Rochdale Borough Sports and Culture Awards 2019 celebrates inspirational people from within the borough

Host Sue Delaney with the Sing! Littleborough Choir

More than 200 people attended the prestigious awards ceremony celebrating the achievements of amazing people, clubs and organisations working in sport and culture across Rochdale borough over the last 12 months.

Taking place at Middleton Arena, with Rochdale’s very-own star of stage and screen, Sue Devaney, as the guest host for the evening, a total of 16 awards were presented on the night to celebrate the rich diversity of skill, dedication and commitment shown day-to-day by local people.

Nominees attending on the night had been shortlisted from the wide range of public votes submitted. A panel of independent judges had the difficult task of selecting one winner in each category and all judges commented on the fantastic achievements of nominees over the past 12 months which did not make their job an easy one.

The full list of winners was as follows:

• Artist of the Year: Harry Meadley      
• Changing Lifestyles Recognition: Gordon Aaron
• Volunteer/Coach of the Year: Elham Afzal
• Community and Education Project: Rochdale Connections Trust - Sandretto
• Community Club of the Year: Rochdale Hornets Sporting Foundation
• Cultural Champion: Janet Emsley
• Cultural Event of the Year: Rachel Kneebone Dance Project   
• Culture and Health Award: Skylight Circus Arts
• Young Sports Achiever of the Year: Peter Reilly-Day
• Cultural Facilitator of the Year: Natalie Warren and Donna Kershaw                                         
• School Commitment to PE & Sports: Holy Family RC Primary School         
• School Commitment to Arts, Heritage and Culture: St Andrew’s C of E Primary School
• Initiative of the Year:  GM Walking Football
• Unsung Hero: Mohammed Sheraz                                
• Workforce Advocate: Shirley Waller                                                               
• Young Creative Award: Imogen Holt and Eleanor Shaw (joint winners)          

Winners from sports categories are now invited to the Greater Manchester sports awards event where sports winners from the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs come together to recognise the achievements and dedication towards physical activity and sport across the County and crown the Greater Manchester champions.             

Andy King, Chief Executive at Link4Life, the independent charity behind the awards, said: “We’re really proud to have hosted these awards again this year and it was a fantastic night, helping to shine a light on the heroes of sport and culture in this region.

“We think it’s really important to celebrate the fantastic contribution that local people, clubs and organisations make and all of this year's nominees deserve a huge amount of credit for their efforts.

"Sport and culture have the power to bring communities together and it's clear that all of this year's winners have been doing just that – they should all be really proud of their achievements and our congratulations go to all of them.”

If you know an inspirational individual, club, school  or organisation, make sure you nominate them for next years awards when nominations open early in 2020.