The winners of the Variety Disability Sports Awards – the UK’s only annual sports awards for people with disabilities – have been announced.
Hosted by Variety, the Children’s Charity, an inspiring awards evening at @sohoplace Theatre in London celebrated and championed the achievements of disabled sportspeople, from emerging talents to outstanding individuals and teams.
Comedian and presenter Adam Hills MBE (pictured above) hosted the awards and was joined by a number of inspiring sportspeople and celebrities including one of Britain’s most decorated Paralympians, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson.
From disabled athletes running into the record books, to the first female adaptive boxer and coach for the World Boxing Council, the twelve accomplished winners included:
• ECB Award for Rising Star – para-standing tennis player Georgia Routledge
• Yoo Capital Award for Innovation - Every Body Moves – powered by Toyota
• Access Card Award for Outstanding Team Achievement - PR2 2x (Gregg Stevenson & Lauren Rowles) who claimed a thrilling Paralympic gold in the mixed double sculls in Paris
• Dreams Award for Inspiration - Lloyd Martin (pictured above), the youngest known person with Downs Syndrome to complete the London Marathon
• Glaukos Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement – Paralympian Stephen Miller for his incredibly illustrious career in disabled sport
• The Kartik Foundation Award for Unsung Hero - Luiz Faye, a pioneering figure in adaptive boxing
· American Golf Award for Unsung Hero - Mark Dewdney (65) for his invaluable dedication to adaptive rowing
· Variety Award for Lifetime Achievement - Dame Sarah Storey
· Channel 4 Award for Lifetime Achievement - Sophie Christiansen CBE (pictured above right with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson)
· Variety International Award – Australian Paralympic athlete Rhiannon Clarke
· LTA Award for Sports Icon – Tennis multi-Grand Slam champion Alfie Hewett OBE
· @sohoplace Award for Charity Champion – Adaptive golfer George Blackshaw
“The Variety Disability Sports Awards was an opportunity to celebrate the remarkable achievements of disabled sportspeople across the UK – including those at a grassroots level through to those on the biggest stage of all, the Paralympics – and it was an incredibly inspiring event,” said Laurence Guinness, CEO of Variety.
“We have made some important steps forward when it comes to making UK sport more diverse and inclusive, but there is no doubt we have a long way to go.
“Variety’s Voices for Change campaign spotlights the challenges faced by disabled and disadvantaged children who want to participate in sports, which must change.
“The launch of this campaign, off the back of another successful Variety Disability Sports Awards, will help to amplify disabled and disadvantaged children’s voices and experiences, advocating for increased funding and access to sport in the UK."
Variety’s ‘Voices for Change’ campaign is grassroots advocacy campaign aimed at breaking down barriers that prevent disabled children from low-income families from accessing sports and physical activities.
To find out more and support the campaign visit www.variety.org.uk/how-can-we-help/voices-for-change/
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