Awards winners revealed on celebratory night of great coaching

The showpiece annual event, which is seen as one of the most prestigious by the coaching community, took place at The Honourable Artillery Company, London on Thursday 29 November 2018. 

This year’s event, which saw a record number of nominations, continued UK Coaching’s celebration of great coaching, which commenced earlier this year with the UK’s first ever Coaching Week. 

The winners of the 2018 UK Coaching Awards are:

Awards for coaches

The following categories have been awarded to coaches:

Children’s Coach of the Year – supported by sportscotland
Ady Gray (Karate) (Wetherby)

Community Coach of the Year – supported by Sport England
Lee Coulson BEM (Multi-sport) (Aberystwyth) 

Disability Coach of the Year
Melanie Timberlake (Multi-sport) (Aylesbury)

Heather Crouch Young Coach of the Year – supported by Youth Sport Trust
Izzy Cottrell (Multi-sport) (Chesterfield) 

High Performance Coach of the Year
Matthew Lawrence (Paracanoe) (Nottingham)

Lifetime Achievement Award
Peter Stanley (Athletics) (Loughborough)

Talent Development Coach of the Year
Francesca Lewis (Tennis) (Swansea)

Awards in support of coaches

The following categories have been awarded in support of coaches:

Coach Developer of the Year
Richard Cheetham MBE (Multi-sport) (Winchester)

Coaching Culture Organisation of the Year
British Canoeing (Nottingham)

Coaching for an Active Life Award 
Move More Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland)

Transforming Coaching through Technology – supported by Reading Room
Project 500 (South East of England)

Great Coaching Moment of the Year 
Kris Stafford, Stephen Quinn and Harrison Marshall of Old Otliensians RUFC – 2018 RFU Junior Vase (Rugby Union) (Otley) won the new for 2018 Great Coaching Moment of the Year. Open to a public vote, which concluded on the night of the Awards, the Old Otliensians managed to field of stiff competition from Tracey Neville and Gareth Southgate to take the gong which celebrates a particular moment in time when a coach’s support and guidance really paid off.

“We got the whole town of Otley together for a big day at Twickenham and this is just another piece in that amazing puzzle.”

In The Coaching Chain category, Welsh Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas’ coaches were recognised for the contribution they’ve made throughout his life. The winning coaches were Tim Kerrison, Matt Parker, Rod Ellingworth, Darren Tudor and Debbie Wharton.

Also on the night, the head coaches of GB’s gold medallists from the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games were inducted into UK Coaching’s hall of fame. 

Amanda Pirie, coach to Menna Fitzpatrick and guide Jennifer Kehoe, who won gold in the alpine skiing women's slalom, and Eric Bernotas, coach to Lizzy Yarnold, who won gold in the women’s skeleton, were presented with Mussabini Medals (named after pioneer sports coach Sam Mussabini) to acknowledge their hand in creating GB winter Olympic and Paralympic success.

“We are privileged to be able to recognise more great coaching again, especially, in a year where we’ve worked hard to help the public understand what great coaching looks like following the launch of the first ever Coaching Week. 

“I am also thrilled to see that more women coaches were recognised for their great coaching expertise, which is testament to the hard work and dedication of many partners who work tirelessly to ensure we create a culture in the coaching sector where everyone can thrive. 

“I would like to congratulate all of this year’s winners – as well as the finalists – for their incredible achievements and for benefiting the lives of so many. Well done”

The UK Coaching Awards is a celebration of great coaching. The best way to access every #GreatCoaching film, interview and podcast we make is to sign-up at www.ukcoaching.org/JoinUs