THE cream of the county came together to honour and highlight all that is good with local amateur sport at the annual Lancashire Sports Awards.

More than 400 people attended the prestigious ceremony which are now in their 14th year and were once again staged at Preston’s Guild Hall.

Olympic Games medal-winning gymnast Beth Tweddle was the guest of honour but the real stars of the show were those who had been nominated for the nine categories up for grabs.

And once again East Lancashire featured heavily on the roll of honour winning four categories and picking up six highly commended awards.

St Michael’s Chorley were named Secondary School of the Year for its role in encouraging pupils to join local clubs that the school is linked with, such as Chorley Infernos and LSA Netball teams.

The school promotes all aspects of sport regardless of physical ability, offering roles as officials and coaches to children who might not see their future in practical performance.

It also have a number of Young Ambassadors who promote sport within the school through the Sports Council who hold an inter-tutorial competition every half term.

Anne Wignall of West Pennine Netball Club won coach of the year for her dedication to the sport which she started coaching in more than 20 years ago.

Anne is looking to develop the club further by completing the silver club accreditation process and taking the role of volunteer officer, who supports new volunteers and coaches coming into the club.

On top of that, she also does a lot of the secretary work at the club while she also mentors young girls to get them interested in the sport.

The judges were impressed with Anne’s passion for the sport and all the work she does with schools, charities and organisations in the community to give as many people as possible to opportunity to get involved with netball. Burnley got its moment in the spotlight at both ends of the age scale as Megan Riley and Frank Entwistle were named young and adult volunteer of the year respectively.

Megan has completed over 200 hours working in her community in the last 10 months by volunteering at Burnley Leisure’s Holiday club, as well as Step2it female only fitness sessions and Active Streets project which focuses on engaging young people at risk of committing ASB and Crime.

She also assists lead coaches in the delivery of each session and helps take registers and collect money.

For more than 30 years, Frank has dedicated his time to Lowerhouse Cricket Club - both as a player and an official. Despite being in full time employment, he is company secretary, membership secretary, raffle, events and tea room co-ordinator, raising five figure sums for the club in support of its cricket programme.

Alongside the winners came those who picked up highly commended awards and again they were spread out across the east of the county.

St Bedes High School were commended for the school forming as the Hub for many sporting clubs within the community, meaning it has strong links with local clubs, providing clear pathways for children and young adults to participate as performers, leaders, officials or volunteers.

Sally Woods, from Oswaldtwistle, received a Highly Commended award the Adult volunteer of the Year Award for her work with Ossy Joggers running group.

Thanks to her hard work Sally regularly has between by 25 and people attending each session.

Recently, she has introduced the Couch to 5km programme, making sure that people of all abilities are able to get involved in the group.

Astley and Buckshaw FC from Chorley were one of the ‘runners-up’ in the Community Club of the Year category as was Joshua Walne from Burnley for services to disability sport.

Astley and Buckshaw were acknowledged for the way the club has flourish since it was founded in 2004 underlined most recently by being named Lancashire FA Charter Standard Club of the Year.

Josh has been selected by the UK Sports Association as a UK ambassador for people with learning disabilities, giving him the opportunity to promote and publicise participation in sport by people with a learning disability.

He also dedicates his time to volunteer on the Danny Ings disability project, coaching football to people with disabilities.

Anelia Afsar from Burnley was highly commended in the Young Achievers category and she has already proved she can be a star of the future.

The talented teenager is Commonwealth taekwondo champion, a member of the GB squad and is on the Olympic 2020 Programme.

And Thorn Primary School were also shortlisted for the primary school award.

The Rossendale school runs a year six sports leadership programme where pupils organise and officiate competitions while all key Stage 2 children also have a PE Portfolio, which records achievements and successes as an individual and as part of a team.

Adrian Leather, Chief Executive of Lancashire Sport Partnership, paid his respect to each and everyone of those who had gathered.

“We believe that sport and physical activity enhances health and well-being so we are delighted to celebrate and reward those who contribute to our region’s growing reputation in sport,” he said.

Heather Tierney Moore, Chief Executive of awards sponsors Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust added: “Being active and involved in sport not only improves physical health, it has a powerful effect on mental health too.

“We want to recognise all the great work being done in Lancashire to not only celebrate sporting achievements but to encourage people from all walks of life to get involved in sport.”