An up-and-coming player in the British swimming community, the city of Manchester, hosted its Sports Awards ceremony over the weekend. The awards are aimed at recognizing the hard work of clubs, coaches, officials and volunteers across all sports who support the development of athletes and athletic opportunities throughout the previous year.
Just within the past year, Manchester played host to several key regional swimming events, including the British Masters Championships, the ASA National Age Group Water Polo Championships (U15) and the recent British Swimming Awards. Additionally, since 2013, the Manchester Aquatics center has been designated as the British Para-swimming National Performance Center.
Among the sporting awards presented at the event, rising British swimmer Jessica Fullalove saw her home club of City of Manchester Aquatics, take home the ‘Club of the Year’ recognition. Coached by Mark Rose, backstroke specialist Fullalove competed at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, bringing home 3 silver medals. Fullalove was also named to the British Podium Potential Team.
City of Manchester Aquatics expressed their appreciation on winning the award via social media, stating on Facebook, “We are proud to announce that we won Club of the Year Award 2015 at tonight’s Manchester Sports Awards ceremony. Congratulations to the entire team of coaches, volunteers & swimmers that make our club what it is.”
Additionally, both British Swimming and the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) earned the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sport in Manchester’ award.
Of the achievement, British Swimming Chief Executive David Sparkes said, “Swimming in Manchester has shown how with a clear vision and strong leadership sport can change a city.”Manchester’s programme is now one of the best in the World and with the hard work of the local coaches, volunteers and athletes, we will see Manchester go from strength to strength.”
ASA Chief Executive, Adam Paker, added, “It is an incredibly exciting time for swimming in Manchester. The local teams continue to do a fantastic job inspiring more people to swim more often, supporting talented youngsters to achieve their potential, and holding events that showcase the best in aquatics.”
You can read the full list of award winners across all sports here.