Night of Outstanding Winners at the Devon Sports Awards 2013

On Friday 10^th May, over 200 people gathered at Sandy Park for the Devon Sports Awards in order to celebrate the various achievements of individuals, teams and clubs across the county over the last 12 months.

The awards that have been running for over a decade were for the first time, a collaboration between Active Devon and The Exeter Foundation, with all monies that were raised on the evening being donated directly to The Foundation.

The Exeter Foundation Chairman, Tony Rowe OBE, and Active Devon Chief Executive, Matt Evans, started the proceedings and with an array of sporting talent, sponsors, volunteers and supporters in attendance the awards were soon underway.

The highlight of the evening’s celebrations was the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sport in Devon’ award which concluded the ceremony and epitomised the overall ethos and hard work that was being championed throughout the evening. The winner of this prestigious accolade went to Neil Parsons, founder and current secretary of Lympstone Amateur Boxing Club for his 44 years’ of voluntary service.

Neil spends 25 hours a week working on behalf of the club in addition to being an ABA qualified Judge and has supported over 2000 young people, some even going on to achieve national and international honours in the sport of boxing and hundreds of others being diverted away from a life involving anti-social behaviour and criminal activity due to his influence and guidance.

The judges felt Neil who has inspired, supported and changed hundreds of young people’s lives for the better, stood out for his outstanding contribution to sport over the last year and over nearly half a century in Devon.

This year’s awards were also supported by Devon’s own former Grand National winner and jockey Jimmy Frost, who took to the stage as our guest speaker with Exeter Foundation Trustee Bruce Priday who asked him about his own sporting experiences and any advice for upcoming sportsmen and women in the area.

The overall category winners and runners up were as follows:

Active Villages Project of the Year
1^st - Junction Archers – Torridge
2^nd - Chagford Cricket Club – West Devon
3^rd - Age UK Yoga – East Devon

Club of the Year (amateur)
1^st - Kingsley School Judo Club – North Devon
2^nd - Barton Cricket Club – Torbay
3^rd - Honiton Running Club – East Devon

Coach of the Year (senior)
1^st - Kevin Skinner, Exeter Harriers Athletics Club – Mid Devon
2^nd - Lisa Kemp, Newton Abbot Swimming Club – Teignbridge
3^rd - Steve Squire, South Brent Judo Club – South Hams

Coach of the Year (youth)
1^st - Jazmine Hervin, Football – Teignbridge
2^nd - Scott White – Exe Calibre Dragon Boat Club – Exeter
3^rd - Tom Vinall, Westward Ho! Tennis Club – Torridge

Contribution to Inclusive Sport
1^st - Allen Lewis, Tavistock Specials FC – West Devon
2^nd - Paul Gray, Special Olympics – Exeter
3^rd - Jeff Rawlings, Twyford Spartans – Mid Devon

Professional Club of the Year
Winner – Exeter City Football Club

Professional Sports Performer of the Year
Winner – Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs)

Sportivate Project of the Year
1^st - Creating Chances (Exeter City FC) – Exeter
2^nd - Torbay Surf Life Saving Club – Torbay
3^rd - Ivybridge Community College & Mountbatten Centre - Plymouth

Sports Performer of the Year (amateur)
1^st - Ruta Meilutyte, Swimming – Plymouth
2^nd - Jay Thompson, Gymnastics – Torbay
3^rd - Tom Daley, Diving – Plymouth

Team of the Year
1^st - Plymouth Leander Swimming – Plymouth
2^nd - South Dartmoor U16 Hockey Team – Teignbridge
3^rd - Newton Abbot Swimming Club Senior Squad - Teignbridge

Volunteer of the Year (senior)
1^st - Neil Parsons, Lympstone Amateur Boxing Club – East Devon
Joint 2^nd - Dave Turner, Exeter Saracens RFC – Exeter
Joint 2^nd - Sue Whiffin, East Devon County Netball Association - Exeter

Volunteer of the Year (youth)
1^st - David Morris, Devon Golf Partnership – Plymouth
2^nd - Chantelle Prowse, TAS Netball Club – Torbay
3^rd - Becci Helliwell, Cullompton Community College – Mid Devon

 

The evening was a huge success and all involved are already looking forward to next year. The Exeter Foundation would like to thank all in attendance for their generosity and support and congratulate all category nominees and winners on their fantastic achievements.

 

All photographs from the event can be found at: http://http://www.ppauk.com/dsa2013/

All photographs are accredited to Pinnacle Photo Agency courtesy of Phil Mingo.