Warren Gatland picked up the Coach of the Year award while Leigh Halfpenny won the public vote to claim the BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year accolade for 2013.
For Gatland, it comes days after he was given the top award at the UK Coaching Awards.
Named Lions’ man of the series after he broke the record for scoring the most points in a test series, full-back Halfpenny finished ahead of Gareth Bale, Aled Sion Davies, Non Stanford and Becky James in the BBC Cymru Wales vote.
Sport Wales and BBC Cymru Wales joined forces for the first time to create the country’s biggest annual sporting celebration. The Wales Sport Awards were held at the Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff.
Other outstanding achievements in Welsh sport were honoured at the event:
The winners of the other awards are:
- Team of the Year – Welsh Rugby Union team
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Cliff Jones (football)
- Volunteer of the Year – Liz Slater
- Young Volunteer of the Year – Kat Lovett
- Young Coach of the Year – Sian Lewis
- Carwyn James Junior Sportsman of the Year – Matthew Parry
- Carwyn James Junior Sportswoman of the Year – Adele Nicoll
- Coach to disabled people – Keith Rollinson
- Unsung Hero – Paul Scarfi
- Community Coach of the Year – Edward Thompson
The Team of the Year went to the Welsh Rugby Union team who became the first since 1979 to retain the Six Nations title.
Welsh football legend Cliff Jones was given the Lifetime Achievement award. Jones, capped 59 times, played in the 1958 World Cup Finals and in the famous Spurs double-winning side of 1961.
Welsh cycling stalwart, Liz Slater from Powys, picked up the Volunteer of the Year award, while Kat Lovett picked up the Young Volunteer of the Year title for her work in boosting female football at Treowen Stars in Caerphilly.
Twenty-three year-old Sian Lewis, who oversees all business and coaching operations at Neath Afan Gymnastics Club, took the Young Coach of the Year title.
The Carwyn James Sportsman of the Year prize was taken by Matt Parry, who is based in Cardiff and has progressed in a matter of years from Go Karting champion to winning this season’s Formula Renault NEC Championship.
Adele Nicoll, the 17-year-old shot putt and discus thrower from Welshpool won the Carwyn James Sportswoman of the Year. This year she collected the Under-17 junior Welsh and UK and English shot putt titles, as well as the Welsh junior discus crown.
Sailing coach Keith Rollinson picked up the award for top Coach to disabled people for helping get people suffering with multiple sclerosis out on the water.
Newport-based Paul Scarfi is a volunteer coach who manages the Welsh Dragons team, which has competed at the Homeless World Cup. After winning the BBC Cymru Wales Unsung Hero award, Paul will now go on to represent Wales in the UK final, which will be announced during BBC Sports Personality of the Year on BBC One Wales on Sunday night, 15 December.
To complete the list of winners – Edward Thompson, the pole vault coach who has trained a host of Welsh champions and even built his own mobile vault runway to win the Community Coach of the Year.
Chair of Sport Wales, Professor Laura McAllister says: “The calibre of the winners and finalists really give an indication of the standard of Welsh sport at the moment. We are a nation of just three million people but a nation where sport defines its people – it is a fundamental part of our DNA.
“These are the role models that we want the Welsh public to follow to help us bring through the next generation of young sportspeople and show them how to find their personal podium, whether that be in sport, in work, or in life more generally.”
Rhodri Talfan Davies, Director, BBC Cymru Wales says: “Last night was a moment to celebrate the very best in Welsh sport. It was inspiring to see so many different sports represented – from sailing and gymnastics to football and athletics. The new Wales Sport Awards are a unique opportunity to fire the imagination of a new generation of sport stars.”
For more information visit walessportawards.org.uk.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/41861/
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