Each year, our flagship awards programme recognises and celebrates the outstanding work of organisations crucial to the delivery of grassroots sport and recreation, across eight different award categories.
This year’s winners will be revealed in a ceremony at the home of England Rugby, Twickenham Stadium, on Friday 17 March 2023, with our President, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh on hand to present the award winners with their trophies.
Tickets are now available to purchase for you to join us for this incredible celebration of grassroots activity at a world-famous venue. Prices start at £99, with discounts available on bulk bookings. Please contact our Events and Training Officer, Amie Mills – amills@sportandrecreation.org.uk – for further information.
Previous winners of a Community Sport and Recreation Award are celebrated with a spot on our Alumni page, which can be found here.
The Alliance would like to thank all the incredible clubs, projects and members who submitted nominations for this year’s awards.
The finalists for the 2023 Community Sport and Recreation Awards are;
Community clubs are the heartbeat of sport and recreation in this country, and the Community Club of the Year Award celebrates those organisations, clubs and programmes that have directly improved the local community throughout the last 12 months.
The finalists
The finalists in this category include the only rugby club in Sussex offering the sport to both disabled and non-disabled people, the largest junior snooker academy in the UK and a football club dedicated to supporting their local community through charitable activities.
The Diversity and Inclusion Award celebrates clubs and programmes that support under-represented groups through sport, recreation or physical activity. The award celebrates the work that community sport and recreation is doing in this very important area.
The finalists
This year’s nominees include the first tennis club in the north-east of England to deliver a Walking Tennis project, a gymnastics club who offer a safe space for all in an area of high deprivation and a cycling club breaking down barriers in the Muslim community.
The Going Green Award celebrates organisations and clubs that are making a commitment towards reducing net emissions and increasing sustainability. Showing a consideration of the footprint we leave behind is arguably the key issue of our lifetime across society, as well as in the sport and recreation sector, so we think it’s vital to recognise those that are leading the way!
The finalists
These organisations have made sustainable changes to protect the future of the planet and they include a BMX club whose track is built on the site of an old landfill, a partnership that focused on small steps to becoming greener through a sustainability tournament and a golf club paving the way to reduce carbon emissions and increase bee populations.
The Inspiration of the Year category celebrates individuals in the sport and recreation sector who have inspired others through the support they have provided to their community during the past 12 months.
The finalists
The three brilliant individuals nominated for this award are: Allen Urch MBE, who has inspired generations of swimmers to pass through his club; Hannah Crump, who has broken down barriers to women’s participation in golf; and Kate Davidson, who has inspired so many women over the age of 30 to play football in the last 18 months.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Award
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Award celebrates clubs/programmes which use the power of sport and recreation to promote and enhance positive wellbeing, and are ambassadors for promoting good health and wellbeing policies.
The finalists
Meet this year’s finalists in the area of mental health and wellbeing, featuring an outdoor recreation organisation improving wellbeing through reconnecting with nature, a football charity who have provided thousands of hours of health support in schools for young people struggling with their wellbeing, and a rugby football club dedicated to tackling poor mental health.
The Resilience in Adversity Award celebrates the methods which community clubs have used to keep their participants engaged during difficult periods – perhaps with issues affecting their local community, or more national-scale problems such as the cost-of-living crisis. We are recognising the outstanding projects that have adapted their delivery to support grassroots activity over the past year.
The finalists
Showing a wonderful ability to carry on their vital work in the most difficult circumstances, the three nominees include a programme created by a boccia organisation who adapted brilliantly to the challenges presented by the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, an initiative supporting young Ukrainian golfers affected by war, and a boxing club who restored a derelict building into a community centre, enabling children to train and access youth services.
This award recognises all the hours of commitment that volunteers give to improve the lives of people in their community. Volunteers are the glue that holds the sector together, and the work they continue to do, despite a cost-of-living crisis, is essential to the function of our sector.
The finalists
Three incredible volunteers have been shortlisted for this award, who have all given up their time to make a difference: Khadija Patel, who has been volunteering in the community for almost 20 years, setting up a range of local sports groups; Simon Thorne, whose tireless work has benefited 250 active swimmers in his community club; and Ziana Butt BEM, who has committed herself to making netball more inclusive and breaking down stereotypes presented for hijab-wearing youth.
A staple of the Community Sport and Recreation Awards, the Youth Development Award celebrates clubs, programmes and schools that are engaging and significantly improving the lives of children and young people through sport, recreation or physical activity. This celebrates work that is getting previously inactive children active on a regular basis.
The finalists
An incredible trio impressed the judging panel with their work supporting young people – in contention for this award are: a goalball organisation that provides a safe environment for young visually impaired children to participate in physical activity; a football foundation offering free football in the community to reduce anti-social behaviour; and a cricket programme that supports young people living in areas with high levels of poverty.
For more information about all the finalists, please visit the respective award pages by clicking the links in the titles.
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