On Saturday 14th November, the 2015 Triathlon England awards recognised the contribution and excellence of the Triathlon England community.
The 2015 Triathlon England awards recently recognised the contribution and excellence of the Triathlon England community with a great showing by the South East region, who scooped 3 of the 9 awards.
The national awards, which took all the winners of the 10 Triathlon England regions is always hotly contested and a badge of honour in the world of Triathlon. The region was proudly represented in all 9 categories and nominated individuals, events, clubs and a lot of supporters were present at the awards ceremony at Chessington on 14th November, to see if they had won.
The 3 awards which the South East region took home were presented by Dave Rigby, Triathlon England President, these were:
Club of the Year – Brighton Tri Club
Children’s Coach of the Year – Nicky McCulloch (Chichester Westgate Tri Club)
Youth Volunteer of the Year – Grace Birkens (Horsham Tri Club)
Club of the Year – Brighton Tri Club
It was especially great to see so many of the club at the AGM and awards, the stage was only just big enough! The achievement is summed up brilliantly by Chairwoman Rachel Perry
“The greatness of the club really is due to the sum of its parts; the members, the committee, the coaches and the numerous volunteers. It really is such an honour to have received this highly prestigious award only two and a half years after the club was formed. To be acknowledged by our governing body is truly rewarding and a testament to the hard work and contributions of so many people.”
Youth Volunteer of the Year – Grace Birkens
Grace is surely one of (if not the) youngest BTF coach in the country currently and the award, in part recognised this achievement. Whether Grace is coaching or simply volunteering she has become a great asset to her local club, Horsham Tri and the local community with the involvement in GO TRI and local youth events.
Bill James Triathlon England Chair said “This year over 170 nominations were received for the Triathlon England Awards and Grace was up against some very strong competition. Horsham Tri Club should be proud to have such a well-respected volunteer and coach, who at the age of 18 gives up much of her time for free.”
Children’s Coach of the Year – Nicky McCulloch
Nicky, a BTF coach of 5 years received further praise for her knowledge and dedication in coaching a large number of children week in, week out as. In addition, Nicky was commended for her attitude towards coach development and for always being fully supportive of other coaches, sentiments reinforced by Nicky’s comments after winning the award:
“To be nominated for the SE award was a complete surprise so to then win both the regional and national awards was amazing. I am very happy to have been given these awards but I don't run the club by myself. The other coaches and parent helpers are fantastic and all give so much time and energy into making CWTC juniors a brilliant environment for children to have fun, train hard and achieve their best in the sport. They are the reason we all do it, we have a brilliant group of juniors and I am very proud of them all.”
For more images from the event and to view all the Triathlon England winners, click here
