Club Awards 2014
To bring this year’s AGM to a close we held a short prize giving and awards ceremony. First off, prizes were awarded for this year’s Club Championships Grand Prix. Next up were the awards for the Club Cross Country Championships for the 2013/14 season.
The evening was rounded off by presenting a selection of awards for achievement and contribution to the club over the past year. As ever its tough to pick out just a few people for recognition and there was more than one contender for all these awards. If you think we missed someone, then make sure to get your nominations in next year.
Some prizes and awards have still to be distributed. We’ll be in touch soon.
Club Awards 2014
Club awards ware based on nominations from club members with the final result decided on by a panel of committee members.
Award for Best Male and Female Athlete – senior
Best Male Athlete was awarded for the second year running to Max McNeil. Despite having a stand year in 2013 Max has continued to improve this year, setting PBs in the 800, 1500, 3000, 5000, and 10000 on the track, and at the 5K, 10mile, and Half Marathon distance on the road. Other highlights include: A recent 2nd place at the Alloa East District XC League; earning a place in the Scottish team in the Airtricity Frank Duffy Memorial 10 mile Race in Dublin where he bettered his PB.
This year’s Female Athlete of the year award went to Shona Young. Shona is a prolific competitor, this year alone completing 6 Marathons (including London, New York, and Inverness), along the 53 Mile Highland Fling, a handful of Half Marathons, and more than sprinkling of other races. Topping things off, Shona picked up 2nd place in the F40 category and 5th overall in at this Years SUMS awards, and finished 2nd in the F45 category at the East District Half marathon championships in Haddington.
Also in contention were: Edel Mooney, Sarah Inglis, Yvonne Crilly, and Scott Fraser.
Award for Best Male and Female Athlete – Juniors
This year the award for Best Female Junior athlete went to Hannah Steel. Hannah improved her 800m PB by almost 20 seconds from 3:06 to 2:45 this year, and also set PBs for 100m and 200m. For the second year Hannah and gained a place in the Forth Valley League President Select match, where she set her 800m PB.
The award for Best Junior Male goes to Gavin Lafferty. Gavin demonstrated a consistent improvement in all events over the year. Another close contender for the award was Andrew Jackson.
Most Improved Athlete
This category is hard category to judge, as its often hard to compare relative improvements across different events, however after some deliberation, this years most improved athlete went to Daniel McLaughlin. Daniel has always shown a lot of promise, but this year Daniels increased commitment and drive has been obvious at training, and it has paid off. We’ll be expecting even more improvement next year.
Outstanding Contribution
Given that the club relies on a huge number of people who selflessly give up their time and energy in varying capacities throughout the year, this is always going to be a hard award to decide on. Any of our coaches would be worthy winners, but this year the award went to our coaching co-ordinator Alan Moffat. Alan was new to the role this year, and indeed new to coaching, but this award reflects the fresh approach and new ideas he brought to what can be a difficult role. I think that everyone would agree that there is a much more structured approach and planned progression to our coached sessions, and this is in no small part to Alan’s enthusiasm and effort.
A special mention has to also go to Rita Barr and Steve Cottom who also received nominations.
Award for Eendeavour and Commitment
This award was made to Cara McCafferty, recognizing her impressive commitment and attitude to training, and her reliable performance at races. While gathering views and opinions regarding these awards, it was clear that her club mates were impressed with her reliable attendance, and attitude at training and events.