Harlow Sports Awards 2008
The first ever Harlow Sports Awards took place on Wednesday
8th October at a packed Harlow Playhouse Theatre and was
organised in partnership with The Herald newspaper in association
with activeharlow. Hosted by former England
and Essex Cricket Captain Graham Gooch OBE, the event was a great
success and a fantastic celebration of
sporting achievements and recognition of the
valuable contributions made to sport by volunteers within
Harlow.
The winners of the 11 award categories
are:
Life Time Achievement
sponsored by Harlow Council:
Jean Pavesi for commitment and dedication to
sport, particularly Cricket in Harlow over many years. Jean
is a well known and respected member of the sporting community in
Harlow and has been at the centre of developments at Harlow Town
Cricket Club (formerly Stort Cricket Club) for many years.
Jean is still an active member of the club and fundamental to many
of the club’s operations.
Services to Sport sponsored
by Harlow Town Football Club:
Neil Mann for demonstrating a commitment to
sport in Harlow over a number of years, particularly disability
sport through his work with Eureka Barracudas Swimming Club and
special needs trampolining. Neil’s dedication and
patience clearly enriches the lives of people he coaches. He
also managed to find an alternative venue for Eureka Barracudas
whilst their regular swimming pool was being refurbished.
Sports Personality of the
Year sponsored by sportessex:
Peter Brown for an outstanding year of achievements in
Darts. Last season he set a new record in
the Harlow Industrial and Business Darts League by becoming the
first person to win the singles, pairs and masters titles in the
same year. He has also served as the league treasurer, secretary
and vice-chairman.
Young Sports Personality
sponsored by Asda:
James Jennings for an outstanding year of
achievements in the sport of Darts. James is a rising star in
Darts and during 2007 James won several local Youth and Senior
titles, defeated Dennis Priestley and represented the Essex County
Mens’ team. James rounded off an incredible year by
representing England Youth picking up 2 silver and 1 bronze at the
European Youth Cup and finishing an incredible 5th at
the Winmau Youth World Masters
Community Club of the Year
sponsored by Attwater and Leill:
Harlow Penguins Swimming Club for outstanding commitment to
sport in the face of adversity ensuring that the club did not fold
and that it’s members were still able to reach their potential
despite the closure of the main pool in Harlow. The number of
volunteers involved in keeping the club alive and finding pool
space for training outside of the town whilst a new pool is being
built in Harlow was also thought to be very impressive.
Coach of the Year sponsored
by activeharlow:
Carmen Byfield of Harlow Penguins Swimming Club. As a
recently qualified Level 3 Coach Carmen had demonstrated commitment
to her sport, club and members. During a very difficult year
for Harlow Penguins Carmen had been a vital part in the club’s
survival and developed plans for future growth ensuring that
swimmers within the club have the opportunity to reach their full
sporting potential.
Innovative Scheme of the Year
sponsored by Newhall Projects:
All Ability Sport & Leisure due to the
formation of this group being the catalyst for the development of a
wide variety of disability sporting opportunities within
Harlow. Prior to the formation of the group very few
opportunities existed for disabled people to participate in sport
in Harlow but the formation of All Ability Sport and Leisure has
started to fill this gap in the market.
Disability Award sponsored by
HSBC:
Anne Wafula Strike for outstanding
achievements in Wheelchair Athletics. Anne is an inspiration
to anyone and this past year has seen her profile increase locally
through work in schools and coaching. Anne is also a
fantastic ambasador for Harlow through the Sporting Champions
programme, is regularly invited to major sporting events and
this year even gave a speech to The House of Lords on how to help
disabled children in Africa.
Young Community Volunteer
sponsored by BAA:
Ainee Foo for showing fantastic levels of
dedication to sport and Harlow through volunteering at Flight
Trampolining Club, Harlow Gymnsastics Club and the Harlow Youth
Bank. Ainee is a Level 1 coach and assists at Regional
Competitions. She has also been instrumental in attracting in
excess of £30,000 for Flight Trampoline Club and Harlow Gymnastics
Club. Her work on Harlow Youth Bank Board has shown a
commitment to the development of the community and benefited many
young people in Harlow. As a trampolinist Ainee trains 4
times per week and has performed well nationally hoping to secure a
UK ranking within the next year.
School of the Year sponsored
by GlaxoSmithKline:
ChurchLangley Community Primary Schoolfor
being awarded the Active mark Award and ensuring all pupils receive
2 hours of physical activity each week. The school have
demonstrated an ability to develop sports teams in a wide variety
sports winning almost every competition that they have entered
during 2007-8.
More details and photographs of the evening
can be found at http://www.harlowherald.co.uk/sportsawards/harlow/default.aspx