Athletes, coaches and volunteers honoured at Sport Woking Awards

Date: 

Tuesday, 2 October, 2018

Sporting heroes and stars were honoured at the annual Sport Woking Awards ceremony held on Friday 21 September at the HG Wells Conference and Events Centre, Woking.

The awards celebrate talent and achievement in sport and recognise the men, women and young people who contribute to Woking’s sporting excellence. During the evening, the gathered audience heard inspiring stories of sportspeople whose work makes the lives of people in Woking healthier and happier.

The evening also provided the opportunity to celebrate Team Woking’s success at the Specsavers Surrey Youth Games, where Woking won the overall medal table.

Joining the evening’s celebrations were Mayor of Woking, Cllr Will Forster, Cllr Ian Eastwood representing Surrey Playing Fields, James Sawyer from Specsavers, Bob Pritchard from Active Surrey and Eleanor Cranfield from Freedom Leisure.

Winners of the Sport Woking Awards 2018

  • The Trotman Trophy – Jamie Lewis, Woking Gymnastic Club
  • Specsavers Young Sports Personality – Tia Hansford, 1349 Woking Air Training Corps Squadron
  • Active Surrey Coach of the Year - Simon Strong, Woking Walking Football
  • Surrey Playing Fields Young Volunteer of the Year – Lucy Gerhard-Jones, Fighting Fitness Judo
  • Outstanding Contribution to Sport – Fiona Creswick, Byfleet Village Football Club
  • Sports Personality of the Year – Louisa Piper, Woking Archery Club
  • Volunteer of the Year – Candy Schofield, Woking Archery Club
  • Disability Sport Award – The Park School
  • Young Sports Team of the Year – Beaufort Primary School Girls Football
  • Sports Team of the Year – Cardinal Saints
  • Club of the Year – Woking Rugby Club
  • Team Woking Surrey Youth Games School of the Year – Woking High School
  • Team Woking Surrey Youth Games Coach of the Year – Woody Swain, Badminton
  • Team Woking Surrey Youth Games Team of the Year – Judo and Junior Squash

Speaking at the awards, Cllr Will Forster, said: “Woking Borough has a thriving sports scene. As Mayor I have visited many of the clubs and tournaments and seen first hand the dedication and talent we have in the Borough and the hard work of the coaches and volunteers who help our sports people to excel. We are proud that world class sports men and women, like Jamie Lewis and Louisa Piper, call Woking their home.

“I wish every award winner and runner up here tonight every success with their future sporting careers and will be watching avidly to see some familiar faces in Tokyo in 2020!”

The winners of each category were presented with a commemorative trophy by the Mayor and will have the chance to represent Woking Borough at the Surrey County Sports Awards, which will be held on Monday 3 December 2018 at the Brooklands Hotel.

The Sport Woking Awards are organised in partnership with Sport Woking and Woking Borough Council.

Sport Woking, the sport council for Woking, are looking for new members, if you would like to express your interest or would like more information please contact Clive Moon, Sport Woking Chair, at cmassocs@aol.com

The winners 

The Trotman Trophy

Jamie Lewis, Woking Gymnastic Club
Jamie is one of the most successful junior gymnasts Great Britain has ever produced. In his final year as a junior competitor, Jamie has won the following titles: European Youth Olympic Champion, Men’s London Open Peter Moore All-Around Champion, English Junior All-Around Champion, British Floor Champion, Junior European Floor Champion, along with a healthy collection of medals. Jamie continues to inspire athletes from around the world and now focuses on senior competitions, with his ultimate goal of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Specsavers Young Sports Personality

Tia Hansford
Tia Hansford is a 14-year old cadet of 1349 Woking Squadron, Royal Air Force Air Cadets. Tia comfortably won the 800m race in local and regional athletics competitions of the Air Training Corps (ATC). She then went on to represent the South East Region (LaSER) at the national ATC Athletics Competition, where she came first by an impressive 18 seconds and broke an 11 year old record in the process. Tia’s achievement has enabled the LaSER to retain the national Corps athletics trophy and her performance has set an important benchmark for Surrey Wing's future standing in the regional and national sporting profile of the Air Training Corps.

Active Surrey Coach of the Year

Simon Strong, Woking Walking Football

Simon has been working tirelessly over the last year to increase participation in walking football at Woking Leisure Centre. Simon first started coaching the session in April 2017 and now has 30 regular players and the sport is continuing to thrive. He is also entering successful teams into regional and national leagues. Outside of football, strong ties have been made with Woking Hospice. Simon supports his players to keep them fit and active to overcome mental health issues. He is seen as not only a great coach but a good friend by the Walking Football players.

Surrey Playing Fields Young Volunteer of the Year

Lucy Gerhard-Jones, Fighting Fitness Judo
Lucy has been part of Fighting Fitness Judo for just over three years. She not only participates in the sport but also passes on her love for Judo to others in her voluntary role as support coach. Every week she helps with classes for the younger children. She is a caring, encouraging and approachable coach. Lucy volunteered her time as a 'Gamesmaker' (support coach and helper) at the Surrey Youth Games this year and was an asset to the Woking team. Lucy has completed her club referee award recently and has encouraged others to consider signing up to the next available course.

Outstanding Contribution to Sport

Fiona Creswick, Byfleet Village Football Club
Fiona has been involved in Byfleet Village Football Club and football in the local area for the last 20 years. Thanks to Fiona's dedication and work the club is lucky enough to have fantastic facilities at Kings Head Lane Recreation Ground, providing football for children aged from four years to 18 years old. She is a friendly face for parents, children and coaches and a great source of knowledge for anything football.

Sports Personality of the Year

Louisa Piper, Woking Archery Club
Fifteen year old archer Louisa ended last season ranked UK No2 Senior Lady and UK No1 Junior Girl. Louisa made her GBR debut in 2017 and by October of that year had won her third international medal. As one of the four-strong GBR Senior Olympic Women’s Squad, she is currently ranked 194th in the world and the second youngest archer in the World Top 200.

Volunteer of the Year

Candy Schofield, Woking Archery Club
Candy has been a member of Woking AC for 22 years but has put down her bow more and more to take up volunteering on a truly spectacular level. She is Woking Archery Club Treasurer and is a key organiser of the Surrey Archery Weekend. She also helps the county out with its other main Longbow, Field and Junior shoots and all run without a hitch due to the huge amount of planning Candy undertakes both beforehand and on the day. At a national level Candy has formally taken on the voluntary role of Volunteer Coordinator for the Archery GB Events.

Disability Sport Award

The Park School
The Park School represented Team Woking at this years Specsavers Surrey Youth Games. At the competition weekend the Park School provided enough players for Team Woking to create an additional team with Waverley. The U13 teams Woking and Waverley, and Woking won gold and silver medals respectively. The school also entered an U18 team and teachers from the school supported the students by attending the Games weekend.

Young Sports Team of the Year

Beaufort Primary School Girls Football
In May, Beaufort Primary School girls football team from Goldsworth Park, got through to the final of the National League Trust under 11s football tournament at Wembley Stadium and won. They were the top scoring team in the tournament and didn't concede a goal! The team also won the 2018 league title for WASP (Woking Area Sport for Primary Schools) among others wins this year.

Sports Team of the Year

Cardinal Saints
Cardinal Saints U18 Netball squad demonstrates athleticism and skill, not to mention dedication. The sportsmanship is admirable. On the court they give it 100% and go for everything however, irrelevant of the score, they are incredibly respectful of their opposition. When they take to the court in this predominantly adult netball league they come into their own. The team has worked through the divisions and currently play in Division One, coming third this year in the summer league.

Club of the Year

Woking Rugby Club
Woking Rugby Club are committed to participating in the league championships for both teams. The club is supported by coach Richard. The First team were successfully promoted to Surrey 3s after being crowned the Surrey 4 Champions. The Second team in their own right are regular trophy winners. The club demonstrates a total level of respect to all members and players, and the message of sportsmanship and fair play is spread widely.

Team Woking Surrey Youth Games School of the Year

Woking High School
The school had the highest level of participation at the Specsavers Surrey Youth Games training sessions and competition weekend.

Team Woking Surrey Youth Games Coach of the Year

Woody Swain, Badminton
Woody has proven himself to be enthusiastic, patient and incredibly encouraging with the children, without putting pressure on them. He enables them to focus on having fun and enjoying their sport. He is such a patient person and really relates to the children during their coaching. He also volunteered for the Team Woking badminton squad and as an official at the Surrey Youth Games 2018.

Team Woking Surrey Youth Games Team of the Year

Judo and Junior Squash
Awarded for commitment to training, good sportsmanship and fair play. Both teams expressed a great level of enthusiasm at training and at the Games weekend. The participants listened to, and learnt from, the advice of the coaches, and they all offered a great level of support to their peers.