07 December 2004
BBC Announce Northwest's favourite sporting personalities
BBC North West Tonight presenters Gordon Burns and Dianne Oxberry joined an
array of sports stars and guests at Manchester's Midland Hotel to announce the
winners of the BBC North West Sports Awards.
The event, now in its fourth
year, was devised to recognise sporting achievement and excellence, and with the
support of the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) they have now become
one of the highlights of the regions sporting calendar.
Steven Broomhead,
NWDA Chief Executive, believes sport is an essential part of the region:
"Sport is very important to England's Northwest. Almost 50,000 are employed
in sports-related activities in the Northwest, and sport contributes £1.14
billion annually to the regional economy.
The BBC North West Sports Awards
is an excellent way to celebrate the best and brightest sport professionals from
within the region, and the NWDA is proud to be a lead sponsor. I have been very
impressed with the standard of all the finalists which is further evidence of
the tremendous amount of sporting talent on offer here in the
Northwest."
The BBC's Head of Regional and Local Programmes in the North
West, Martin Brooks, agrees, and says the quality of sport in the region is
something which we can all be proud of: "It's been another marvellous year for
our sportsmen and women and once again they've made outstanding performances in
both national and international competitions. In 2004 Our Olympians and
Paralympians returned from Athens with a tremendous haul of medals. In the
worlds of football, cricket, rugby union and rugby league, players from North
West clubs took centre stage, proving yet again that our region is second to
none in terms of sporting achievement. This is what the BBC North West Sports
Awards are designed to recognise and celebrate".
The winners of the
thirteen awards were chosen from public votes and a panel of North West sports
journalists.
Winners
in the 13 categories were as follows:
1.
Footballer
Wayne Rooney
(Manchester United)
Steven Gerrard
(Liverpool FC)
Stelios
Giannakopoulos (Bolton Wanderers)
2. Paralympic
Achievement
Sarah Bailey
(swimmer)
Sascha Kindred
(swimmer)
Mark Ecclestone (tennis
player)
3. The Judges Award 2004 sponsored by
the NWDA
Amir Khan
(boxer)
4. Rugby Player
Andrew Farrell (Wigan Warriors
Rugby League)
Chris Jones (Sale
Sharks Rugby Union)
Paul Wellens
(St Helens Rugby League)
5. Manager/Coach
Amanda Kirby
(gymnastics)
Michael Jelley
(boxing)
Sam Allardyce (Bolton
Wanderers)
6. Olympic Achievement
Bradley Wiggins
(Cyclist)
Darren
Campbell
Amir
Khan
7. Team of the Year
Leigh Centurions Rugby League
Club
Manchester United Football
Club
St Helens Rugby
League
Bolton Wanderers
FC
8. Hall of Fame
Alex Murphy
9. North West Tonight
Award
Amir Khan
10. Radio Merseyside Award
Stephen Parry
(swimmer)
11. GMR/Manchester Evening News
Stelios Giannakopoulos (Bolton
Wanderers)
12. Radio
Lancashire
Andrew Flintoff
13. Community Club Award in
Association with Sport England
Ribble Valley Juniors Cycling and Racing Club
14.
Unsung Hero
Jean
Arnold
15. Sports Personality
Andrew
Flintoff
Ends
Issued: 6 December 2004
Further information and pictures
available from Andrew Glynn, BBC Press Office, 0161 244 489 / 07736
480378.