Sports Awards Nominations Open!

It’s been a fantastic year for Perthshire with so many of our athletes excelling at the top of their chosen disciplines and making their mark on the world stage. Athletics, golf, football, curling and swimming are just some of the sports that our local men and women have excelled in over the past 12 months, and with our region being represented at both the Winter Olympics and Commonwealth Games in 2018 it really is a great moment for Perthshire sport.

And now is your opportunity to recognise some of these outstanding achievements, as nominations for the Perth and Kinross Sports Awards are now open! The event is now in its 27^th year and is organised by the Perth and Kinross Sports Council and Live Active Leisure, with eleven different categories recognising individuals, clubs, coaches and volunteers for their achievements and contributions throughout 2017.

The main award of the night is the Perth and Kinross Sports Person of the Year Award, which was won by Kinross-shire track athlete Laura Muir last year and will have lots of big names in contention for the accolade this time around. In a year where so many of the region’s stars have excelled, it’s going to be really difficult to pick out a winner. In a year where so many of the region’s stars have excelled, it’s going to be really difficult to pick out a winner.

Blairgowrie golfer Bradley Neil enjoyed a breakthrough year and was rewarded with a full European Tour card for 2018, which will see the 21-year-old compete against the biggest names in world golf such as Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy. The former Amateur Champion clinched his place on the continents top tour with a nerve wracking putt on the 18^th in the final competition of 2017 and becomes the first Perthshire golfer to make the European Tour since Brian Marchbank back in 1979.

Perth’s swimmers also enjoyed great success in the past year, with both Stephen Milne and Scott McLay selected to represent Scotland in the 2018 Commonwealth Games over on the Gold Coast in Australia. Scott in particular enjoyed a fantastic year as he was crowned the most decorated athlete in the history of the Commonwealth Youth Games, following on from winning the Young Sports Person of the Year Award at last year’s ceremony. Olympic silver medallist Stephen managed to win a gold medal at the World Championships in Budapest back in the summer too, in what was another strong season for our superb swimmers.

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And it’s impossible not to mention Mark Beaumont – the Crieff-based long-distance cyclist – who cycled 18,000 miles around the world in 78 days, 14 hours and 40 minutes, smashing the previous world record of 123 days. Mark tackled incredibly difficult terrain through Russia, Mongolia and China, battled sub-zero temperatures in the southern hemisphere, and forest fires in North America. He also broke another world record for most miles cycled in one month – 7,031 miles – from Paris to Perth, Australia.

There are also our local curlers, with Team Smith and Team Muirhead both selected to represent Great Britain at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyongyang in February. Guildtown-based Kyle Smith is the men’s skip and is joined by his brother Cammy as lead, Blair Atholl’s Thomas Muirhead as third, and Kyle Waddell as second. Eve Muirhead is the women’s skip and heads to the Winter Olympics for the second time having led Great Britain to a bronze medal in Sochi back in 2014.

With eleven different categories, there are plenty of awards to be scooped on the night which honour not just the athletes but also those behind the scenes too. Volunteers, clubs, coaches and school teams will all be recognised at the awards, as well as an award for Junior Sports Person of the Year and also an award for Disability Sports Person of the Year – which Small City is delighted to be sponsoring this year. Small City is delighted to be sponsoring the award for Disability Sports Person of the Year. Paralympian Joshua Rowe picked up the award last year and once again there are many great athletes in this category with a great chance of winning.

Nominations need to be made by 26^th January 2018, ahead of the 27^th annual Perth and Kinross Sports Awards which will be held at Dewars Centre on Friday 16^th March 2018. It’s really easy to nominate and you can do it online here or you can pick up a form from any Live Active Leisure venue. You can find a full breakdown of all of the categories, and the terms and conditions at the bottom of this article.

So, if you think there’s someone that has achieved something extra special and is deserving of recognition at this year’s awards then get nominating! Whether it’s a coach, a volunteer, a team or an individual, the Perth and Kinross Sports Awards celebrate the best of local sport and we can’t wait to be there in March to honour Perthshire’s athletes!

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The person or team nominated must be a resident of Perth and Kinross at least six months prior to the event or be affiliated to a club or sport in the region. The sport must be officially recognised by sportscotland. Entries will be judged on merits from the 1^st January 2017 to 31^st December 2017.

Categories for this year’s awards

Sports Person of the Year – sponsored by Perthshire Advertiser

School Team of the Year – sponsored by Active Schools

Club of the Year – sponsored by Steve Brown Electrical

Coach of the Year – sponsored by Sprinterz: Digital Print & Embroidery Specialists

George Mortimer Lifetime Achievement Award – sponsored by Perth and Kinross Sports Council

Volunteer of the Year – sponsored by Perth Trophy Shop

Junior Sports Personalities of the Year – sponsored by Alison Wilson

Disability Sports Person of the Year – sponsored by Small City, Big Personality

Young Coach of the Year – sponsored by The Lovat Hotel

Official of the Year – sponsored by Thorntons Solicitors

Team of the Year – sponsored by Springfield Properties