Shropshire’s finest international athletes receive recognition awards
Shropshire Council hosted the John Beswick International Awards Evening on Tuesday 27 February 2018. During the evening 33 of Shropshire’s finest international athletes received recognition awards of their achievements.
The Guest of Honour was Darren Edwards, who is a member the Great Britain Paracanoe squad. Darren is the founder of a blog series and sports charity called ‘Strength Through Adversity’.
Darren said:-
“It was an honour to be the Guest Speaker at Shropshire Schools Sports & Athletics Association (SSSAA) presentation evening. It was amazing to see the rich amount of sporting talent that we have in Shropshire, and it was an absolute privilege to present each individual with their award. I wish all of the athletes the best of luck for the future.”
Among the awards that were given out included the Derek Hayward Primary School Sport Award which was won by Prestfelde School U11 Boys cricket team, and the John Beswick Secondary School Team Award which was won by Thomas Telford’s U12 Boys Football Team.
Thomas Telford U12 Boys football team, who won the John Beswick team award. One the far left – Maureen Powell. On the far right – Derek Hayward MBE. Both are executive committee members of SSSAA.
Long Service Awards were also presented to Andy Barnard for services to schools cricket, Colin Lancaster for services to schools athletics, and Lisa Williams for her services to schools athletics.
This event was organised in conjunction with SSSAA, which is the umbrella organisation for 15 county schools sports associations. This association supports inter-area competitions and county schools representative teams, as well as providing financial support for general administration and transport costs. The SSSAA is celebrating its 65th year this year and it was fitting that Maureen Powell was in attendance to present one of the awards. Maureen was one of the founder members of the SSSAA in 1953.
Lezley Picton, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for culture and leisure, said:-
“This was a great evening which was well attended by the winners and their families, as well as representatives from Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin schools, county sports associations and Shropshire Council. It is great to highlight the talent within our county, and it is always an honour to attend this presentation evening and to hear about their successes.”
