Nottinghamshire Sports Review of the Year 2009-

Sporting heroes recognised by county

BBC East Midlands Today presenter Colin Hazelden hosted the evening along with colleague Natalie Jackson and was joined by guests from professional sport including Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club’s Mick Newell and Chris Read, players from the Nottingham Panthers, and Nottingham Rugby Club along with some of Nottinghamshire’s Olympians and Paralympians including gold medallist, swimmer Rebecca Adlington. The finalists and winners were announced from a long list of 5 nominees – all of which were invited to attend this glittering evening of celebration.

The winnners and finalists for 2009 are available via the link button on the left.

Full details of nominees shorlisted arelisted here.

Junior Categories

Senior Categories

It’s been another highly successful year for sport in Nottinghamshire. Panels of sports experts across the county have met to whittle down over 200 nominations to a shortlist of 5 in each category. On 5 February, these nominees will discover who takes home the winner’s trophy.

In the Performance Coach of the Year category Mansfield’s Glenn Smith is in the running for his work with swimmers Charlotte Henshaw and Paralympic champion Sam Hynd. He faces strong competition from Nottingham Rowing Club coach Steve Millett, and gymnastics coach Ian Kime. Sam and Charlotte are both nominees in the Disabled Sportsperson category along with Newark’s James Oldham (kayaking) and Stacie Ridley (gymnastics). Bingham’s wheelchair tennis player David Phillipson is also in contention.

In the Junior Disabled Sportsperson category there are 3 swimmers shortlisted. These are Andrew Zawadzki, Cambell Plant and Jacob Parker. From Newark, kayaker Matthew Baines is nominated along with wheelchair basketball player Richard Sargent.

Ashfield has 2 coaches shortlisted for the Community Coach category, these are hockey coach Clive Morris and netball coach Karen Cresswell, Gedling coaches Graham Davies and Stuart Bell represent swimming and rugby union while Gary Lambert’s work in youth cricket has been recognised.

The most hotly contested category is Sportsperson of the year with last year’s winner Rebecca Adlington in the running again after a double bronze at the European Championships. She is joined by Freestyle Kayaking champion James Reeves, Ashfield power lifter Phil Beniston, and WBC Super Middleweight champion Carl Froch. Cricketers Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and Jenny Gunn make up the field of 7.

The junior sportsperson category was also very popular with just under 40 nominees. The shortlist includes Mansfield gymnast Ruby Straw, squash player Oliver Holland, Ashfield’s tennis star Freya Christie, cricketer Anuj Dal and rowing star Alicia Brown.

Shortlisted nominees for 2009

Junior Categories

Junior Sportsperson of the Year

Name	Sport	District	Achievement
Freya Christie	Tennis	Ashfield	April saw Freya performing exceptionally well at international level in Bressuire – France.  She reached the semi-finals of the singles event and won the doubles competition.  On home soil in August, she won the U12 junior national doubles title and was runner up in the singles.
Anuj Dal	Cricket	Broxtowe	In October, Anuj travelled with the England Under 16 indoor cricket team for the World Cup in Australia.  Only 13 years old, he was the top batsman.  He is the captain of Nottinghamshire’s Under 14 side and trains with the school’s first team at Under 18 level.  In July, he took 5 wickets for 19 in the county cup
Alicia Brown	Rowing	Gedling	Training 25 hours a week, Alicia is the British and national indoor J15 rowing champion and record holder.  She has represented Great Britain in the Quad in a competition against France and is a member of the World Class Start programme.  She was also part of a winning women’s J16 Quad at Henley
Oliver Holland	Squash	City	As under 15 captain, Oliver was part of the Great Britain European Junior Championship winning side that won in Spain in May beating the Czech Republic 3-0.  Individually, he won the Belgian Junior open and was runner up at the British Junior Open. He is the British national champion at both Under 15 and Under 17 level.
Ruby Straw	Gymnastics	Mansfield	Ruby competed for the senior Great Britain team in March at a competition in Jesolo, Italy where she placed above the Olympians and performed a particularly impressive double Arabian, full-in and double pike on floor. She has also performed well in junior internationals in Ireland, France and South Africa

Junior Disabled Sportsperson of the Year

Name	Sport	District	Achievement
Jacob Parker	Swimming	Gedling	Jacob won 4 S14 medals at the DSE Welsh Championships in December 2008 and 9 golds at the National Junior Championships in March.  In September, he won gold at the School Games.  This followed an amazing performance in July where he became the youngest swimmer to reach 4 senior finals at the DSE International Championships.
Richard Sargent	Wheelchair Basketball	Newark & Sherwood	Regularly playing in the mens Great Britain Under 23 side this year, Richard won a silver medal at the European Cup and has played in successful winning tests against Australia and the Netherlands. Domestically, he is also captain of the Jaguars junior side that finished in the top 3 of the National League.
Matthew Baines	Kayaking	Newark & Sherwood	Matthew took 3 gold and 2 silver medals at the national championships.  He has improved his 1000m time by 8 seconds, moving into the Mens C time band.  This means he will now compete at senior level in spite of having 1 junior year left.  Matthew has also started sprinting in able-bodied races.
Cambell Plant	Swimming	Rushcliffe	Swimming in the S7 category, Cambell won 5 gold medals and gained personal bests at the CP National Championships in April.  She was also ranked 1st in the BLDSA (British Long Course Distance Swimming association) Postal Swim.  She was selected for the UK School Games and won her age group at the DSE Regionals.
Andrew Zawadzki	Swimming	Rushcliffe	Selected for the British Swimming Regional Talent Programme this year, Andrew took the British and European records for 50m backstroke in the summer.  He won 6 gold medals at the Learning Disability Championships in August and won 2 gold and a silver medal at the UK School Games in July.

Junior Volunteer of the Year

Name	Sport	District	Achievement
Alice Pearson	Gymnastics	Ashfield	Working between 2 and 6 hours a week, newly qualified level 1 coach Alice supports Ashfield Gymnastics Club by choreographing routines that have won regional and county competitions.  She judges competitions such as the Youth Games and coaches squads at all levels.  She is also a member of the leadership academy in Ashfield.
Kyle Wright	Multi Sports	Rushcliffe	A gifted coach and effective communicator, Kyle is particularly skilled at involving young people that do not respond well to formal education.  He has coached nearly 500 people and works in many schools in Cotgrave.  He also represents South Notts College on the Balls to Poverty programme, making a trip to South Africa for two months.
Joshua Stevenson	Football	Broxtowe	Joshua plays a large part in the South Notts Balls to Poverty programme.  He has undertaken coaching qualifications and spent time in South Africa coaching 3,000 under privileged young people.  To achieve this, he has raised £1,700 and has coached at many local schools promoting the programme.  He is also a youth coach at Priory Celtic Football Club.
Matthew Baines	Kayaking	Newark & Sherwood	Matthew volunteers for 4 hours a week at the 4A’s canoeing and kayaking club and coaches the Under 14 team at Newark Town Football Club.  He worked with Newark’s Sports Development Team during the summer, helping with their disability sport programme and he has achieved his VISPA (Volunteering in Sport and Physical Activity) gold award this year after signing up in May.
Bonnie Tinsley	Athletics	Newark & Sherwood	Bonnie holds Newark’s VISPA gold award and has completed her V50 award through V-Involved.  She volunteers at Newark Athletics Club, Newark MEND programme and Magnus School Boccia Club for more than 6 hours a week and has supported major events such as the Newark Race for Life and the European Canoe Slalom Championships.

Junior Team of the Year

Name	Sport	District	Achievement
Newark Rowing Club J15 Crew	Rowing	Newark & Sherwood	Winners of a bronze medal at the Inter Regional Championships, the J15 team went on to win a gold medal at the Great Britain National Rowing Championships at the National Watersports Centre where they triumphed over 26 other clubs winning a thrilling final by 3 tenths of a second over 2000 metres.
Nottingham High School Year 10/11 Badminton Teams	Badminton	City	The 2 Nottingham High Schools stole the show in April as the boys and girls sides won the Center Parcs National Badminton Championships.  From a field of over 15,000 players that took part in the competition. They fought off competition from 16 other schools having won their way through schools and county finals.
Lowes Wong Junior School Kwik Cricket Team	Cricket	Newark & Sherwood	This side of 9 Year 6 girls progressed through local, county and regional rounds to the national Asda Kwik Cricket final played at Headingley.  Over 12,000 schools and 130,000 players took part in total.  In the final, the team played 14 other teams to come out victors on the last ball bowled.
Notts School of Gymnastics Under 14 Team	Gymnastics	Rushcliffe	The team of Toby Shouls, Sam Woodford, Matthew Liddiard, Hamish Carter, Joshua Avallone and Isaac Glenn was crowned British Under 14 team champions in March, winning by 10 marks.  Three team members then competed in the International Junior Team Cup in Berlin where the team came 8th, beating sides from Spain, Italy and Austria.
Nottingham Rowing Club U14 Boys Team	Rowing	Rushcliffe	In a whole season without losing a quad this side won gold in the J14 Coxed Squad sculls and the single scull plus a silver in the double sculls at the National Rowing Championships.  They also won golds at the National Schools Regatta, the Junior Inter-Regional, and the National Junior Sculling Head.

Senior Categories

Performance Coach of the Year

Name	Sport	District	Achievement
Glenn Smith	Swimming	Mansfield	Working with Paralympic swimmers Sam Hynd and Charlotte Henshaw, Glenn coached both to gold at the European Championships and Paralympic World Cup.  He is a regular member of the Team GB disability coaching staff and has coached 13 Nova swimmers to the national age and youth championships
Steve Millett	Rowing	Rushcliffe	In Autumn last year, Steve took on a team of 4 J14 novice rowers who had just completed a ‘learn to row’ class and were looking to make the transition from indoor rowing to getting out on the water. They are now national champions, undefeated in all competitions during the season.
Ian Kime	Gymnastics	Rushcliffe	A major part of the England Gymnastics Training squad and the Great Britain Training Squad, Ian has coached women’s artistic gymnastics for over 20 years and is highly involved in the success of Notts gymnasts including Becky Downie, Niamh Rippin and Ruby Straw.

Community Coach of the Year

Name	Sport	District	Achievement
Clive Morris	Hockey	Ashfield	Clive spends many hours each week coaching 6 to 18 year olds at all levels. His Under 18 side reached the national plate final while the Under 15s and Under 17s reached the Midlands and county finals respectively. He also supports players to attain umpiring skills and has been instrumental in his club being awarded Clubs 1st accreditation.
Graham Davies	Swimming	Gedling	Coaching swimmers at Arnold swimming Club from age 5 to senior level, Graham coaches every night of the week.  He has organised sessions for swimmers to practice at the Olympic size pool in Loughborough with over 30 swimmers taking part and attends swimming galas most weekends on top of coaching commitments.
Stuart Bell	Rugby Union	Gedling	Graham works tirelessly at Paviors Rugby Club ensuring all coaches are trained.  He manages Under 15, and 18 girls sides which have both won silverware as well as the regional Under 15 side.  He mentors a national player and any spare time Stuart has is spent coaching in local schools.
Karen Cresswell	Netball	Ashfield	Karen has taken Hucknall Town Netball Club from a group of 7 members to over 60.  She runs the junior section and helps to organise the county tournaments run every weekend.  Devoting at least 15 hours a week to the club, Karen also finds time to update her own training and coaching qualifications.
Gary Lambertll	Cricket	Newark & Sherwood	Working with 70 juniors at his local club, Gary coaches both winter and summer sessions and has set up an academy offering specialised coaching to more talented members.  He also coaches the Nottinghamshire Ladies cricket team and has been invited to travel to South Africa this year with the England Ladies Under 17 team.

Volunteer of the Year

Name	Sport	District	Achievement
Les Chambers	Athletics	Mansfield	Len spent almost every weekend between April and September officiating at fixtures.  Officiating at all levels; he also mentors newly qualified officials while working with his NGB to put on further officials training courses.  As a coach, Len runs both junior and circuit training sessions.  He also sits on the club management committee.
Cathy Rooney	Athletics	Gedling	From a small social running group, Cathy has developed the Woodthorpe Huffers and Puffers Running Club for runners at all levels.  ‘Learn to Run’ sessions, encouraged over 150 people to get involved and the club has supported 18 members to their first Robin Hood Marathon.  Cathy also identifies funding and training to develop other volunteers.
Jayne Lloyd	Triathlon	City	Jayne is secretary, PR, and marketing officer for Absolute Triathlon Club.  She also runs the new junior club with a membership of 30.  She has arranged a training trip to France and all this is managed in the little spare time left each evening after looking after 2 year old twins!
Bryan Duffield	Rugby League	Gedling	Promotion to the National Conference has increased administrative workload this year with new playing regulations and competition entries as well as a new registration system for juniors.  Working tirelessly towards the Clubmark Gold standard.  Bryan is fully committed to taking Nottingham Outlaws to the next level both on and off the pitch.
Carol Halpin	Swimming	Rushcliffe	Bingham Penguins Swimming Club was keen to recognise the support they receive from Carol.  Aside from international, regional and county commitments and her lobbying for the re-inclusion of athletes with learning disabilities to the Paralympics, she spends hours coordinating all the work for poolside with the club and supports swimmers, parents and volunteers alike.

Disabled Sportsperson of the Year

Name	Sport	District	Achievement
Sam Hynd	Swimming	Ashfield	Another amazing year for Paralympic Champion Sam as he took gold at the Paralympic World Cup in May and 3 golds and a silver at the European Championships in October.  These followed a new British and European Record in the 200 IM at the British Championships in March.
James Oldham	Kayaking	Newark & Sherwood	In August, James represented Great Britain in Canada - The first time disability canoeing has been recognised at world level.  Now ranked 4th for disability sprint canoeing, James set a new personal best time for 500m in June and September saw him crowned national champion at 500 and 100m while retaining the Mens A trophy.
Stacie Ridley	Gymnastics	Newark & Sherwood	In November 2008, Stacie was crowned GMPD (Gymnastics and Movement for People with a Disability) British Champion scoring 3 personal bests in 4 events.  She was then accepted into the Women’s Artistic National Squad.  She won the National Grades finals in April 2009 and is looking forward to her first international competitions.
David Phillipson	Wheelchair Tennis	Rushcliffe	David had a major operation this year which saw his world ranking drop from 24 into the 90s.  A strong set of late season results has seen him attain his highest world ranking of 23.  He won the doubles competitions at Hilton Head, South Carolina in May and the singles and doubles competitions in Cardiff in October.
Charlotte Henshaw	Swimming	Mansfield	In October, Charlotte competed at the IPC European Championships in Iceland where she took the SB6 100m breastroke title and she just missed a world record.  She also recorded PBs in the 400m freestyle and 200m IM events.  In May, she won the SB6 100m breastroke event to take gold at the Paralympic World Cup.

Sportsperson of the Year

Name	Sport	District	Achievement
Rebecca Adlington	Swimming	Mansfield	A demanding year saw the double Olympic Champion win the 800m freestyle and record the second fastest time in history for 400m at the World Championship qualifiers.  Becky left Rome with a bronze in the 400m and a bronze as part of the 4 x 200m freestyle team which clocked up a new European record.
James Reeves	Freestyle Kayak	City	August saw James competing in Switzerland at the World Championships where he outscored his competitors by 40% to win the gold in the Squirt Kayak class. James is also the European Champion.  Freestyle Kayaking involves performing tricks including jumping, spinning, and flipping the kayak and scoring points based on the difficulty of each move.
Phil Beniston	Powerlifting	Ashfield	Phil was crowned WPF World Bench Press Champion in November 2008, setting a new British Record and narrowly missing the world mark in the process.  He also won the British Bench Press Championships and the Welsh Open Championships.  Phil’s next challenge is to compete in the 82kg division
Carl Froch	Boxing	Gedling	Froch is the current WBC Super Middleweight champion after defeating Jean Pascal in December 2008. In July, Froch agreed to take part in the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament. His first opponent and next title defence was in October against Andre Dirrell.  His next bout will be against Mikkel Kessler. His record stands at 26-0
Jenny Gunn	Cricket	Rushcliffe	All rounder Jenny played a valuable part in England team victories that saw the team win the ICC World Cup and the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009.  They also retained the Ashes and defeated Australia 4-0 in the NatWest one-day series.  Jenny’s next challenge is on the England tour of India which begins this month.
Stuart Broad	Cricket	Rushcliffe	England’s leading wicket taker in Ashes series, and Man of the match in the gripping final test at the Oval, Broad claimed figures of 5 for 37 in the Australian first innings, including 4 for 8 in 21 balls.  He was also awarded the Man of the Series accolade for his one-day performances in May against the West Indies.
Graeme Swann	Cricket	Rushcliffe	The Nottinghamshire bowler claimed his fourth five-wicket haul in 2009 to become the first English spinner to pass 50 wickets in a calendar year, finishing third in the International Cricket Council's (ICC) bowling rankings. Swann’s telling contributions with both bat and ball contributed strongly to the winning Ashes series.

Team of the Year

Name	Sport	District	Achievement
GB Slalom Women’s K1 Team	Kayaking	Rushcliffe	The team, consisting of Lizzie Neave, Louise Donington, and Laura Blakeman, which trains at the National Watersports Centre, won gold at the world championship and European championships in their first season competing together.  This is Great Britain’s first ever gold medal at the World Championship team event.
Tim Baille/Etienne Stott	Kayaking	Rushcliffe	At the senior European championships in May this pair won Great Britain’s first ever C2 medal.  They were also part of the overall silver medal winning team.  September saw them take a bronze medal as part of the team competing at the world cup.  They made the finals (top 10) in every race in 2009.
GB White Water Rafting Team	Rafting	Rushcliffe	Self-coached, self funded, and training around full-time jobs, the GB team was crowned world head to head sprint champions in May and finishing in 3rd place overall behind 2 professional sides.  The team also holds the title of European sprint champions and came third in the European Rafting Championships.  They won the British Championship in November 2008 for the third consecutive year.
Birchall Brothers	Sidecar Racing	Mansfield	FIM World Sidecar champions Ben and Tom Birchall secured their world title with a second-place finish in the final round of the season at Le Mans in September Passenger Tom, had double reason to celebrate as he became the youngest ever passenger to win the title. The brothers secured a podium placing in every round.

Club of the Year

Name	Sport	District	Achievement
West Bridgford Monarchs Hockey Club	Hockey	Rushcliffe	The Monarchs have just undergone a huge refurbishment and have forged excellent links with their local school. There is a junior section with over 70 members and several coaches have gained their level 2 coaching qualification.  The club has a thriving social side and the male and female AGMs have recently been combined to forge stronger ties in the club.idth1362
Special Olympics Nottinghamshire	Multi-Sport	Mansfield	This growing community club offers opportunities for people with disabilities.  Supported by parent volunteers, it is a starting point for those wanting to go to sports clubs or community groups or perhaps a potential talent may be unearthed.  The Club also ran a ‘have a go!’ day which invited people to come and try sports.  This attracted 65 attendees.
Beeston Hockey Club	Hockey	Broxtowe	Beeston’s junior club has expanded this year to 490 players.  There are several school club links and links to other clubs to create enhanced player pathways.  The club also provides support and training for coaches and volunteers as well as leadership schemes for young people.  This year the club has hosted national hockey festivals and full internationals.
West Bridgford Tennis Club	Tennis	Rushcliffe	Coaching at all levels for all ages is available at West Bridgford.  There are several school links and the club runs regular school tournaments.  There is a strong programme for disabled players based on both tennis and life skills.  The club has been asked by the Tennis Foundation to work with other regional clubs to offer support and advice in setting up similar inclusive programmes.

Roll of Honour

Name	Sport	District	Achievement
Sue Chillingworth	Athletics	Ashfield	Sue is a Level 3 sprints coach and has coached athletes at Sutton Harriers at all levels for over 25 years.  She is also a grade 5 national official, officiating at events all over the county.  She is an active club committee member and also manages the Midlands track and field team where she is also the club secretary.
John Hil	Football	Newark & SherwoRoll of Honourod	Involved with Balderton Old Boys for forty years, John became secretary of the Under 11 team in 1978 and took on the mens team in 1980.  He is there every week 2 hours before the game to prepare the pitch and organise kit and manages all the players.  At 72 he has even been known to put on a kit when the team is short!
David Pettifor	Horseball	Gedling	Since 1991 David has developed the British Horseball team to compete internationally. Working alongside the British Equestrian Federation, he has developed a coaching awards and assessment structure.  He is the Clubmark representative for the British Horseball Association and has also set up initiatives for volunteering, welfare, and equity for equestrian sport.
Allen Urch	Swimming	Ashfield	Allen has been with Sutton Swimming Club for the past 42 years, initially as a poolside helper then moving to the committee and then club captain and head coach.  He sits on regional committees as is now the ASA President. He continues to teach beginners and gala swimmers alike and officiates in many events.