Sussex Sport Awards 2024: Pictures and report as winners are named at ceremony Sussex CCC

The annual awards took place on Thursday, November 28 at the 1st Central Ground, home to Sussex County Cricket Club in Hove. Anthony Statham, interim CEO of Active Sussex, said: “The entries for this year’s Sussex Sport & Physical Activity Awards have been nothing short of outstanding.

"It’s inspiring to see so many individuals, clubs, and organisations across the region making a real difference in the lives of others through sport and physical activity.

"Each entry represents a commitment to improving health, building community, and breaking down barriers to participation. What’s clearis that everyone involved is united by one shared goal: getting Sussex moving.

"It’s a privilege to celebrate the incredible efforts of all those working to create a healthier, more active future for our communities.”

The Active Hastings PCN project team won the Health Improvement category thanks to its work with the Primary Care Network.

Team members Jas Gray, Sarah Ruusuvuori, and Emma Bailey have helped develop health professionals' awareness of the importance of physical activity, creating a strong partnership with Hastings and St Leonards PCN and encouraging people with long-term health conditions or disabilities to get active.

Runners-up included another Active Hastings team - The Active Hastings Adult Weight Management Team, which included Heidi Tambeh, Paul McCleery, and Linda Wallace.

Dwayne Clevett, from Cancer United, based in West Sussex, also narrowly missed out on the award.

Lewes Football Club was named as the winner of the Environmental Sustainability Award. It has been a big year for the club and its environmental journey, launching a successful reusable cup scheme and preventing more than 10,000 single-use plastic cups from going to Newhaven Incinerator.

The club has supported electric car charger installations and a bike rack, operates a ‘pay what you like’ model in the new club shop for old merchandise, and offered fans a full vegan menu as part of the Green Football Weekend. Runners-up in this category included Shoreham Football Club and 5 Ways Netball Club, in Brighton.

Little Common School, in Bexhill-on-Sea, was named Active School of the Year thanks to its work ensuring that physical education, school sport, and physical activity are central to improving attendance, attainment, behaviour, and well-being.

It is not just the pupils who benefit from the school’s focus - the pupils' families do too, thanks to its ‘Get Active’ family challenges. More than 1,400 participants participated in the last academic year, helping families meet activity targets and understand the importance of being active.

The two runners-up in this category were Goldstone Primary School, in Brighton, and Leechpool Primary School, in Horsham.

Seaford resident Sadie Mason MBE received a Special Recognition Award for her work in sport and physical activity within Sussex.

Sadie was the CEO of Active Sussex for 19 years and, during that time, helped shape the Active Partnership and its direction. Funded predominantly by Sport England, Active Sussex aims to ensure that everyone in Sussex can access the health and well-being benefits of exercise and moving more.

Scott Clark, co-founder and the Chair of Eastbourne Edge Inline Hockey Club, won the Unsung Hero Award. Aside from coaching all the youth teams, Scott plays for and coaches the seniors, runs the club behind the scenes, led community projects, all while working full-time as a teacher and dad to two children.

The nomination described Scott as someone who ‘has impacted so many others over 21 years and does it all for the love of the sport’, adding: “Eastbourne would not have an inline hockey community without his involvement.”

Matt Coyne, from Saltdean Swim and Surf Club and RunPals, and Kimberlee Cole, from Breatheasy Eastbourne, narrowly missed the win.

Tim Brown, a youth coach at Eastbourne Borough, was recognised for almost 40 years of service to football by winning the Outstanding Contribution to Sport & Physical Activity category.

Tim has been coaching children as young as three through various programmes and teams, including several pan-disability teams and soccer schools.

He recently started a Youth Disability Coaching Programme for disabled players aged 18+, teaching them how to coach youth football and play.

Runners-up were Ricardo Magee Atxukarro, from Brighton & Hove City Council, and Joanna Meacher, from Uckfield College.

Brighton-based Paralympian table tennis player Bly Twomey won the prestigious Sports Personality of the Year award, beating Paralympian David Weir CBE, who is well known for wheelchair racing and lives in Bexhill-on-Sea, and Crawley’s cycling Paralympian star Katie-George Dunlevy.

It was a hugely successful night for the Y.E.S Project and DanceHub, which works in Crawley, Brighton, and Hastings, which not only won the Community Engagement Award but also saw two of its coaches - Jade Hand and Lauren Parrott - nominated for the Rising Star award.

In the end, Jade returned home the Rising Star Award, with Lauren and Curtis Leonard, from South Coast Sports Coaching, based in Bognor Regis, just missing out.

Runners-up for the Community Engagement Award were the FMG Project youth gym in Brighton and Brighton Table Tennis Club’s HAF Programme.

However, South Coast Sports Coaching did not go home empty-handed, winning the Rix & Kay Solicitors LLP Inclusion & Diversity Award.

The Arun district ranks among the top 30 per cent of the most deprived areas nationally, and South Coast Sports has been working tirelessly to create inclusive and accessible opportunities for local children to engage in activities that enhance their physical health and mental well-being.

Runners-up in this category were Freedom Leisure and Parable Dance, based in Brighton.

To read about the awards and who else won awards on the night, visit www.activesussex.org/category/sussex-sport-physical-activity-awards/