Glasgow, Scotland – UK special needs swim coach, Jill Stidever, has been announced as the winner of BBC’s 2014 Get Inspired Unsung Hero Award. Stidever was recognized as the winner at the 2014 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards Ceremony held in Glasgow on December 14th.
The honor, which recognizes those individuals within the UK who inspire others in sport through remarkable achievement, was awarded to 77-year-old Stidever for her extensive work spanning 60 years helping “children with disabilities learn to swim, with three of her swimmers going on to compete at the Paralympic Games.” (BBC Sports)
Stidever has served as the Senior Tutor (disability) for the Amateur Swimming Association and currently coaches the Leicester Penguins Swimming Club. She is credited with helping to change the perception of disabled sport and, reports the BBC, for “encouraging people to see disability swimmers as athletes.”
After receiving the award, Stidever commented, “I have got tears and it was that that was particularly special. It was also special that parents have trusted their children to me over the last few years. I’m not the most conventional but I work new ways to help them. Thank you to all those who have supported me.” (BBC Sports)
Since the award’s inception in 2003, Stidever is the second recipient to have swim-related ties. In 2005, England’s Trevor Collins earned the honor for working more than 25 years at the West Wight Swimming Club.