Top sporting talent recognised at Solihull Sports Awards

Some of the best sporting talent in Solihull was recognised and awarded at the annual Solihull Sports Awards.

The ceremony took place at The Core on Wednesday 6th July.

The awards presented were the Sport Solihull Awards for 2016; the Solihull School Sport Partnership Awards for 2016, to recognise the top stars from the borough’s primary and secondary schools, and the Solihull Talented Athlete Recognition Scheme awards (STARS) to reward Solihull’s best sporting people.

The awards were split into different categories including the Team of the Year award and for the first time, the Solihull Community award.

The Mayor of Solihull Councillor Mike Robinson was there to present the awards to the winners. The Mayor said, “I was absolutely delighted to have been a part of an awards ceremony that recognises and celebrates the very best sporting talent in Solihull.

“Taking part in sport and having an active lifestyle is so important and I would like to congratulate all the winners for all their hard work and amazing achievements.”

The winners of the Sport Solihull Awards for 2016 –

Sportswoman of the Year: Amy Jones

Amy is a talented wicket-keeper who was called up into the England Women’s Academy following successful performances in the county game for Warwickshire.

Disabled Sportsman of the Year: Charlie Fogarty

In 2012, Charlie, a footballer in the Birmingham City Academy, suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. He has overcome his injury and is now the manager of the Solihull Moors Open Age Disability Team. Charlie has continued playing and in 2015 took part in the Cerebral Palsy World Cup.

Team of the Year: Solihull Moors U16 Disability Team

The Solihull Moors U16 Disability team entered the FA Peoples Cup for the first time in 2015 and progressed to the last 76, from an entry of 4000. Of those 76 teams, eight were disabled and Solihull Moors finished fifth overall, just one match away from playing at Wembley.

Coaching Achievement: Andy Teagle

Andy is the lead Coach of Solihull Triathlon Club, and has helped to transform the achievements of many members by creating individual training programs. Andy has coached 4 individuals that have represented Great Britain and Ireland, in various distances, competing at European level in Geneva during 2015 and Kitzbuhel in 2016.

Services to Sport: Andrew Lucas

Andrew began his involvement with Solihull Triathlon Club back in 2011 by volunteering at club events and since June 2014 increased his involvement to become a Run Leader, enabling sessions to go ahead in the absence of a Coach. In September 2013, Andrew assumed the role of Event Director of Brueton. Andrew is always on hand to deal with a myriad of tasks ranging from competitor and result queries, social media, equipment, and volunteer rotas.

Geoff Sanders Young Sports Volunteer: Charlotte Nichols

Charlotte initially became involved with Brueton parkrun whilst undertaking her Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award. Having completed the award she returned in the Autumn of 2015 as a volunteer helping out in a variety of roles including marshal, time keeper, results processing, and the volunteer co-ordinator.

Solihull Community Award: Brueton parkrun

Brueton parkrun provides the opportunity for people to meet on a weekly basis and complete a 5K run. In May 2015 Brueton parkrun recorded 400 participants for the first time and numbers have continued to rise rapidly. A great community spirit has been developed amongst the volunteers and the runners and they recently held their first charity fundraising quiz which helped raise over £600 in support of two charities.

The Solihull Sports Partnership Awards recognised the top stars from the borough’s primary and secondary schools, including the best sports person, sports team and junior volunteer.

The STARS scheme rewards the borough’s best sports people by allowing them free access to training facilities to improve their skills, and during the evening the STARS for the next 12 month were announced.

For more information about sports in Solihull: www.solihullactive.co.uk