Meet our local sporting heroes and heroines

November 9, 2015 by Southend Borough Council

Meet our local sporting heroes and heroines

Friday 6th November 2015

Those who regularly excel in sporting performance or help others to do so have been celebrated at a special event.

The annual Southend Sports Awards presentations saw individuals, coaches, clubs and schools all being recognised and honoured for their achievements.

Finalists were chosen from nominations made across the borough, and the winners were announced during the ceremony at Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre.

The awards, sponsored by Fusion were organised jointly by the Council and Southend Primary Schools Sports Association (SPSSA). All shortlisted nominees will be automatically considered for Essex Sports Awards, in December.

Deputy Council Leader, Councillor Ian Gilbert said: “These awards are a great way for us to publicly thank sports people in our borough who give their best and work so hard to inspire other people to do so too.

“Those who help encourage everyone to keep active and keep developing their skills, are undertaking a crucial task. Meanwhile, those who compete at high levels help boost the reputation of Southend and lead the way as role models. They reach these pinnacles of success thanks to the continuing efforts of schools, clubs and coaches – so all these contributions are vitally important.

“Well done to all the nominees who have been deservedly highlighted for their tireless work, and many congratulations to the worthy winners.
“At the presentation event, we also took the opportunity to celebrate those involved in our talent assistance scheme, called Stars. This was developed in partnership with our leisure operator to give county and national standard athletes free use of leisure centres during off-peak times. It has helped many local athletes fulfil their potential in their chosen sport.”

The results are as follows:

Unsung Hero:
Winner: Robert Bowman - Robert is the driving force behind two popular sport sessions at Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre. His efforts have attracted many more people to take part regularly and he volunteers his own time to coordinate a range of events for people to enjoy
2nd - Clare Campbell – carries out admin duties for two football teams and arranges fund-raising events to support them
3rd - Gary White – chairman and secretary of the local football league

Club of the Year:
Winner: Southend Diving – The organisation is extremely active in the community, introducing diving to schools. Its junior divers regularly compete and win national and international events, while some of the adult members represented the club at the Masters World Championships.
2nd - Southend Judo Club – organises Southend International Judo Championships. It was also the only British club invited to participate in the World Cup in Kazakhstan where it won a bronze medal.
3rd - Southendian Manor Youth Football Club – This community club fields 31 teams involving hundreds of young people from three years old upwards

Coach of the Year:
Winner: Peter Wright – coaches karate six days a week for hundreds of people across the community, some of whom compete at regional, national and international level
2nd - John Gardiner – coaches karate for those with a disability and has devised his own awards scheme for this
3rd - Lynn May – tirelessly coaches all ages and abilities in a range of sports

Most Improved School:
Winner: Barons Court Primary School – has encouraged more pupils to take part in sport and inter-schools competitions and ensured that staff are trained to teach PE at the highest level
2nd - Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Primary School – has won a variety of competitions and gives every pupil the opportunity to be active and competitive.
3rd - Thorpe Greenways Junior School – has attended a record number of competitions allowing pupils to experience competition and most important to enjoy sport.

Innovation Award:
Winner: Southend Parkour - Running, jumping and climbing to negotiate obstacles is part of this unique activity. Brad Moss the organisation’s lead, works with all ages and abilities to encourage people to become more active, Southend Parkour uses a range of social media techniques which have been particularly effective in reaching people that would not otherwise necessarily have taken part.
2nd - White Hall Bowls Club - many volunteers help bring new participants into the sport including delivering short mat bowls for those with multiple sclerosis
3rd - Heycroft Ladies Netball Team - This popular netball team uses a variety of ways to encourage new participants into this sport

Olympic Hopeful:
Winner: Sophie Galbraith - Sophie is National Triathlon Champion. In each of the three disciplines she is up there with the best in the country.
2nd - Eloise Lewis - Eloise competes at 100, 200 and 300 metre sprinting and at just 15 is one of the top women sprinters in the county. She has shone at regional competitions
3rd - Tristan Miller - At just nine years old, Tristan is a potential star in both judo and jui jitsu. He has won numerous awards at regional and national level

School of the Year:
Winner: Friars Primary School - every single pupil takes part in sport and physical activity for 60 minutes each day. The school successfully competes at the highest level in main stream sports and disability sports.
2nd - Earls Hall Primary School - a number of pupils and teams have excelled at regional and national level. The school has launched its first sports council – a pro-active group to encourage participation which also fund-raises for kit and equipment
3rd - Alleyn Court Preparatory School – rated as outstanding for sports provision, successfully competes at a high level including being national champions for the boys and girls triathlon, regional champions at tennis, cross country and athletics.

Sports Personality of the Year:
Winner: Richard Flindall - Richard has been an inspirational kite surfer, locally, nationally and internationally. He is second in England for kite surfing and puts Southend firmly on the map when he competes. He runs his own kitesurf school, is always willing to help people and even finds the time to provide free coaching.
2nd - Billy Praim–Singh - Billy is a member of the Stars scheme, belongs to Southend Athletics Club and is the county’s best when it comes to shot-putt, discus and hammer throwing. He has given up much of his spare time to help others train at the club
3rd - Sophie Galbraith - Sophie is national champion for the triathlon, so trains very hard in cycling, swimming and running and is a great role model for Southend’s young sports people