Welcome to the Community Sport and Recreation Awards 2024: Inspiration of the Year
The Inspiration of the Year category celebrates individuals in the sport and recreation sector who have inspired others through the support they have provided to their community during the past 12 months. If successful, the individual will win the award and their club will receive a £1000 cash prize.
Entries for the Inspiration of the Year category are now open - please submit a nomination using the form below:
You can find out more about last year's finalists here:
Allen Urch MBE – Sutton Swimming Club
For over 50 years, Allen Urch MBE has been coaching and mentoring at Sutton Swimming Club. The club was founded in 1927, meaning that Allen has been coaching and mentoring for over half the time the club has existed.
Children aged six and over are able to join and develop their skills and stamina, and despite the club being relatively small, it is because of people like Allen that its volunteers, swimmers and coaches can dream of reaching the very top.
Allen is now 92 years old, and has been awarded an MBE for his services to swimming and the local community. He has been an inspiration for generations of young swimmers who have come through the club.
Hannah Crump – Stonebridge Golf Club
Since joining Stonebridge Golf Club in 2021, Hannah has introduced hundreds of women to golf, while creating a safe, welcoming environment for women to become club members.
She has collaborated with the Muslim Golf Association to deliver the first Women’s Muslim Golf Taster Day, as well as with Girls in Golf, who provide a warm environment for the LGBTQ+ community, and the Caribbean Golf Society. Through her work with the Muslim Golf Association, she has introduced 60 Muslim women to the game. She has over 100 women in weekly coaching sessions, and aims to keep growing the game every day.
Stonebridge Golf Club has been transformed since Hannah’s introduction – where before there were unlikely to be any women out on the course, now it is unlikely there aren’t any women playing.
Kate Davidson – MK United
Kate Davidson identified an issue with the accessibility of football for women over the age of 30, and has since inspired plenty to play football by creating a wonderful community.
She approached MK United in 2021, and subsequently set up the over-30s women’s team, which had a handful of players registered in April of that year. There are now around 50 women registered to play, with 25-30 typically present at each training session. Alongside her husband Fraser, Kate works tirelessly to provide a welcoming, inclusive community for all women, of all ages, abilities and fitness levels.
Kate also secured sponsorship for the team to get training sweatshirts, winter training gear and sports bras for every single woman registered as part of the club.
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