For a second year running, we were delighted to be the chosen beneficiary of the Oxfordshire Sports Awards held on Friday evening (November 28th) in a prestigious awards dinner at the Kassam Stadium, home of Oxford United Football Club.
The Awards – the tenth – celebrated and recognised athletes, coaches, volunteers, teams and unsung heroes for their shine in the spotlight they deserved – and they once again raised money for Play2Give on the night.
At the November 2014 awards, £551.10 was raised by generous guests through a raffle and table bucket collections, and it is hoped this year the guests will have been charitably generous yet again – with prizes this year in the raffle included a signed Cricket Bat and a membership.
The Oxfordshire Sports Awards is an annual event organised and host by Oxfordshire Sport and Physical Activity (Oxspa), supported by official broadcast partner, BBC Oxford, and the Oxford Mail as official media partner. 2015 marked the 10th Awards Ceremony which has grown in popularity, size and stature since its creation (such that this year saw ticket sales sell out in record time and more tables and guests than ever before attended) and is seen as the flagship event of the year for Oxspa.
The Awards incorporates nominations from across the county, raising the profile of sport and physical activity and creating a unified celebration of sporting excellence – this year a staggering amount of nominations was received – more than in any previous year – and particularly the most number of nominations seen in the Junior Sportsperson of the Year – making the task for the Judging panel to pick the winners incredibly difficult resulting in heated arguments and debates! All finalists were invited to celebrate their achievements – be it winners or runners up – at the swish evening which included a 3-course meal, pre awards drinks reception and Jerome Sale, BBC Oxford sports presenter hosting the entire evening!
Our Andrew Baker and Craig Harris represented Play2Give and was awe-struck and sincerely delighted to be in amongst a packed room of hundreds of Oxfordshire’s best sportsmen and women, young and old, teams, coaches, sporting schools, active workplaces and unsung heroes – such as Rupert Evans who won the Special Recogntion Award 2015 (Sir Roger Bannister took the gong in 2014).
A huge thank you from us to Zoe O’Neill at Oxspa for once organising such a wonderful, amazing and inspirational evening and for allowing us to attend but also receive the funds raised. Funds raised for Play2Give will be shared between the Headway Oxfordshire brain injury charity based in Kennington, Oxford and to the Children’s Hospital at the John Radcliffe Hospital.
We hope long may our affiliation and partnership with Oxfordshire Sport & Physical Activity and in particular being the Oxfordshire Sports Awards chosen charity continue for many years to come – it is a fantastic occasion and a fantastic event to be involved in and one with great networking opportunities for us as a fundraising organisation – so a very big thank you again to Oxspa for their wonderful continued support and to everyone who gave so generously on the night – thank you!
2015 SPORTS AWARDS WINNERS
- Active Workplace Award – Sponsored by Ignite Sport: Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
- Sports Development Project of the Year – Sponsored by Gleeds: Youth Ambition
- Sporting School(s) of the Year – Sponsored by Oxford City Council: Sunningwell Primary School: King Alfred’s Academy Wantage (Secondary)
- Young Volunteer of the Year – Sponsored by Oxford United Community Trust: Chloe Smart (Football & Ice Hockey)
- Junior Sports Team of the Year – Sponsored by Rugby League Inspires: Didcot Girls School U15s Football Team
- Disability Sports Award of the Year – Sponsored by GLL: Minster Lovell Inclusive Cricket Team
- Junior Sportsperson of the Year – Sponsored by GLL: Jade O’Dowda (Athletics)
- Special Recognition Award: Rupert Evans (Cricket)
- Club of the Year – Sponsored by Fusion Lifestyle: Banbury & District Canoe Club
- Coach of the Year – Sponsored by Legacy Leisure: Julie McDermaid (Netball)
- Sports Team of the Year – Sponsored by Rhino Rugby: Oxford School of Gymnastics
- Unsung Hero – Sponsored by Five on a Bike: Gary Dent (Ice Hockey)
- Sportswoman of the Year – Sponsored by Brookes Sport: Demi Lambourne (Football)
- Sportsman of the Year – Sponsored by Brookes Sport: Jack Brooks (Cricket)