Press release -
SportsAid announces shortlist for prestigious One-to-Watch Award
SportsAid has today announced the shortlist for its
prestigious One-to-Watch Award which was last year presented by Her Royal
Highness The Duchess of Cambridge, the charity’s Patron, to skeet shooter Amber
Hill.
Other notable recipients from recent years include diver Tom Daley, sprinter Jodie Williams – now the British number one over 200m – and gymnast Courtney Tulloch, who this year competed at the world championships alongside Max Whitlock and Kristian Thomas, who jointly presented him the award back in 2012.
The shortlist of ten was drawn up by judges from Sport England, UK Sport, the English Institute of Sport, BBC Sport and SportsAid – chaired by Olympian Sarah Winckless – from 1,300 young sports people across the UK who have received financial support from SportsAid this year. These ten athletes represent Britain’s brightest prospects for the future with two junior world champions, one senior world champion, one double world record holder and a string of remarkable performances among them.
Abigail Stones (taekwondo), 15 from Liverpool
SportsAid Awards 2012 and 2014.
- Gold at Junior World Championships 2014.
- Bronze at Youth Olympic Games 2014.
- Gold at Dutch Open 2014.
- SportsAid’s athlete of the month in April 2014.
Alison Patrick (paratriathlon), 27
from Livingston, West Lothian
SportsAid Award 2014 from SSE.
- Gold at ITU Paratriathlon World Championships 2014 (PT5).
- Silver at ITU World Paratriathlon series race in London in 2014.
- Bronze at ETU European Championships 2014 in Austria.
- Leader in world rankings.
Chris Lawrie (rowing), 17 from Bourne End, Buckinghamshire
SportsAid Awards 2013 (SportsAid Eastern) and 2014 (Jaguar Academy of Sport).
- Silver at Junior World Championships 2014 in junior
men’s quad (first GB junior medal in this event since 1994).
- Fourth at the Youth Olympics 2014 in junior men’s single scull.
- Gold at National Schools Regatta 2014 in under-17 single scull.
- Silver at British Junior Trials 2014 in junior men’s single scull.
Helen Housby (netball), 19 from Cumbria
SportsAid Award 2014.
- Competed for Team England at Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
- Made senior debut for England in May 2014 on a tour of
Australia, earning three further caps against Wales, Trinidad & Tobago and
Barbados.
- Plays for Manchester Thunder (Superleague champions 2014)
for whom she scored the title-winning goal seconds before the final whistle.
- SportsAid’s athlete of the month in May 2014.
Jack Stanley (rugby union), 17 from Helston, Cornwall
SportsAid Award 2014 from OCS.
- Exeter Chiefs Academy player (tighthead prop) who trained
with Exeter 1st XV this summer and plays in the Premiership A League.
- Won the European Championships in 2014 with England U18s and will be
eligible to compete at the competition again in 2015.
- Attending England U20 training camp in October 2014, two
years young.
Maria Lyle (athletics), 14 from
Dunbar, East Lothian
SportsAid Awards 2013 and 2014 from Bank of Scotland Local Heroes.
- IPC European champion 100m (T35) in 2014.
- IPC European champion 200m (T35) in 2014.
- World record holder for 100m (T35) 14.68 seconds.
- World record holder for 200m (T35) 30.71 seconds.
Morgan Lake (athletics), 17 from Bagshot, Surrey
SportsAid Awards 2013 and 2014 from Jaguar Academy of Sport.
- Gold in high jump at IAAF Junior World Championships 2014 (setting a new junior British record of 1.94m).
- Gold in heptathlon at IAAF Junior World Championships 2014 (setting a new world U18 record).
- Ranked #1 (U17) in heptathlon, triple jump and high jump.
Muhammed Ali (boxing), 18 from Keighley, West Yorkshire
SportsAid Awards 2012, 2013 (Lloyds Bank Local Heroes) and 2014 (Bradford b Active).
- Bronze (52kg) at Youth Olympics 2014.
- Silver (52kg) at AIBA Youth World Championships 2014.
- Gold (52kg) at Three Nations Championships 2014.
- Gold (52kg) at National Championships (seventh national
title of his career).
- SportsAid’s athlete of the month in September 2014.
Rowan Coultas (snowboarding), 17 from Northallerton, North Yorkshire
SportsAid Awards 2011 and 2014 from SportsAid Yorkshire & Humberside.
- Silver in slopestyle at World Junior Championships 2014.
- Bronze at World Rookie Fest 2014 in Livigno.
- Gold at Hotzone Groms Open 2014.
- Gold at World Rookie Fest 2014 in Czech Republic.
Thomas Hamer (para swimming), 16 from Rawtenstall, Lancashire
SportsAid Award 2014 from SSE.
- Gold in 200m freestyle (S14) at British Championships 2014.
- Silver in 200m freestyle (S14) at Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
- Silver in 200m freestyle (S14) at IPC European Swimming Championships 2014.
- Broke the British record and unofficially also the European and world short-course records for 200m freestyle at the National Short Course Championships 2014.
- SportsAid’s athlete of the month in March 2014.
The winner will be announced at the SportsBall, SportsAid's flagship gala dinner which is sponsored by Eversheds, at Supernova in London’s Embankment Gardens on November 27. Tickets and tables for the event are available from sportsball.org.uk or by calling the booking line on 020 8704 4141.
Topics
- Sport
Categories
- sportsaid
- sportsball
- one-to-watch award
- duchess of cambridge
- muhammed ali
- jack stanley
- maria lyle
- morgan lake
- helen housby
- abigail stones
- alison patrick
- chris lawrie
- amber hill
- tom daley
- jodie williams
- courtney tulloch
- rowan coultas
- thomas hamer
More information
Call Simon Worsfold at SportsAid on 020 7273 1978 or email simon@sportsaid.org.uk.
SportsAid
- SportsAid is the only national charity of its kind (#1111612), helping young British sportsmen and women who aspire to be the nation's next Olympic, Paralympic, Commonwealth or world champions.
- The charity's patron is Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge.
- At the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games almost two-thirds of the British team were former recipients of SportsAid's support, winning 20 of Team GB's 29 gold medals and 27 of ParalympicsGB's 34 gold medals.
- At the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games more than 450 of the athletes competing were previously supported by SportsAid, with 241 of them winning medals.
- For more information visit www.sportsaid.org.uk, follow @TeamSportsAid on Twitter, contact the charity on Facebook, connect on LinkedIn, or sign up to receive its monthly newsletter.
SportsBall
- The SportsBall is SportsAid's flagship annual event: a gala dinner which raises money for and shines a spotlight on the next generation of British athletes.
- In 2013, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge, SportsAid's patron, presented the charity's prestigious One-to-Watch Award at the SportsBall to skeet shooter Amber Hill who in 2014 won her first world title.
- Previous One-to-Watch Award winners include diver Tom Daley, gymnast Courtney Tulloch and sprinter Jodie Williams.
- Other notable SportsBall attendees in recent years include Sir Bradley Wiggins, Sir Matthew Pinsent, Baroness Grey-Thompson and David Weir CBE.
- Find out more at www.sportsball.org.uk.
One-to-Watch Award
The One-to-Watch Award criteria are as follows:
- Must be recommended by their sport’s national governing body.
- Must be one of the 1,300 British athletes supported by SportsAid this year.
- Excellence in results at the international level.
- Excellence in results at the domestic level.
- British/European/world rankings.
- Membership of national squads/teams.
- Age group status, standing and years left.
- Commitment, dedication, promise (comments received from their sport’s national governing body).
- Likelihood to improve in following years – performance and ranking.
The One-to-Watch Award judging panel is as follows:
- Sarah Winckless (Olympian, SportsAid alumna and panel chairman)
- John Wood (UK Sport)
- Matt Slater (BBC Sport)
- Melissa Bennett (Sport England)
- Joslyn Hoyte Smith (English Institute of Sport)
- Laura Eddie (National Awards Manager, SportsAid)
- Ian Braid (National Awards Committee Chairman and Trustee, SportsAid)
