On Thursday 24 November, the fifth annual Haringey Celebrating Sports Awards took place at Tottenham Hotspur FC. The four winners in a new category of ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sport and Increasing Participation’ will be nominated to carry the Olympic Torch on part on its journey in 2012.
Each year the awards celebrate the abundance of sporting talent in Haringey. They also acknowledge the hard-working volunteers, sports organisations and clubs that support the borough’s up-and-coming sports stars as well as those who take part in sport to stay healthy, or just for fun. The master of ceremonies this year was Richard Sumary, currently Chair of the London 2012 Forum.
Councillor Gina Adamou, Mayor of Haringey, attended the event and said:
A consistent theme among sports clubs and sportspeople in Haringey is that a lot of their great work goes unnoticed. There was also a demand for a way to reward and recognise the sporting achievements of the people who live here.
The Celebrating Sport Awards provides this ‘shop window’ in order to reward and recognise key individuals and organisations and promote sport and physical activity. I would like to thank the sponsors of the evening, Tottenham Hotspur FC, Pro Active North London, Haringey Sports Development Trust and Everyone’s a Winner for their generous support.
Tottenham Hotspur player, Younes Kaboul, said:
It was very important for me to represent the club and all the winners deserved their awards. Grassroots sport was important for my career and played a big part in me getting to where I am today. I remember I had such good times when I was playing with my friends as a kid and as long as I was playing football, I was happy. My advice to the local sportspeople would be to keep believing in themselves, be natural and carry on doing what you do.
The Celebrating Sport Committee will be nominating the four winners below to carry the Olympic Torch in 2012.
- June Clarke and Glen Weaver – Tottenham Hotspur Ladies FC
- Frank Adams – Enfield and Haringey Athletics Club
- Dan Bowmaker – Haringey Angels Basketball Club
