Last night saw the inclusion of Ospreys in the Community awards at the Ospreys End of Season Awards Dinner for the first time.
Last night Ospreys in the Community and Ospreys Rugby wereable to recognise and reward people and organisations from across Ospreylia with the introduction of three special new awards.
Community Club of the Year
Nominees:
Morriston RFC
Tondu RFC
Vardre RFC
Winner:
Tondu RFC
Joe Davies, WRU Rugby Coordinator - Ospreys West, remarked on the Waterwheelers win:
“Across Ospreylia we have so many fantastic clubs, and people who work tirelessly to keep them going, which was reflected in the many nominations OitC received for the Club of the Year. It was a tough job to narrow them down but Tondu RFC stood out to the judges for how far they have come. From a very tough time in their history they have worked so hard to get back on track both on field and off field. Their efforts to become sustainable whilst also providing quality rugby and teams for all ages means they are worthy winners of this brand new award.”
Community School of the Year
Nominees:
Alderman Davies Church in Wales Primary School
Cefn Cribwr Primary School
Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen
Winner:
Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen
Dorian Evans, TACKLE Co-ordinator, frequently works with CCYD and commented on their win:
“Through our various education programmes we are fortunate to work with a lot of wonderful schools across the region who really put their all into their relationship with us. CCYD are a prime example of this and deserving winners of School of the Year having been incredibly supportive of both Ospreys in the Community and rugby in many different ways this season.
“They have an excellent Hub Officer who works hard to provide rugby for boys and girls throughout the school and they have fantastic links with local clubs, our other winners tonight Tondu RFC, have used their facilities to train on occasion.
“CCYD have also been part of our TACKLE programme and they put a huge amount of effort into it, taking up all opportunities offered to them and hosting other TACKLE students at the school. The school also gave us access to facilities free of charge for us to host special rugby sessions for brain trauma clinic patients for which we are very grateful”
Community Ospreys Player of the Year
Nominees:
Lloyd Ashley
Tom Habberfield
Rhodri Jones
Winner:
Lloyd Ashley
Tom Sloane, Community Co-ordinator OitC, on the award and it’s winner:
“We are exceptionally lucky to have fantastic support from the Ospreys players, and management, when it comes to community engagement and supporting the work we do. The squad have done over 1,000 appearances with us this season and we wanted an opportunity to recognise the players for this with this new award.
“Our winner Lloyd Ashley is someone who we know we can always rely on and will throw himself into any appearance whether it’s a Q&A at a school or getting involved with the coaching at our Club Nights. The effort he puts in always goes above and beyond and he is invariably the last person to leave any appearance, even staying later than staff on occasion! He doesn’t do this for notoriety or for recognition, but just to help the next generation and is a wonderful role model for the children.”
Paul Whapham, Foundation Manager Ospreys in the Community, commented on the new awards:
“Ospreys in the Community are delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate the fantastic community we have here in Ospreylia for the first time at the Ospreys End of Season Awards Dinner. It’s such a prominent platform to be able to say thank you to the schools, clubs and people who work with us as an organisation, and independently, to promote rugby, education and the Ospreys around the region.
“It was a tough job for the staff and board members of Ospreys in the Community to pick our winners which just goes to show the quality of the people and organisations that we are lucky enough to work with here in Ospreylia.
“I’d like to congratulate the winners of our three brand new awards this evening, they are fully deserving of the recognition and truly embody the values of community, rugby and education that are so important to us as an organisation.”
Andrew Millward, Managing Director Ospreys Rugby, added:
“Having the opportunity to recognise, and reward, the people and organisations who make up the fantastic community we have here in our region was incredibly important to the Ospreys, so we’re delighted to have these three new award categories this evening.
“Be it schools or clubs, they are the ones who create and shape the future of rugby in Wales and develop the players who will one day pull on the Ospreys shirt and represent the region, or be the volunteers and workers who make the game happen at all levels week to week.
“At Ospreys we’re very lucky to have Ospreys in the Community, who have developed these new awards, working alongside us and being the feet on the ground connecting with, and building relationships with the clubs and schools around the region. They have grown significantly since their inception just under three years ago, and the work they do really is second to none.”