Search is on for senior sports stars

Despite a disruptive eighteen months there has been much to celebrate as our sports clubs have continued their incredible work despite the global pandemic.

Organised by the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Sports Forum in association with the Council, the annual awards recognise the wealth of sporting talent in the borough and celebrate the achievements of those who have excelled in their chosen sport, as well as recognising the invaluable contribution from our coaches and volunteers.

The awards, which will be held on Thursday 3 March 2022 in Craigavon Civic and Conference Centre, were recently launched at Ulster Carpet’s Castleisland Factory in Portadown by the Lord Mayor, Alderman Glenn Barr, Ulster Carpets Group managing director and deputy chairman, Nick Coburn, along with Edith Jamison, chair of the Sports Forum and Denise Watson U105, who will compere awards.

Speaking at the launch the Lord Mayor commented: “I am delighted to officially launch the Senior Sports Awards 2022 for the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough. The event will provide a fantastic opportunity for us as a council to acknowledge and reward the success of our athletes, teams, coaches, clubs and volunteers who deserve the recognition for all their hard work especially with all the challenges that Covid 19 has presented.

“I am also proud to welcome Ulster Carpet’s as our new headline sponsor.

“The local business has had a longstanding association with the awards and we are delighted to partner with them as the main sponsor. I look forward to a night of celebrating the exceptional talent in our borough so please be sure to nominate.”

Established in 1938 in Portadown, by George Walter Wilson, Ulster Carpets are still owned by the founder’s family and have grown to become the premier supplier of Axminster and Wilton carpets to the world market.

The company have supported the ABC Senior Sports Awards for a number of years and are thrilled to be this year’s headline sponsor.

Nick Coburn, Group managing director of Ulster Carpets, said: “Since the company was established, our ethos has been to support our local community in any way that we can. Sport plays such an important role in bringing people together from all walks of life and in instilling values such as fairness, discipline, perseverance and respect, values we also admire in our employees. We are very much looking forward to celebrating the achievements of our sports stars at the ABC Senior Sports Awards.”

Nominations are sought in the eight categories of sports person with a disability, sportswoman, sportsman, senior team, senior coach, service to sport, volunteer and club of the year. Nominees should be competing at county/regional level or above for achievements between January 2020 and December 2021 and must be over 18 at the time of competition.

Nominations will be online and must be submitted by 5pm on Friday 31 December.

For guidance notes and to nominate please visit https://www.armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk/resident/abc-sports-forum/#sportsawards

For more information on the ABC Sports Forum including Talented Athlete and Club Development Grants, as well as the Sports Bursary Scheme please visit https://www.armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk/resident/abc-sports-forum or email [email protected].