Olympic skier Charlie Guest has triumphed at a Perthshire awards ceremony with a difference.
The annual Perth and Kinross Sports Awards was forced to go virtual because of the coronavirus lockdown.
Due to take place at the Fair City’s Dewars Centre, the popular show was instead broadcast on social media.
Organisers at Live Active Leisure were still determined to put on a show, complete with glamorous evening wear, a glitzy stage and a performance from Perth’s Adventure Circus.
The broadcast was watched by nearly 2,000 people on Facebook.
Sports development officer Laura Munro, who stood in as emergency host when Courier columnist Jim Spence had to pull out, said: “We were obviously disappointed not to host the awards as planned this year, but as a team we felt that there was still room for celebration.
“By creating a virtual ceremony we’ve given each of the eleven winners their rightful place in the spotlight, albeit virtually rather than in real life.”
Category winners found out live during Monday night’s social media broadcast, as organisers paid tribute to the efforts of all entries and shortlisted clubs and individuals.
Skier Charlie Guest. 26. was named Sports Person of the Year. Phil Coleman, Live Active’s Community Sport and Partnership Manager said: “The panel decision was a difficult one, due to the calibre of other nominees.
“Fighting back to health after breaking her back a few years ago to compete at the Olympics and then following it up with an outstanding 2019, Charlie just pipped our other exceptional finalists.”
He added: “It’s always such a great event, celebrating the amazing achievements and commitment from our local athletes, coaches, volunteers and officials, and the impact they make on sport locally, regionally and across the world.
“Once again, we received a record number of nominations which is testament to the great work going on within our communities.”
The winners
Sports Person of the Year: Charlie Guest, Skiing
Young Female SPOTY: Cerys Cairns, Netball
Young Male SPOTY: Charlie Aldridge, Cycling
Disability Sports person of the Year: Mathew Doig, Athletics
Club of the Year: Kinross Netball Club
Coach of the Year: Kevin Chisolm, Volleyball
Young Coach of the Year: James Peaty, Swimming
Volunteer of the Year: Gillian Wallace, Golf
Official of the Year: Gordon Crawford, Football
Chuck Hay Team of the Year: Perth Phoenix U16 Girls Basketball Team
School Team of the Year: Perth High School Cross Country Team
George Mortimer Service to Sport Award: Alex Phillips, Weightlifting
