Nominations for the Orkney Sports Awards are now open!

Nominations for the prestigious Orkney Sports Awards 2023 are now open, giving people living in Orkney the opportunity to shine a light on outstanding individuals or teams who have demonstrated remarkable dedication and success in their respective sports.

The Orkney Sports Awards, organised by Orkney Islands Council’s Active Schools team and sponsored by Stagecoach, celebrate and recognise the county’s vast sporting achievement over the past year.

Nominations can now be made up until midnight on Sunday, November 19th, with the public urged to get their vote in for the nine categories, including sportsperson, team, coach, official and volunteer, as soon as possible.

To nominate through the Council website please go to: www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/OrkneySportsAwards2023/

In addition, The Orcadian will run nomination forms for the next three editions, which can be sent by email to the Active Schools team, by private message to the Active Schools Orkney Facebook page or by post to Education, Leisure and Housing, Orkney Islands Council, Kirkwall, KW15 1NY.

The awards night will take place on January 26th, 2024.

One of the organisers, Catherine Johnson, of Active Schools, said: “The Orkney Sports Awards showcases our exceptional sporting community, but these awards are nothing without your nominations,”

“Celebrating and recognising achievement and success is essential, and Orkney has an abundance of deserving athletes, teams, officials, coaches and volunteers who deserve to see their names and achievements highlighted on a grand stage.

“I urge the Orkney public to do as they’ve always done with these Awards and support them by submitting the names of those folk they believe are deserving of recognition.”

Ms Johnson added: “We have received fantastic backing from our main sponsor Stagecoach, which is greatly appreciated, and we also receive huge support from individual companies who have sponsored each award.

“Having this support is vital and I must thank each sponsor and all those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to pull the event together.”

Gwenda Shearer, Chair of the Council's Education Leisure and Housing Committee, added:

“The Orkney Sports Awards are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the dedication and sporting achievements of Orcadians, whether as an athlete, a coach, a volunteer or as a team.

“We are very lucky to have so many talented and dedicated people in Orkney who are worthy of recognition and who come from all over the county, particularly as we look ahead to hosting the International Island Games in 2025.

“So if you know someone or some people who you believe deserve an award please head to the Council’s website and nominate them – it's quick and easy to do, and a great way to show your appreciation to those in sport in Orkney you believe go above and beyond.”

The full list of categories are as follows: ‘Sportsperson of the Year’, ‘Young Sportsperson of the Year (18 and under)’, ‘Team of the Year’, ‘Young Team of the Year (18 and under)’, ‘Coach of the Year’, ‘Young Volunteer of the Year (25 years and under)’, ‘Official of the Year’, ‘Volunteer of the Year’ and ‘School Sports Volunteer of the Year’.