2004 Winners
Junior Sports Personality of the Year
Craig Elliot
During 2004, Craig set a new British Record for the 16 yr age group 100m Breaststroke and has been selected to represent Great Britain at Senior level at the European Short Course Championships in Vienna later this month.
Rising Star Awards
Dena Daly
At the age of 11 she is already the current Under 14 County Champion, and has represented the County at Under 11, 13 and Under 18 level. She won the Kendal Under 16 Tournament in the Summer and also won the Under 12 Junior Series event held in Manchester, becoming the first Cumbrian youngster to do so.
Keir McKenna
This year he won the National Youth Mountain Biking Championships held in Fort William, beating the cream of young mountain biking talent in the Country in the process.
Mark Daly
At 15 years of age he plays for Furness Cricket Club, for whom he was voted Player of the Year in 2004. He was also voted the North Lancs and Cumbria Cricket League Under 21 Players Player of the Year. He is also Captain of the County Schools Under 15 Cricket Team and represents the North of England Schools.
Marie Stuart
At the age of 14, in 2003 she became the youngest rider to be involved in British Cycling's North West Talent Team. Her achievements in 2004 have meant that she has maintained her membership of this elite squad. She has recorded wins in some prestigious events this year, including the Scottish XC Series, the Youth Tour 3-day Stage Race, and the World Cup Chaser Event. She also secured an excellent silver medal in the MTB National Points Series.
Laura Hogg
This young lady has been competing for Kendal Judo Club since the age of 8. She competes regularly for the North West Elite Squad and is also a member of the North West Girls & Young Womens Squad. She has competed for Great Britain on a number of occasions and has been recognized by her Governing Body, and is now part of their World Class Start Programme.
Junior Team of the Year Award
Trinity School Under 18 Football Team
They won the Carlisle Schools Tournament, and remained unbeaten for the whole season. The highlight of the season came in May, following 10 grueling rounds of competition, they played in front of 2000 spectators at Brunton Park in Carlisle, and were crowned English Schools Football Association Under 18 National Champions after a nail biting final victory over Neale Wade Community College, from Cambridgeshire.
Team of the Year Award
Wath Brow Hornets Amateur Rugby League Club
The winners of the Award were promoted as champions of their league for the second successive year, remaining unbeaten until the final game of the season. They will now play in the Premier Division of the National Conference next season. The icing on the cake came in April when they were crowned winners of the National Cup in a thrilling final at Blackpool, following victories over premier league opposition along the way. The team also provided 5 players to represent their country during the season for tours of Australia and Russia.
Performance Award for People with Disabilities
Sam Kaye
He is a member of Troutbeck Bridge Swimming Club, and this year he went to the National Junior Championships where he returned with 4 golds and 4 silver medals. Despite being only 12 he also competed in the National Senior Championships and won 2 bronze medals. He has also been selected for the Amateur Swimming Association's World Class Potential programme.
Active Sports Coach of the Year
Russell Gainford (Rugby Union)
Our winner is currently providing coaching services in the Copeland Area with many schools and clubs, each year he delivers his coaching sessions to over 1500 children, both boys and girls. As a result of his work 70% of primary schools in the area are now playing rugby union. He has been involved with the Active Sports Programme since it commenced 3 years ago, and has been a part time youth development officer for 5 years. He has an excellent coaching manner, and his effort, commitment and enthusiasm for the game is infectious to the audience he is delivering to. He currently coaches a number of representative sides including the West Cumbria Under 14 Active Sports Development Squad, Cumbria Under 16's and Cumbria Under 20's.
Service to Sport Award
David Bell (Cricket)
David has shown such dedication and commitment to cricket over many years, he has gained the nickname of 'Mr Cricket' in the County. As team manager of the County U13 team and the Cumbria Cricket Board's Director of Coaching, he gives thousands of hours of free time and service to the youth cricket in the County each year. Over the years, he has been responsible for bringing on dozens of young cricketers who have gone on to gain full county recognition, he organises coaching schemes in every district of Cumbria. He is the fixture secretary for Cumbria Schools Cricket Association for which he has built up fixtures for U11s through to U15s. His energy and capacity for hard work is outstanding.
Special Award
Jimmy Harrison (Rowing)
Jimmy has been a member of Talkin Tarn Rowing Club since 1948. He is one of the most successful Oarsmen the club has ever produced winning over 100 trophies all over the British Isles in Elite Class, which is the highest standard achievable in club rowing. He can still be seen in a boat today and does compete in the occasional race. He is also a first class joiner, and has spent thousands of unpaid hours doing repairs to the boathouse and racking over the years, he has become expert on boat repairs saving the club a vast sum of money. He still rows once a week in a veteran crew, coaches a Junior Quad to National standard three times a week, attends regattas all over the North of England and Scotland and has been treasurer of the club since 1985.
Performance Award
Thorncliffe School Under 16 Basketball Team
The winners of this years performance award had already produced some outstanding displays to reach their National Cup Final, they had safely negotiated their way through 11 rounds of competition against teams from all over the country. In the final, they were up against the team regarded as the best in the country, from Ellesmere Port. What was to happen in the final was quite remarkable; at half time, the team trailed by 17 points, they never gave up and slowly reduced the deficit point by point. In the final minute of the game they took the lead for the first time, and held on to win an enthralling game 78 -77. This incredible comeback was the largest half time points deficit ever overturned in a National Schools Basketball Final. Following their amazing performance the Team have now been selected to represent England in next years World Championships, only the second time an English School has participated.
Sports Personality of the Year
James Ellison
James, has shown promise for a number of years, when only 17 he became the British 600cc Champion, in 2000 aged 19 he became European Champion, a feat he repeated the following year. In 2002 he took his talents to the World Stage, finishing with a ranking in the top 20.
2003 saw him become the youngest ever World Champion in endurance racing, and he took his place at a glittering awards presentation in Dubai with every other motorcycle world champion of that year. This year he took his achievements to another level, winning the British Superbikes Privateer Championships, he was also entered into the British leg of the World Superbikes Championship at Brands Hatch, and, competing against riders on expensive works bikes, he finished in 4th and 5th place respectively. His achievements this year have catapulted him to the attentions of the big teams, and he has now signed a Contract to ride in motorcycling's premier competition, the Moto GP World Championships in 2005, for the WCM Blata Team.