picked for the England U14 team.
John Noble - Earned two gold medals at the National Championships for the 100m & 200m freestyle, plus a British age group record.
David O'Leary - David won the prestigious Fred Perry National U14 event and represented Coventry in the International Children's Games. He is ranked second in Britain at U14 level.
YOUNG SPORTSWOMAN OF YEAR
Justine Clark - Won gold for the 100m freestyle at the National Junior Championships and silver at senior level at the Commonwealth Trials. Recently selected for the Great Britain Senior Team for the European Championships.
Hannah Chappel - Hannah is a member of City of Coventry Rhythmic Gymnastics Club. She successfully defended her Junior British title. She has been Overall British Champion in her age groups since 2000.
Grace Jenkinson - Grace started learning kick-boxing when she was 12 years old. She won her first light contact fight at 13 years old - and has taken 50 trophies since.
DISABLED SPORTSMAN OF YEAR:
Mark Brookes - Mark (17) attended the Greater Warwickshire Disability Football Coaching Centre and following on from this, he had trials for the England Cerebral Palsy team. He is also the National U18 100m and 60m champion and at a recent national event broke the 60m U18 national record.
Emlyn Whitlock - A student at the University of Warwick plays in the National League for Stratford and has recently been selected for the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball team.
Danny Parrott - Danny proudly came home from the this year's Cerebral Palsy World Games in the USA with two gold medals and two world records.
DISABLED SPORTSWOMAN
OF THE YEAR
Kay Forshaw - Solihull's Blossomfield tennis club member Kay has continued to build on her success in the Wheelchair Tennis event at Athens 2004. She has a world ranking of 13 and is No 1 in Britain
Judy Woolfenden - Judy recently became the first disabled person in the world to complete a seven-day dog sled trek across the Arctic Circle.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
David Moorcroft OBE - Has been involved in athletics for more than 30 years at club, area and international level as a competitor, teacher, coach, broadcaster and, since 1997, chief executive of the sport's national governing body.
John Mumford - Has been involved with Aylesford basketball club for over 15 years. Started as secretary and treasurer and is now chairman, coach and manager.
Marion Sands - In 1981 she founded City of Coventry Rhythmic Gymnastics Club. Her credentials as a coach are vast and she has trained numerous gymnasts to regional, national and international level.
SPORTS VOLUNTEER OF YEAR
Tim Woods - Over the past five years, he has supported Warwick District Council with a range of sports development initiatives aimed at encouraging young people to take part in sport.
Jan Thomas- Coventry & District Netball Association Chairperson. Dedication to the Association and trying to introduce new ideas to drive local netball forward.
Paul O'Rafferty - Leamington Lions FC. As well as being Chairman of the club he supports a number of the the junior teams as an FA-qualified Level 2 coach.
SPORTSMAN OF YEAR
Ashley Giles - Warwickshire cricketer Giles played a major part in this summer's Ashes victory. He bowled fantastically and scored a lot of very useful late-order runs.
Marlon Devonish - Coventry Godiva sprinter who has shown fine form in 2005 and made the semi-finals of both 100m and 200m at the World championships before running an excellent second leg for the bronze-medal winning relay team. Awarded the MBE in the 2005 New Year Honours.
Neil Martin (Coventry Blaze Ice Hockey Team) picked up a double hat trick this year. As well as being a cornerstone of the Blaze side that completed the Grand Slam he was voted as the Player of the Year by the fans and by the British Ice Hockey Writers' Association.
SPORTSWOMAN OF YEAR
Trina Gulliver - Leamington based darts player, Trina recently won her fifth World title in a row.
Laura Bassett - Born in Nuneaton and a graduate of the Coventry City Girls Centre of Excellence, Laura is now playing National League football as captain of Birmingham City Ladies FC and has been picked for the England squad.
Hannah Walker - A member of City of Coventry Rhythmic Gymnastics Club, she is top of the rankings at Senior level.
PROFESSIONAL MANAGER/ COACH OF THE YEAR
Paul Thompson - Paul, coach to the Coventry Blaze Ice Hockey Team, (right) masterminded their Grand Slam triumph.
Richard Marklow - Richard, Racquets manager at Esporta Warwickshire in Coventry, manages a five-strong professional coaching team and is BTCA Warwickshire Chair (British Tennis Coaches Association).
Joanne Deakins - Competed in the 200m backstroke at two Olympics, three Commonwealth games, three World Short Course Championships and won a medal at the World Student games. She is now Head Coach at The City of Coventry Swimming Club.
COMMUNITY MANAGER/COACH OF THE YEAR:
Rob Bromfield - Nominated for the seemingly inexhaustible time and energy he has put in over the last year in the players and coaches at Fast Break basketball club
Steve Woods - 'Woody' took over as caretaker manager of Stratford Town Ladies FC when they were struggling at the bottom of the league, despite already having heavy commitments to both the youth and men's teams.
Mark Boden -Has headed the coaching team at Shipston Tennis Club for the past three years. Thanks to Mark's dedication and commitment, the club recently gained LTA County Performance Club accreditation.
MEDIA REPORTER OF THE YEAR
Geoff Foster - BBC Coventry & Warwickshire - Geoff joined the BBC in 1993 and his job includes reading sports bulletins and commentating on Sky Blue matches.
Andy Turner - Coventry Evening Telegraph - Coverage of a remarkable season for Sky Blues - including the Joe Dhinsa saga, Peter Reid sacking, move from Highfield Road.
Simon Steele - Leamington Courier - For his regular positive coverage and support of all sports in Leamington, Warwick & Kenilworth in a high- quality weekly sports section.
SPORTING OCCASION OF YEAR
International Children's Games 2005
Final Coventry City FC Game at Highfield Road
Greater Warwickshire Youth Games 2005
HIGHER EDUCATION/FURTHER EDUCATION AWARD
Graham Gristwood - Graham recently won university of Warwick's 'Sportsman of the Year Award' for his Orienteering success, which include 14th in the Orienteering World Cup Sprint Distance, 33rd in the World Cup Middle Distance, 22nd in the British championships sprint, second in the middle distance and third in the British Universities Championships.
Dan King - Dan, a student at Coventry University, is ranked No 1 in Great Britain and has competed on the IAAF Grand Prix during the season. In May he won the Inter Counties Championships 3000m in a new Championship best performance and was third in the AAA Championships in July.
Phil Kennard - Recently won the 'Sportsman of the Year Award' at The University of Warwick Sports Awards Ball for his sailing success. Ranked second in GB and 43rd in the world, he is the British Senior 49er champion.
COMMUNITY SPORTS AWARD
Coventry Twilight League - Young people, who have no access to sport are being targeted to access this football programme. Across Coventry, over 800 young people have benefited from this sporting activity. By having mobile lights and goals means that a programme is put in place instantly, tackling social issues and giving young people something positive to do.
Rashid Bhayat - Rashid started the Positive Futures project in 2002 when funding was given by the Home Office to start the project in the Hillfields area of Coventry. In this time the project has supported more than 500 young people to become positive members of the community. Rashid's dedication has been recognised by the Home Office and the office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Karl Bowes - All of the work he has done in Coventry over the last 12 months to increase opportunities for young people to play cricket. He has coached in schools, helped set up new youth sections at clubs, organised coaching sessions and matches for Coventry players.
CAPTION(S):
FOND FAREWELL ... It was goodbye to Highfield Road; IN THE RUNNING ... The three for the Sportsman of the year are: Ashley Giles (right), Marlon Devonish (centre) and Neil Martin
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