Night of outstanding winners at Devon Sports Awards
Organisers of the Devon Sports Awards, Active Devon and The Exeter Foundation proclaimed last night’s glittering ceremony a huge success as over 250 people came together to celebrate a year of sporting success across the county.
Exeter and East Devon did particularly well winning five of the twelve categories including the coveted ‘Exeter Chiefs’ Outstanding Contribution to Sport Award, in addition to six runner up places.
Neil Parsons who founded Lympstone Amateur Boxing Club in 1968 was announced the ‘Exeter Food Festival’ Senior Volunteer of the Year which was followed with the Outstanding Contribution to Sport award. Neil still volunteers at the club and is currently the club's Secretary, recently raising over £73k to build an extension to the gymnasium in addition to raising £3k to get the Club's Middleweight Matt Mason to Sydney, Australia to defend his World FireFighters Title.
Neil spends 25hrs a week working on behalf of the club in addition to being an ABA qualified Judge and has supported over 2000 young people in the 44 years he has volunteered at the club. Some have gone on to achieve national and international honours in the sport of boxing, hundreds of others have been diverted away from a life involving anti-social behaviour and criminal activity. 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.
Exeter City Football Club was announced ‘Daikin’ Professional Club of the Year. They are unique in being the only community owned, co-operative based club in the Football League and despite the constant struggle to hold the city's flag high on such an unequal playing field, the club has not only remained in the play-off zone within League Two but has raised over £17,000 for local charities. Through the work of its 'Football in the Community' department, the club has made a positive contribution to the lives of over 40,000 young people.
Exeter City’s Football in the Community ‘Creating Chances’ project also scooped first place in the Sportivate Project of the Year Category. The project is a 6 week pilot project targeting young people and adults 16+ that are not in employment, education or training to participate in gaining a Level 2 Employability qualification, whilst learning the skills and techniques involved in becoming a Multi-Sport Coach.
Exeter Chiefs Tom Johnson took home the ‘Thrifty’ Professional Sports Performer of the Year Award. Johnson's on-field efforts have been nothing short of outstanding and this has been rewarded with his inclusion in the England squad that toured South Africa last summer, as well as featuring for Stuart Lancaster's side in the Autumn internationals. The flanker was also included in the England Six Nations squad, but a knee injury prevented him from taking his place.
Click here for more information on the evening or the Sports Awards go to.
The full results from the evening were:
Active Villages Project of the Year
1st - Junction Archers – Torridge
2nd - Chagford Cricket Club – West Devon
3rd - Age UK Yoga – East Devon
Club of the Year (amateur)
1st - Kingsley School Judo Club – North Devon
2nd - Barton Cricket Club – Torbay
3rd - Honiton Running Club – East Devon
Coach of the Year (senior)
1st - Kevin Skinner, Exeter Harriers Athletics Club – Mid Devon
2nd - Lisa Kemp, Newton Abbot Swimming Club – Teignbridge
3rd - Steve Squire, South Brent Judo Club – South Hams
Coach of the Year (youth)
1st - Jazmine Hervin, Football – Teignbridge
2nd - Scott White – Exe Calibre Dragon Boat Club – Exeter
3rd - Tom Vinall, Westward Ho! Tennis Club – Torridge
Contribution to Inclusive Sport
1st - Allen Lewis, Tavistock Specials FC – West Devon
2nd - Paul Gray, Special Olympics – Exeter
3rd - Jeff Rawlings, Twyford Spartans – Mid Devon
Professional Club of the Year
Winners – Exeter City Football Club
Professional Sports Performer of the Year
Winner – Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs)
Sportivate Project of the Year
1st - Creating Chances (Exeter City FC) – Exeter
2nd - Torbay Surf Life Saving Club – Torbay
3rd - Ivybridge Community College & Mountbatten Centre - Plymouth
Sports Performer of the Year (amateur)
1st - Ruta Meilutye, Swimming – Plymouth
2nd - Jay Thompson, Gymnastics – Torbay
3rd - Tom Daley, Diving – Plymouth
Team of the Year
1st - Plymouth Leander Swimming – Plymouth
2nd - South Dartmoor U16 Hockey Team – Teignbridge
3rd - Newton Abbot Swimming Club Senior Squad - Teignbridge
Volunteer of the Year (senior)
1st - Neil Parsons, Lympstone Amateur Boxing Club – East Devon
Joint 2nd - Dave Turner, Exeter Saracens RFC – Exeter
Joint 2nd - Sue Whiffin, East Devon County Netball Association - Exeter
Volunteer of the Year (youth)
1st - David Morris, Devon Golf Partnership – Plymouth
2nd - Chantelle Prowse, TAS Netball Club – Torbay
3rd - Becci Helliwell, Cullompton Community College – Mid Devon
