And the 2018 winners were...
The UK Coaching Awards 2018 took place at a special awards ceremony on Thursday 29 November at The Honourable Artillery Company, London.
Awards for 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
- 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)
Coaching Chain Award
Welsh Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas’ coaches were recognised for the contribution they made throughout his life. The winning coaches were Tim Kerrison, Matt Parker, Rod Ellingworth, Darren Tudor and Debbie Wharton.
Coaching Hall of Fame
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.
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.
Photographs from the event can be viewed and downloaded via our Flickr account.