Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Leeds Sports Awards 2018 winners
The 2018 Leeds Sports Awards, organised by Sport Leeds, to celebrate sporting achievements in Leeds, were held at the First Direct Arena yesterday.
Leeds Beckett were heavily represented in most senior categories which included current students, alumni and former employees of the institution.
Sally Nickson, Head of Sport & Active Lifestyles at Leeds Beckett, was incredibly proud to see Leeds Beckett heavily represented at the awards evening.
She said: “We are very proud of our sporting talent and Wednesday night’s event at the world famous First Direct Arena was the perfect venue to celebrate the achievements of our students, alumni and former staff,”
Leeds Beckett Hockey Club – Highly commended - Student Sport Team of the Year
Leeds Beckett’s Hockey Club were highly commended for the Student Sport Team Award for their fundraising efforts for charity.
Leeds Beckett Hockey Men’s Club cycled from Leeds to Paris as well as competing in five marathons in as many days as part of their fundraising efforts, whilst the Women’s Club took on the infamous Three Peaks for their fundraising challenge culminating in the club raising over £14,000 for various charities.
Dave Murray – Winner - Performance Coach of the Year
Leeds Beckett alumnus (BA Hons Physical Education, 2007) Dave Murray received the Performance Coach of the Year for his services to Gymnastics.
Meanwhile, Dave’s influence at Leeds Gymnastics Club saw his junior athletes win the Young Club/Team Performance Award whilst his senior members were highly commended for the Senior Club/Team Performance Award – proving a very successful night for the club.
Fellow Gymnastics coach and Leeds Beckett Alumni Tamsin Chadwick also received an award as she was highly commended for the Coach Participation Award.
Jack Maitland – Winner – Special Contribution Award
Former Leeds Beckett triathlon coach Jack Maitland received a Special Contribution Award for his services to triathlon in the city, which was a special moment for the former Beckett coach.
Other recipients
British Junior Weightlifting Champion Josephine Dobson, from Leeds City Weightlifting Club, was highly commended for the Young Sportswoman award for an incredible 2017. Josephine has been working hard at Leeds Beckett’s sports facilities to help her improve in weightlifting and has been training at the university 5-6 times per week as part of her preparations for 2018.
Olympic Gold Medal winning Gymnast Nile Wilson was awarded the Sportsman of the Year Award whilst Great Britain’s top female triathlete Jess Learmonth was nominated as the Leeds Sportswoman of the Year. Jess won her first major International title in June 2017 at the ETI European Championships while Nile made a miraculous comeback from snapping his ankle ligaments in early 2017 to go on and compete against the best gymnasts at the World Championships in Montreal just eight months later.
Sally, who chairs the Sport Leeds Board and the Leeds Sports Awards Organising Committee, felt Nile and Jess were deserved winners of the Sportsman and Sportswoman awards respectively.
“We were delighted to see the award of Sportswoman presented to Jess Learmonth and Sportsman to Nile Wilson, two extremely dedicated, committed and inspirational athletes based in Leeds.
“It is the ability to bring together all of the city’s talented athletes, coaches, teachers, administrators, officials and volunteers nominated by the people of Leeds, that makes this the largest ‘sporting celebration’ in the city’s calendar of events.”
Leeds Beckett’s Sports Activators also played a key role at the awards evening, having helped with the setup of the event and working on the night to ensure the awards were a huge success.
Sports Activators are students of Leeds Beckett University who have an interest in Sport and Active Lifestyles, and are enthusiastic about developing and promoting sport and its associated experience to other students.
These activators have also worked hard throughout the year with Sport & Active Lifestyles’ Sports Office in running key programmes and events successfully for staff, students and the community to enjoy.
Congratulations to our Activators - Kat Robbings (BSc Sport and Exercise Science), Natasha Ainsworth (BSc Sport and Exercise Science), Beth Chamberlain (BA Physical Education), Tara Hings (BA Physical Education) and Fran Musgrave (BA Sport Development) for their hard work throughout this year.
We also congratulate all of the winners and nominees at last night’s Leeds Sports Awards. For the full list of winners and nominees visit leedssportsawards.co.uk