2006 Winners
Junior Sports Personality of the Year
Victoria Bell (Squash)
Victoria is ranked No 1 in U17 and 3rd in U19 National Rankings in squash. In 2006 she competed in the European U17 Championships in Israel, and was in the England team which finished 3rd at the European U19 Championships in Switzerland. She won the British U17 Designated Championships, and finished 1st in the Super 8 U17 Championships in Pontefract. She finished a very respectable 7th in the British U17 Open, and 1st in the Grand Prix event in Nottingham. In October 2006 she capped an excellent year by winning the British U17 Closed Championships. She also won a category of NW Sportsperson of the Year, and spends much of her spare time helping to coach younger players at her club.
Junior Team of the Year Award
Cockermouth Cricket Club Under 15 Team
This team reached the final of the National Under 15 Portman Cup in 2006, from a field of over 2000 teams. Along the way they were crowned the Northern Champions at York, a first for a Cumbrian Team.
The majority of the team also represented the very successful Cockermouth School Under 15 Team in the National Lord Taverner’s Cup. Again they were crowned Northern Champions and reached the last 4, with Eton eventually winning the competition.
Team of the Year Award
Carlisle United Football Club
Carlisle United were promoted for the second successive season in 2006, this time as champions, and they also reached the Final of a national competition. This continued the massive turn around in the clubs fortunes since the take over by local business man and sports fan Fred Story. The team, led by then manager Paul Simpson raced to the Championship in fine style. Another wonderful season was almost capped off in style as the team reached the final of the Football League Trophy, losing narrowly to SwanseaCity.
Performance Award for People with Disabilities
Dean Miller (Swimming)
Dean is a young athlete who was selected to represent Great Britain in the World Disability Athletics Championships in Assen, Holland. The competition is for all age groups, and despite being one of the youngest competitors in the event he reached the final of 800 metres, finishing 8th. As a result of his outstanding potential and achievements in 2006, he has now been selected to the National Elite Disability Training Squad for athletes showing the potential to win medals at future Paralympic Games.
Coach of the Year
Wayne Bowness (Rugby League)
Wayne comes from the world of rugby league, and he is qualified to modified games level standard. He has been coaching at his local club, Glasson Rangers for over 4 years, and through his efforts, the standard of the young people playing rugby league has increased immensely over this time. He regularly attends many primary schools in the local area developing club-school links. He is a dedicated coach who is also very keen to improve his skills and knowledge through attending regular training courses.
Service to Sport Award
Bill Martin (Football)
This Cumbrian has been involved in the local soccer scene since the 1950’s, first as a teenage striker, then as a referee, manager, secretary and press officer. He has played more than 600 games and has refereed well over 4000 matches.
Brought up in Laversdale on the outskirts of Carlisle, he fell in love with football at the age of seven and was never seen without a football. He played for any village team that would let him play including Castle Carrock , Laversdale, Hethersgill, Calthwaite and Croglin amongst them. He had to quit playing the game at the age of 28 after a knee injury, but determined to still be involved in the game he started coaching an under 18 team and continued coaching for 8 years. He then began to referee the Sunday Friendly League which later became the Chivers League. He was involved with the BorderCity and District League after his friends started to play weekend football and he later became the club secretary and manager. He then became treasurer of the league, a role he undertook for 17 years. That team became Northbank Football Club, now one of the most successful amateur football sides in Cumbria who boast two open age sides and 19 junior teams. More than 300 girls and boys attend training sessions with club coaches every week. He was invited to become secretary of the Carlisle Youth League, which then had barley a dozen teams in just 3 age groups, but which now has almost 150 teams playing every weekend across the County’s pitches, and as many as 2000 children from 7 year olds to 18 hoping to become professional footballers. He is still also involved in writing regular match reports for the local media and in appointing referees.
Special Award
Joss Naylor (Fell-Running)
Joss Naylor has been participating in his chosen sport of fell running for 60 years. At the age of 50, this outstanding athlete completed the Wainrights in 7 days, a feat which takes the average runner a year to undertake. During his career he has run the Pennine Way in 3 days and 4 hours. He covered the 105 miles of the Lakes, Meres and Waters circuit in an amazing 19 hours and 14 minutes, eclipsing the previous best time by 7 hours. On his 60th birthday, he celebrated by running 60 Lakeland summits in 36 hours, and just to show he was not slowing down, when he recently celebrated his 70th year, he completed 70 summits in just 21 hours. One of his finest achievements was to complete to the tough ‘Bob Graham Round’ covering 72 summits in 24 hours.
As well as the above, he has throughout his career raised countless thousands of pounds for charity, and has been awarded the MBE for services to fell running.
Performance Award
Matthew Bowe (Swimming)
Matthew’s achievements in 2006 included becoming the British National 100 metre Butterfly Champion, and being part of the bronze medal winning team in the 4 x 100 metre medlay race at the European Championships in Budapest in August this year.
But it was for his achievements at the 2006 Commonwealth Games during March in Melbourne, Australia, where our winner performed supremely, with an outstanding series of results that saw him reach three finals. In the 100 metre Butterfly event he finished a creditable 7th place, and he followed this up in the 200 metre event, finishing in 6th place. In the 4 x 100 metre Medlay Relay, he and his team mates produced an excellent display to pick up the silver medal.
Sports Personality of the Year
Scott Carson (Football)
Scott started his career as a junior playing for Cleator Moor Celtic in the local league, but his talent was quickly spotted and at the age of 16 was playing for Cumberland Football Association’s Under 18 Team. He was quickly snapped up by Leeds United and went straight into their Academy Team. He made his full debut for Leeds in February 2004 against Manchester United, and in January 2005 he completed a dream move to Liverpool, and was on the bench when they won both the European Cup and then the European Super Cup. His efforts were rewarded with a new five year Contract in July 2006.
He is a regular for the England Under 21 side and has been ever present in the team which qualified for the European Championship Finals in 2007. To cap a wonderful year, he was also selected for the full England Squad for the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany.
Volunteer of the Year
Malcolm Wood (Workington Cricket Club)
This is a new award which has been established to recognise the greatest contribution by an individual volunteer in sport. The award is sponsored by Sports Volunteering North West.
Our first winner of this award works tirelessly to promote his sport to everyone, regardless of their age or ability. This ranges from primary schools to senior coaching. Malcolm now also has a role on behalf of the Governing Body to promote cricket in the north of England.
He has been instrumental in improving the facilities at his club, where he has managed to get £75,000 of work done through local tradesmen and donations for a mere £6,000. This has led to the club being nominated as a FOCUS club by the England and Wales Cricket Board to showcase their Cricket Force Programme. As a result, two England International players opened the newly refurbished clubhouse. His efforts resulted in the club being invited to a presentation at Lord's Cricket Ground, where the club discovered that they were in the final 3 of the Cricket Force Programme in the county.
Our winner also arranges many coaching courses, coaching for schools, festivals, race nights, quizzes and trips away and much much more to get people involved in cricket. His volunteering efforts were also recently rewarded when he was invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace.