Black Country Success at West Midlands Community Sports Awards

Kewford Eagles Football Club in Dudley and Alex Giles from Dudley College were hailed winners last night, after battling it out against 32 of the region’s best at a star studded awards ceremony at Aston Villa.

Kewford Eagles were winners of the Community Club of the Year Award, and Alex Giles was the winner of the AOC Further Education Sport Student Role Model of the Year Award.

The West Midlands Community Sports Awards was held at Villa Park, Birmingham on Wednesday 4 December and was hosted by BBC Midlands Today presenters Nick Owen and Mary Rhodes.

Over 320 people attended the event, including various Team GB and Paralympics GB sporting stars, amateur and professional sports people, volunteers, sports development professionals and leading local figures. The evening included a drinks reception and dinner and the awards ceremony was filmed live and shown on BBC Midlands Today news.

Other guests included Sport England’s Chief Executive Jennie Price, Adil Ray from the TV comedy Citizen Khan, David Moorcroft OBE – 2012 winner of the BBC Midlands Sporting Hall of Fame, Wasim Khan MBE, Chief Executive of The Cricket Foundation’s Chance to Shine, Olympic bronze medal gymnast Kristian Thomas and the Birmingham City and England Ladies footballer Karen Carney.  

A new event for 2013, The West Midlands Community Sports Awards has been organised by the 6 County Sports Partnerships in the West Midlands in partnership with the BBC.  This celebration of local sport recognises the quality, commitment and dedication of grass-roots sport in the region.

The Black Country BeActive Partnership is one of the six West Midland County Sports Partnerships that joined forces to showcase and celebrate the work of high performing individuals, dedicated volunteers and groups from around the region with the presentation of five awards. 

Local finalists represented the Black Country at this new regional event - all winners from the Black Country Sport & Physical Activity Awards, organised by the Black Country BeActive Partnership.

The Awards come hot on the heels of the recent announcement of the finalists for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year - and the winner of the BBC Midlands Sports Unsung Hero Award, Barry Ewington from Nuneaton Harriers Athletics Club, will go on to represent the West Midlands at the 60th BBC Sports Personality of the Year Show in Leeds on Sunday 15 December that will be shown live on BBC One.

The evening’s programme included inspirational footage of finalists in action filmed by Birmingham University media students and highlights of the 2013 sporting year. 

The award winners were announced to an expectant audience:

AoC’s Further Education Sport Student Role Model of the Year 

Alex Giles (Dudley College)

Community Coach of the Year
Kevin Humphries (Shifnal Cricket Club, Shropshire) 

BBC Midlands Newcomer of the Year
Lauren Rowles (Coventry Godiva Athletics Club/ Cofton Hackett)

Community Club of the Year
Kewford Eagles FC (Dudley, Black Country)

BBC Midlands Sports Unsung Hero Award
Barry Ewington (Nuneaton Harriers Athletics Club)

Community Project of the Year
All 4 Youth & Community (Small Heath in Birmingham)

British Colleges National Championships Wilkinson Sword
The West Midlands

BBC Midlands Sporting Hall of Fame
Kash "The Flash" Gill (4 times World Kick Boxing Champion) from Birmingham.  

Simon Hall, Director of the Black Country BeActive Partnership said: "The evening was a fantastic culmination to a very rewarding and stimulating year for sport across the Black Country.  The Black Country BeActive Partnership has been at the forefront of this and we are absolutely delighted that – with the partnership of The BBC and support of our generous principal supporter, The Association of Colleges West Midlands (AoCWM) – we have been able to provide a platform for our local grass roots sporting heroes and these young sporting hopefuls of the future.  For the first time, the dedication, performance and commitment of our local sporting stars is to be recognised and celebrated at a regional level.”

"Each one of our winners has shown a commitment and focus that is humbling; the effort they have each put in will, we hope, pay off nationally and internationally in the years to come.  We wish our finalists every success.”

He concluded: "2012 was undoubtedly a great year for sport.  The energy, inspiration and momentum it generated has contributed to making 2013 a worthy legacy year.  As well as significant sporting performance nationally and internationally we have seen more people taking part in sport, more coaches, more volunteers and more community projects than ever before”.

Organisers of the event have hailed the evening as a great success and a fitting celebration of local sporting talent and commitment.  Already inundated with positive feedback, plans are already underway for 2014.

The winner’s information is as follows:

COMMUNITY PROJECT OF THE YEAR
This award recognises an innovative project which uses sport to improve the quality of life of the people in the region.

ALL 4 YOUTH & COMMUNITY
All 4 Youth & Community is a Birmingham based community interest company, aimed at bringing all communities together through Sports and Education. The project delivers high quality youth work and competitive sporting activities to young people aged 14 to 19, mainly in the Birmingham region.

With the help of Birmingham City Council’s Enterprise Catalyst, it was set up by Mohammed Zafran – popularly known as Zaf – who was determined to make sure local youths in Small Heath were given a way to channel their energy into positive activities, introducing sports activities as a stepping stone towards further education, training as well as integrating them into the wider community.

Zaf also runs projects with West Midlands Police and local councillors and recently opened a Women’s Academy in which women who don’t get out the house due to cultural issues, now have the chance to play cricket and football in an indoor community league.

COMMUNITY COACH OF THE YEAR 

This award recognises the achievements of a paid or unpaid coach who has made a significant impact on those they have coached and is committed to providing more opportunities for people to start, stay and succeed in sport

KEVIN HUMPHREYS
Kevin has led Shifnal Cricket Club’s Junior section for over 20 years, organising coaching for over a hundred boys and girls twice a week. He leads a team of 8-10 coaches at these sessions. He also manages one of the junior teams in their midweek matches and can be found umpiring or scoring for the U15s on Sunday afternoons.

Kevin is the club’s welfare officer and has mentored many of Shifnal’s young successful coaches. This year he’s also led the development of a brand new women’s team at the club, who competed in Shropshire’s first ever Women’s league.

COMMUNITY CLUB OF THE YEAR
This award recognises a community sports club that provides a high quality sports environment for its members.

KEWFORD EAGLES FOOTBALL CLUB, DUDLEY
Kewford is the largest club in the Black Country, the West Midlands and in Birmingham County FA. They run teams from Under 6 all the way through to senior football for boys and men, and run teams in age groups for girls from Under 8 to Under 16.

The club has a feeder group system of taking on new young players and is largely based on contacts with over 30 local junior and primary schools. In 2012 the club was awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary Service.

Next year their own purpose built ground with 11 pitches over a 30 acre site will open one of the biggest football projects in the UK which will serve the local community for many years to come.

BBC MIDLEANDS NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
This award recognises the achievements of a club, team or individual in their first year of participation in their chosen sport, activity or role.

LAUREN ROWLES
On the morning of 2 February 2012, Lauren woke up and couldn’t feel her legs. She was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder, Transverse Myelitits. For the next 6 months she spent time in 3 different hospitals for treatment and rehabilitation. Since then Lauren has embraced life in a wheelchair and loves to prove people wrong when they might say she is unable to do something because she is disabled. The 15 year old is now a wheelchair athlete, who has been a truly model athlete since taking up racing twelve months ago, not just with her application to training and making huge improvements, but also completing her rehabilitation exercises and juggling her school work. From starting out in borrowed chairs, needing help getting in and out, within a few months Lauren was keeping up with Paralympic athletes in training and travelling to the UK School Games independently. She’s also England Athletics U16 Champion in four events, ranging from 100m to 1500m, taking her from beginner to one of the rising stars in the sport.

BBC MIDLANDS SPORTS UNSUNG HERO AWARD 
Now in its 11th year, this award recognises the achievements of those people who inspire others to get involved in playing sport in their communities for no personal reward

BARRY EWINGTON (Nuneaton Harriers Athletics Club) 
Barry joined Nuneaton Harriers in 1954 – aged 15 – and he’s still actively involved with the club today at the age of 74. He’s the Club’s longest serving member and a coach who’s dedicated his life to offering encouragement, advice and support to athletes of all ages and abilities. 
He’s served the Club as an athlete, team manager, administrator, coach, official, chief coach and President. He was also one of the driving forces behind the building of the first Clubhouse in the eighties and then negotiating the move to a new track in 1998.

AoC’s FURTHER EDUCATION SPORT STUDENT ROLE MODEL OF THE YEAR
Representing some of the very best examples of why sport matters to the Association of Colleges West Midlands.

ALEX GILES (Dudley College)
Coming back into mainstream education from The National Star College, an independent specialist college for people with physical disabilities, acquired brain injuries and associated learning difficulties, Alex completed an Extended Diploma in Sport as well as several coaching awards. Alex has acted as class representative in meetings with the College’s management team, and has taken a very proactive role in the College’s Buddy programme where he has motivated and supported young people facing difficulties to see their education through. Alex has recently secured a place at University where he’ll further develop his career as a Sports Coach.

BBC Midlands Sporting Hall of Fame
Recognising lifetime achievement and services to sport and the community, as an individual or team.

Kash "The Flash" Gill  (4 times World Kick Boxing Champion from Birmingham.

For further information, please email Joanne Taylor on 01384 471139

Ends

Editor’s notes

For more details on the Black Country BeActive Partnership please visit www.blackcountrybeactive.co.uk

County Sports Partnerships (CSPs) are networks of local agencies committed to working together to increase participation in sport and physical activity. Partners include National Governing Bodies of Sport and their clubs, school sport partnerships, local authorities, sport and leisure facilities, primary care trusts and many other sport and non-sporting organisations. CSPs are led by a strategic board supported by a central team of professional staff who provide leadership, coordination and structures which allow people and organisations to work more effectively together at a sub-regional level. For further details visit www.cspnetwork.org

The Association of Colleges West Midlands (AoCWM) is the regional arm of the national Association of Colleges and represents the interests of the forty-six further education, sixth form and specialist colleges in the West Midlands and their students. We champion the development of the skills, knowledge and talent of everyone living, working, and studying in the region. And we promote the importance of our colleges to our region’s economic and social well-being. 

To find out more visit www.aoc.co.uk/sports