Sporting stars and physical activity champions from across East Northamptonshire attended the very first district wide awards ceremony on Thursday (17 October).
Which celebrated the sporting achievements of people of all ages and abilities.
The very first East Northamptonshire Sports and Physical Activity awards, held at the Rushden Historical Transport Society Goods Shed in Rushden, was attended by more than 150 guests including sports persons nominated from the eight awards categories, dignitaries and senior colleagues from Northamptonshire Sport, Freedom Leisure and East Northamptonshire Council.
Cllr Colin Wright, ward councillor for the Rushden Pemberton area, compered the evening and the eight awards were presented by dignitaries including chairman and vice-chairman of the council, Cllrs Dudley Hughes and Helen Howell.
Chairman of the Council, Dudley Hughes, said: “We are delighted to have delivered the very first East Northamptonshire Sports and Physical Activity awards which saw talented men, women and children come together to celebrate their hard work and success. We are all overwhelmed with the talent in the district, and we look forward to continuing to work with partners and community groups to encourage everyone to become more active, more often.”
Leader of East Northamptonshire Council, Steven North, said: "We have a wide range of sport facilities across the district which are enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities.
"This event provided us with an opportunity to celebrate the sporting talent in East Northamptonshire with the very first awards ceremony and I would like to congratulate everyone who was nominated and won an award. We look forward to continuing to champion physical activity through our healthy and active lifestyles programme."
The awards recognised the vast talent of residents across the district, and celebrated the fantastic work they deliver in the community. However, there could only be one winner for each award:
Community Champion/Volunteer of the Year - Robert Phipps, Nassington Walking for Health group
Community Club/Group of the Year - Eclipse Gymnastics, Rushden
Community Coach/Activator of the Year - Ian Gow, Oundle Chatter Runners
Primary Sports School of the Year - Newton Road School, Rushden.
Secondary Sports School of the Year - Prince William School, Oundle
Beat the Street Champion - Janet Brown, Rushden Walking for Health group
Disabled Sports Person of the Year - William Roberts, Peterborough Special Olympic Swimming
Sports Person of the Year - Rachael Lever, Fencing
East Northamptonshire Council delivered the event with its partners Freedom Leisure supported by Intelligent Health and Northamptonshire Sport.
All of the winners will now be included for the county-wide Northamptonshire Sports Awards taking place on 20 November 2019, and for the first time they'll be representation from clubs and individuals from East Northamptonshire District.
Keep an eye out for more information about the future East Northamptonshire Sports and Physical Activity awards at: www.east-northamptonshire.gov.uk
You can view all of the photos on our Facebook page here: https://bit.ly/2W2af9S