Member Article

Annual Snowsports Award Ceremony Recognises Top Individuals

This year’s second Annual Snowsports Awards Ceremony – hosted by National Governing Body, Snowsport Scotland – was recently held at Snow Factor in Braehead, Glasgow in an aim to recognise and appreciate the many hard working volunteers and individuals who have made, and continue to make, a real positive impact to snowsports in Scotland.

Held on the back of the organisation’s Annual Summit – which brings together the snowsport community to share ideas regarding improvements to the various snowsport disciplines - the event was first launched last year as part of Snowsport Scotland 50th anniversary celebrations. The evening was a huge success with some very notable nominees and winners within the four categories and a guest appearance from professional snowboarder Jenny Jones, who held an insightful question and answer session.

Categories included Coach of the Year, which was awarded to Gavin Carruthers, a highly motivated coach, who has worked with Lothian Ski Racing Association (LSRA) for the last 15 years. Gavin has made a very notable contribution to coaching, always ensuring that every racer achieves their top potential, whilst also working hard to identify new opportunities to improve the quality of the coaching and ski racing experience as a whole.

Snowsports Person of the Year was awarded to Di Gilbert who has spearheaded the development of Ski Mountaineering racing, through SKIMO Scotland, from the initial concept right through to what it is now – a recognised premier series of events taking place at a number of key venues in Scotland. Di has also worked hard to promote the attendance throughout the race series which has involved a considerable amount of effort and promotional activity.

James Paxton, was awarded Volunteer of the Year. James is an active coach with Gordon Skies, Chief of Championships for the Gordon Skiers Open and Chief of Race for the Bairns Race.

Jane Campbell Morrison, CEO at Snowsport Scotland commented, “Volunteers play a vital role in the snowsports community and James is a key example of this, the success of the Gordon Skiers Open and Bairns and BASS races is majorly down to his hard work and commitment and it is not going unnoticed”.

And finally, the Snowsport Scotland Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to Lew Grant who began skiing in the 60s at Cairngorm Mountain and subsequently becoming a Non-Executive Director of Cairngorm Chairlift Company Ltd. He also played a key role in the creation of the Scottish Schools Ski Association as well as creating the first system of recoding all races in Alpine disciplines - a major and notable development within Alpine skiing.

Speaking about the event, Jane commented, “It’s extremely important for us to demonstrate to the wider snowsports community that Snowsport Scotland appreciates and recognises all of the hard work individuals put into snowsports, whether it be in coaching, volunteering, performance or just having a general passion for the sport. The Annual Awards Ceremony is a great way for us to demonstrate this and we will continue to host this event year on year”.

Snowsport Scotland is the national governing body (NGB) for snowsports throughout Scotland. The organisation aims to facilitate and encourage participation in snowsports whilst building and supporting a strong club coaching structure. They help to deliver top quality coach and instructor training programmes which aid the development and nurturing of Scottish and Great British snowsport athletes.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Scarab4 .