On Thursday 18 May, our staff and student members of the Leeds Sport partnership attended the prestigious annual Yorkshire Sports Awards. This year the awards were held in Hull and saw the Leeds Sport partnership win 3 of the 5 awards. The awards celebrate the sporting achievements of athletes, coaches, administrators and volunteers across the region involved in university sport.
The Leeds Sport partnership consists of both Leeds University Union and the Sport & Physical Activity department at the University.
The Great People Award
The University of Leeds was well represented with a finalist for all 5 awards. Matty Walsh of the activities team was the winner of the Great People Award. Matty said this was the highlight of his time in the role.
The Great Volunteer Award
Later in the evening the President of our Swimming and Water Polo Society Jade Nuttall won the Great Volunteer award. Jade has been a member of the committee for three years. She has demonstrated incredible commitment, proactivity and initiative to make her club the best it can be. We’re incredibly proud to have her representing Leeds Sport.
The Dan Porter Great Contribution Award
The final honour of the night was the prestigious Dan Porter Great Contribution Award. This award celebrates an individual or group who have faced and overcome adversity or disadvantage to positively impact others within university sport and physical activity. This fantastic award went to Netball head coach Joan Young. Joan has had an amazing impact on the lives of so many students in Leeds. In addition to her long-standing roles coaching in performance pathways, and as Head Coach of Netball Ireland, Joan has coached the University of Leeds first team since 2014. This year Joan helped the first team to reach the playoffs, beating Edinburgh to earn a sport in the Premier league, an amazing achievement. Joan has the admiration and respect of all her team.
Celebrating Sport
It was a fantastic night celebrating incredible sporting achievements and people across the city of Leeds and we extend our congratulations to all winners and nominees. We can’t wait for the BUCS national conference and hope the partnership can receive further acknowledgements there.
