Fylde Sports Awards
Three colourful stars
Thank you to all those who took the time to submit entries for this year’s Fylde Sports Awards, we had some fantastic nominations and would like to pass on our thanks to all the other nominees for the hard work they are doing in their clubs.
The winners of the 2009 Fylde Sports Awards are:
• Coach of the Year
Peter Whiteside
Lytham St Annes YMCA Football Club
Peter is the current manager and coach of the U18’s team and has supported this team singlehandedly through every age group from U9’s in his 10 year involvement in the club. His record of successes with the team makes him the most successful manager of one team ever in local youth football.
As well as a fantastic coach to the players Peter is a great mentor for other coaches and volunteers within the club, always taking time out to support and guide others. The discipline and behavior ethic he instills in his players is exemplary and Peter has been a brilliant role model for the boys.
Peter is a credit to grassroots football, and as his team graduate this season and Peter takes on a mentor role within club we would like to congratulate his 10 year achievements.
• Community Club of the Year
Fylde Rugby Club
The club’s mission statement is to be the best rugby club in the North West, not just on the playing side but also coaching, volunteering, community outreach, school involvement and as a social club.
The club secured funding for two full time development officers who have a massive impact on growing the club and building community and school links. Just some of the work the team does in schools includes training opportunities for volunteers, coaches and officials and the organisation and administration of the Fylde & Wyre RUFFS league which provides valuable playing opportunities for 11 high schools.
Fylde recently hosted their 3rd annual beach rugby tournament which was a great success and engaged the local community with teams of friends entering who has never picked up a rugby ball before!
As a club they have just received the re-accreditation of Clubmark and have also been granted the Whole Club Seal of Approval by the RFU.
• Young Volunteer of the Year (aged 14-24 years)
Emma James
For the past four years Emma has been highly involved in volunteering, especially in sport. In total she has completed over 500 hours of volunteering and it working towards 600. She helps coach the school’s hockey, netball, rounders and trampolining teams, supporting the girls as they progress from one season to another. In PE lessons Emma has supported children with learning difficulties through the paired support programme, learning valuable skills about how to adapt lessons for all needs and abilities. At school she was appointed sports officer which was a big responsibility as she had to plan, organise and run the first school sports week which was a great success. In addition to all this great work Emma has also completed a number of coaching and sports leadership award as well as her Bronze Duke of Edinburgh.
Overall Emma’s contributions are invaluable and she will be a fantastic asset to sport in the future as she plans to study Physical Education at university in September.
• Rising Star- Young Performer of the Year (under 18 years)
Tawana Gardner
Blackpool Wyre & Fylde Athletics Club
At only the age of 12 Tawana has already been tipped as an Olympic medal winner! As a sprinter she is too young to represent the county yet but has made a huge impact on the club circuit. At the Lancashire Championships Tawana achieve Gold for both the 100m and 200m. She then went on to compete in a national competition in Scotland and with another great performance came home with Gold in both the 60m and 200m racing against athletes from all over the country!
Tawana is a fantastic athlete with great potential and we can not wait to see what else she can achieve.
• Special Recognition Award
Martin Heald
Carr Hill High School
From a very young age Martin has had some massive barriers to overcome, he was diagnosed with Cancer twice and it had to be treated with intensive chemotherapy and radiation from the age of just 3 years old. At the age of 14 he was then diagnosed with an unrelated bone tumor. As a result, in addition to treatment, his leg had to be amputated from the hip downwards, followed by in excess of 10 operations due to complications from chemotherapy.
However rather than just giving up on sport Martin ploughed all his time and energy into football. He now plays for the Manchester United Amputee team and has been selected to represent Great Britain in both the European Championships and the World Cup in Brazil this summer.
Martin is an inspiration within school and the local community, he is an ambassador for Fylde and thoroughly deserves recognition for his bravery and determination.
• Lifetime Achievement Award – Commitment to Sport
Peter Woods
Football, Cricket & Local Community Organisations
Peter has dedicated over 33 years of his life to community sport in the Kirkham area. He founded the Kirkham Junior Football club in 1974, which now provides grassroots football for over 250 children aged 6-18 years. He is still a driving force within the club taking on a multitude of voluntary roles including club secretary and recently led the club in achieving FA Charter Club Standard. From humble beginnings Peter has helped build an extremely well run club that is now one of the largest voluntary child based organisations in the local area.
In addition to his work with the football club, Peter also has longstanding involvement in the local Cricket Club, and community associations, always looking to support and promote any activities that will benefit children and add enrichment to their lives.
Peter’s lifetime of dedication of sport in the area has been invaluable and opportunities in the area for children and young people would never have grown to such a scale without him.
Each winner with recieve their reward at a Civic Reception Presentation in the Town Hall with the Mayor, on Wednesday 29th July 2009.
The winner in each category will also be put forward to represent Fylde in the Lancashire County Awards presentation evening to be held on Friday November 13th at the Paradise Room in Blackpool.
For more information please contact Wendy Voo at Fylde Borough Council on 01253 658616, or via email at wendy.voo@fylde.gov.uk
