A glittering shortlist of contenders has been revealed for the 2016 AngusAlive Sports Awards 2016.
After what the judging panel described as “an extremely difficult task”, a flood of almost 90 high-quality nominations has been whittled down to three contenders in each of the nine categories.
Forfar’s Reid Hall will host the awards ceremony on Thursday March 9, when the successor to 2015 Sports Personality of the Year, bowler Ryan Burnett, and the category winners will be announced.
In the running for the top gong are tennis sensation Jonny O’Mara, taekwondo star Catriona Steele and international triathlete Andrew Woodroffe.
Arbroath’s Jonny and his doubles partner Scott Clayton concluded 2016 in epic style by clinching their eighth ITF title of the year and 10th career title.
Edzell mum-of-four Catriona won two gold medals at the ITF Taekwondo World Cup in Budapest, overcoming the challenge of top fighters from Poland, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada.
Triathlete Andrew, from Forfar, competed in the World Championships in Mexico where he finished second-fastest Brit in the sprint and third Brit in the Olympic race.
The junior sports personality of the year award is set to be one of the most hotly-contested classes, with a trio of record-breaking youngsters in highly differing fields vying for glory.
Carnoustie High School athlete Joel McFarlane smashed the Scottish Boys’ pentathlon record during his impressive year; Letham racing driver Sandy Mitchell became the youngest ever winner in the British GT Championship and Arbroath’s Sophie Smith swam her way to a string of titles at top competitions.
In contention for the new Club of the Year honour are Arbroath Shotokan Karate Club, Brechin Beavers Swimming Club and Carnoustie Panmure Football Club.
Shortlisted in the other award categories are: Coach of the Year: Robert Christie – Lawn Bowls; Scott Haxton – Swimming; Garry Johnston – Powerchair Football.
Team of the Year (sponsored by Angus Community Sports Hubs): Arbroath High School open girls basketball team; Links Park Community Trust – Montrose walking football team; Tayside Dynamos powerchair football team
School Sport Volunteer of the Year (sponsored by Angus Active Schools and Radio Tay Cash for Kids): Caroline Kerr – dance; Chris Kettles – football; Kelvin Walling – basketball/rugby
Sports Personality of the Year Award for People with a Disability (sponsored by National Oilwell Varco): Courtney Bernard – swimming; Greg Clark – football; Gemma Lumsdaine – wheelchair sports.
Service to Sport Award: Rhona Alston – tennis; Philip Hope – football; Elinor Phillips – equestrian.
Club Volunteer of the Year Award (sponsored by Special Olympics Scotland): Murray Dalgety – swimming; Lynda Sim – netball; Mary Towns – running.
