First 4 Numbers sponsors Female Coach of the Year 2008
31 October 2008
PRESS RELEASE WOMEN IN RUNNING FOR TOP SPORTS AWARDThree coaches are in the running for an award which recognises the women who work tirelessly on the sporting sidelines to inspire success.The Sports Council for Wales has today unveiled the shortlist for the 2008 Female Coach of the Year category which is sponsored by First 4 Numbers.The winners will be announced at the Welsh Institute of Sport in Cardiff on Wednesday 26th November, 2008. The award will see a leading athletics coach from Deeside go head to head against a squash guru from Porthcawl and the driving force behind junior rowing in Cardiff.First 4 Numbers is championing the award by sponsoring the category. The company, formerly T&J Printers, has been in the business of producing event numbers in Wales since 1985. With extensive stocks and modern digital printing processes, they supply events which range from local competitions to the London Marathon.
FEMALE COACH OF THE YEAR Sponsored by First4Numbers DENISE HARRIS, ATHLETICS Buckley
- Specialising in high jump and pole vault, she has helped her athletes to soar this year.
- Daniel Hodgson is currently Welsh no.1 at Under 17s level while Rebecca Davies became Welsh Schools Under 17s Pole Vault Champion and is currently ranked sixth in the UK
- At under 15s level, Lucy Walston sits at the no.3 spot in the UK
- She is the secretary of Deeside AAC and has been a longstanding Welsh Athletics official She came into the sport as a parent and became the lead jumps coach for North Wales. She is highly respected as she develops athletes to their full potential in what is a relatively new discipline for the younger age groups.
CHRISTINA REES, SQUASH Porthcawl –finalist last year
- She is coach to a range of elite squads aged from under 11s upwards.
- Under her wing, the Wales Under 13 and Under 15 mixed teams won the Home Internationals in March 2008
- At the English Junior Inter County Competition, all age groups achieved third place.
- She was a finalist in last year’s Sports Council for Wales Female Coach of the Year.
- She is the highest qualified and the most talented female squash coach in Wales.
- She has trained and mentored more than 100 coaches in South Wales
SARAH THOMAS, ROWING Cardiff
- She has been the driving force behind junior rowing in Cardiff, building an infrastructure that caters for juniors aged from 11-18 and providing a pathway for athletes from grassroots through to the national team
- She has nurtured and supported three junior boys who have been selected to the Wales team this year – one of them took bronze at the British National Championships
- She organised a training camp in France which featured 19 juniors, six seniors and four coaches
- She puts in excess of 20 hours a week to coach and to plan and mentor her team of five coaches - all of which have qualified under her guidance.
- She is also a coaching representative for Cardiff and has also been the first female captain and chairman in Llandaff Rowing Club’s history. She has raised the bar for junior rowing in Cardiff whilst raising her family and running her business
- For further information or requests for interviews with any of the candidates, please contact Jane Williams at the Sports Council for Wales on 029 2033 8274 / jane.williams@scw.org.uk
