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ET Sports Awards 2010: Local heroes get their rewards
‘IF you believe, you can achieve.’ There can be few more meaningful sporting mantras than that, especially when delivered by one of the world’s top athletes - just as it was at the Evening Telegraph Sports Awards bash on Friday night (21 January).
From the sponsor: Fusion are proud to be headline sponsors for the Peterborough Evening Telegraph Sports Awards.
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Commonwealth Games gold medallist Louise Hazel took to the Cresset stage to collect the Sportswoman of the Year gong and insisted on having a few moments on the microphone with that simple yet rousing message to those assembled at the Bretton venue.
Back in 2000 Hazel was one of the believers when she collected the Junior Sportswoman of the Year prize. Eleven years on the 25 year-old March heptathlete is an achiever of the highest order after blowing away the Commonwealth competition in Delhi last year, but she clearly hasn’t forgotten her experiences on the long road to glory.
And Hazel wasn’t the only leading local light to make her feelings clear to the near-300 people packed into the 13th annual ET awards ceremony. Gymnastics ace Louis Smith managed it with just one word.
“Louis again had a terrific year in 2010 claiming World Championship and European Championship silver medals,” announced ET Sports Editor and compere Bob French in the build-up to the presentation of the blue-riband Sports Personality of the Year gong. “But can he go one better in London in 2012?”
“Yes,” came the confident shout for the Eye ace out in the auditorium. We’ll hold you to that, Louis.
But the undoubted star turn of the night was darts legend Martin Adams who found himself collecting trophies at a quicker rate than Katie Price gets through husbands.
First he was called up to lift the Sportsman of the Year prize for the second successive year, beating off competition from running revelation John Herbert and Phantoms ice hockey ace Maris Ziedins.
And no sooner than he had made himself comfortable back at his table, he was on his way back up again to receive yet more silverware.
This time Adams got his hands on the big one - the Sports Personality of the Year award - from sponsor Mark Speechley of Nationwide Mailing Ltd to howls of appreciation as he pipped somersaulting Smith and popular Phantoms co-owner Phil Wing to top spot.
The darting legend perfectly fits the criteria for such an accolade as a supremely high-class performer who gives that little bit extra for his chosen sport. Or in Adams’ case, a hell of a lot more.
Not only is he the holder of the two biggest titles in the BDO side of darts - the Lakeside World Championship and the Winmau World Masters - but Adams has become the face of the sport.
He is the longest-serving England captain of all-time, the most capped England player of all-time, a tremendous ambassador on and off the oche and last, but by no means least, a thoroughly nice bloke.
Those qualities clearly impressed our readers as he polled plenty of the 8,000-plus votes cast across the 10 awards categories this year.
But the biggest cheer of all was reserved for the Team of the Year category where Netherton Vultures Under 14s football team’s success clearly went down well.
The lads from The Grange added another triumph to a collection that already features the Junior Alliance Division One title and the Northants County Cup - a notoriously tough crown to win.
Those exploits were enough to see off two other young teams from ice hockey and field hockey - Phantoms Under 14s and City of Peterborough Under 15s.
The race for the top three in each of the 10 Awards categories was fast and furious as the Peterborough public got busy with their pens and texting fingers. Such is the quality and quantity on the local sporting scene these days that plenty of deserving candidates missed out altogether.
And as usual on Friday it wasn’t all serious, stiff upper lip stuff as ET guv’nor French opened the evening with his trademark gag-laden speech.
Coming up with suitable material can’t be easy for an audience ranging in age from seven to their mid-seventies - well that’s a conservative estimate on the age of local football officianado Derek Vernum and Peterborough Rugby Club president Derek Watkins, the two oldest swingers in town.
But a combination of a few classics and some naughty news headlines did the trick. Everyone from tough-nut boxing trainer Kevin Sanders to city mayor Cllr Keith Sharp were targets, although Peterborough Lions Rugby player Chris Platt undoubtedly came off worst in the comic department after being the butt of several gags.
It will be the turn of others next year though - both to pick up prizes and be the butt of the jokes.
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