BOBBY HONOURED WITH NEW BURSARY

The late Bobby Platt watches the rowing events from the London 2012 Olympic Games in Coleraine town centre. Picture Margaret McLaughlin

The Bobby Platt Bursary will award £400 to the development of a team within local sports clubs affiliated to the Council.

The Coleraine Sports Council committee voted to introduce the new bursary at a meeting in September.

Chairman Stephen Graham said he fully endorsed the new financial reward and said Bobby would have been an enthusiastic advocate of developing sports teams.

“I worked with Bobby for many years through rowing and in fact it was he who took me along to my first Sports Council meeting.

“Bobby loved working with young people so it’s fitting that the bursary will go towards the development of junior teams in the area.”

Bobby passed away in March this year at the age of 94 after being involved with Bann Rowing Club since the early 1940s, firstly as an oarsman and then as a coach and administrator.

He was a Coleraine Inst Boat Club coach, bringing through Olympic Games medallists Alan Campbell and Richard Chambers and also World bronze medallist Richard Archibald.

Winner of the BBC Sport Unsung hero award in 2009, Bobby first captained the Bann club in 1959 and again from 1972 to 1983.

Coleraine Sports Council is inviting applications for the Bobby Platt Bursary as well as the Harry Gregg, Harry McCormick and Jim Watt bursaries - with £400 available for each.

Application forms are available from Leisure Services at Causeway Coast and Glens Council at Cloonavin. The closing date for applications is Friday, November 30.

The innaugural Causeway Coast and Glens Sports Awards will take place in the Lodge Hotel this Saturday from 7.30pm. Tickets are available from Cloonavin.