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Westleigh Basketball Club is celebrating a major victory after winning
the Club of the Year Award at the Greater Manchester Sports Awards 2007.
The club was presented with the accolade by multi medal winning
Paralympic champion Sarah Storey MBE at a glittering awards ceremony
held at the City of Manchester Stadium on Friday evening (April 11th).
The team beat off competition from nine other finalists from across
Greater Manchester to land the title at the sell out event. Head Coach
Sharon Seaton was on hand to collect the award and naturally she was
delighted.
“We are absolutely over the moon to have won,” she said. “This award is
an honour for the club, the coaches and the young volunteers that run
it. A lot of hard work goes into the club and it is fantastic to receive
recognition from across the region for what we do. I’d like to thank
everyone who has supported us and helped to make the club what it is
today.”
Westleigh Basketball Club has been a huge success since forming in 1998,
developing the skills of hundreds of local young people and
significantly increasing basketball participation levels in the local
area. The club has an excellent youth policy enrolling all over 16s on
to the Millenium Volunteers scheme or Wigan’s ‘Get Active, Get
Volunteering’ programme for over 14s. The club also includes citizenship
in its work to encourage empathy for other people and stressing the
importance of teamwork and communication.
The club has been awarded the Greater Manchester Sports Club of the Year
Award for its achievements in 2007, which include:
• Running a Sunday basketball league enabling 13 to 16 year-old boys and
girls with little or no basketball experience to take up the game.
• Establishing a team in the under-18s National League.
• Chairing the England Basketball Greater Manchester Club Development
Group.
• Running coaching sessions in local primary and secondary schools and
providing training to several community groups including the Youth
Offending Team, Groundwork and the Teenage Pregnancy Unit.
• Volunteer Martin Buckley winning England Basketball’s Young Volunteer
Award 2007. more.
• Securing £40,000 in grants to develop the club.
• Establishing an academy at Wigan and Leigh College.
• Two players winning places in the Manchester National League.
• Winning two silver medals at the 2007 Greater Manchester Youth Games.
• 14 young people gaining a Level 1 Refereeing Award.
• 4 young people gaining Level 2 Coaching Awards.
Westleigh Basketball Club was put forward to the Greater Manchester
Sports Awards final after winning Club of the Year at the Wigan Borough
Sports Awards, organised by Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust, earlier
this year. The other Wigan winners were also put forward to the regional
final in their respective categories. Those nominated were: Daniel
Greaves (Sports Achiever), Daniel Dawoud (Disabled Sports Achiever),
Martin Buckley (Volunteer in Sport), Lee Glynn (Coach of the Year) and
Jo Riches (Wilf Brogan Unsung Hero in Sport)
Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust Sports Development Officer Lizzie
Hendley said: “It is a great honour for a Wigan Borough team to win this
award and I’d like to congratulate everyone at Westleigh Basketball Club
on this fantastic achievement. Grass roots sport is flourishing in Wigan
Borough thanks to the dedication of volunteers at fantastic clubs like
Westleigh Basketball, boosting the health of the area and nurturing
young talent that in some cases is going on to represent the region and
the nation.”
The Greater Manchester Sports Awards are organised by Greater Sport. For
further information visit
www.greatersport.co.uk
-ends-
Notes to editors
• For further information please contact Phil Green, Wigan Council
Public Relations Officer, on (01942) 827369.
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