KAMMY ATTENDS SALFORD SPORTS AWARD’S 18TH BIRTHDAY

The Salford Sports Network Awards recognise the sporting achievements, hard work and dedication of voluntary sports clubs and individuals across Salford including football, rugby, martial arts, athletics, swimming and more.

250 people attended to see which clubs and individuals picked up one of the twelve awards that were up-for-grabs.

BBC Radio Manchester’s Phil Trow and guest speaker, football pundit, Chris Kamara, hosted the event. Legendary ‘Kammy’ entertained attendees with stories of his footballing and managerial career, his TV pundit highlights and his hopes for the future of grassroots football in the UK.  

TV presenter Chris Kamara, said:

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“I’ve been truly humbled by the people I’ve met tonight at the Salford Sports Network awards and really enjoyed listening to their individual and club achievements. Its essential that people get involved with grass-roots sports in their communities.”

Paul Thomas, Club Development Officer at Salford Community Leisure, which runs the Salford Sports Network, said:

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“Sport is an essential part of any community and it enables people to come together, build community spirit and promotes health and wellbeing. This year’s Salford Sports Awards has been biggest event yet with record numbers of nominations and some very worthy winners.”

Winner of Club of the Year was Cadishead Rhinos. Club Secretary Paul Elliot, 45 from Cadishead, said:

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“I’m overwhelmed at winning this award. We really appreciate this award win and dedicate it to all the volunteers, the players and everyone associated with the club. Its been a lot of hard work getting the new clubhouse sorted and I want other clubs to see what we have achieved and know that they can also work to improve their own facilities in the community if need be.”

The winners of the 18th Salford Sports Network Awards are:

PE in Sport Award Primary School of the Year goes to Clarendon Road Primary School in Eccles. Understanding the importance PE plays in the curriculum, the school has employed a full time sports coach to train staff and deliver PE lessons including dance, gymnastics; dodgeball; circuits; cricket; rounders; lacrosse; tennis; handball; athletics; inline skating and swimming. Classes now receive a minimum of 150 minutes timetabled PE each week. 

The winner of the PE in Sport Secondary School of the Year award went to Oakwood Academy which was commended for its commitment to providing high quality PE and school sport for its pupils that have special educational needs and disabilities. Pupils participate in a varied PE curriculum which focuses on developing confident young people that have skills, understanding and resilience to lead and maintain a healthy active lifestyle including trampolining, swimming, rock climbing; cycling; athletics; dance and more.

The Sports Achiever of the Year went to Ewan Wilson of Salford Swimming Club. Judges were impressed with Ewan’s commitment to training (7-8 times a week), sometimes training twice in a morning before school and competing most weekends. He competed at the 2017 British National Championships in Sheffield and made it into the National finals in all of his events and achieved a highest rank of 4th in Britain. He was selected for and represented Lancashire at the Inter-County Championships of the United Kingdom.

The Disabled Sports Achiever of the Year went to Danny Roylefrom Cadishead Rhinos who is an integral part of the Cadishead Rhinos family and was part of the 2017 Simon Annis Cup winning team. Having been diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, which severely affects the lungs, at an early age he didn’t let this stop him pursuing his love of sports. Danny’s intensity of training helps to keep him fit and helps to keep his chest clear and also makes him a better player.

The Changing Lifestyles Award went to Kellie Shiers who worked with Salford Community Leisure’s Active Lifestyles Team to overcome fatigue brought on by chemotherapy sessions after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.  She signed up to the Can – Move programme and has become an important figure in the sessions, often helping new starters joining the classes.

The Volunteer of The Year Award went to Angela Rittaler from Cadishead Rhinos who has a number of various roles at Cadishead Rhinos, providing around 20 hours a week voluntary support including being a touchline manager, the kitchen manager and a club committee member. Her involvement in meetings with Sport England, the Hamilton Davies Trust and Salford City Council/Salford Community Leisure played a huge part in securing the funding and completion of a new, state-of-the art club facility for the club and the community.

The Unsung Hero in Sport Award was given to Keith Brookes from Monton Sports Club. Having dedicated over 60 years of his life to Monton Sports Club including 1000’s of voluntary hours over the years, Keith truly is an unsung hero. He plays a major role in securing grants and fundraising and has been the driving force behind the major improvements to the club’s facilities.

The Coach of the Year Award went to Jessica Fletcher of Salford Synchronised Swimming Club. Jessica is the leading synchronised swimming coach in the North West. She passes her knowledge and expertise on to her swimmers, poolside helpers and new coaches through her own club but also through her commitment to clubs and coaches around the North West through the regional development programme. She has recently extended this support into a formal commitment to developing new coaches by undertaking her tutor training so she can guide new coaches through their own Coaching journey.

New for 2018, the Tommy Curran Special Recognition in Sport Award went to Brian Elsey for his commitment of 42 years of service to community sports development. A worthy winner of this award, as the founder of Moorside Rangers in ‘76, Brian has been responsible for growing and developing the club as well as guiding them through a number of periods of re-building. His vision for the club has always been to support the community and to form partnerships with schools and other organisations for the benefit of local residents.

The Aspire Member of the Year goes to Patrick Ward. Patrick has been an Aspire member since 2015 and regularly attends Eccles Leisure Centre for BoxFit, Les Mills and spinning classes for weight management and he’s used his membership to successfully lose 10 stone in weight; five stone of which was lost in the last five months.

Team of The Year was awarded to Monton Sports Club U12's Cricket Team. The team has a great attitude and commitment to training, resulting in impressive progress and a successful year. The team, which included new and younger players, won the Salford District Cup and were runners-up in district league. Team morale is strong, with all players working hard in both training and matches.

Club of the Year went to Cadishead Rhinos. This award caps a key year in the club’s history. After many years of planning, a new clubhouse was completed in April 2018, highlighting the huge ambition of the club. The club was able to retain the Simon Annis Cup in 2017 and continued to develop strong roots within the community. Coaches take sessions at Cadishead and Irlam College and run holiday sports camps and after school clubs, as well as partnering with the local football club providing children with even more sporting opportunities. The touch rugby league sessions were able to put on female only games this season, with the women’s touch rugby league beginning to take off a girls only rugby league team could be just around the corner. The club is committed to bringing as many people in the area into the rugby league family and are proud to now have the means to provide an all-inclusive venue for the whole community.