Hartlepool stalwart honoured at Hartlepool Sports Council Awards

Keith Thomas, the chair of Hartlepool & District Sports Council, was presented with the award for his contribution to both the council and Hartlepool Table Tennis Club.

Promising teenage athlete Scott Temple was crowned overall Sports Personality of the Year in the event at Hartlepool College of Further Education.

Carl Jorgeson, the chief executive of Hartlepool Sport and trustee of event co-sponsor the PFC Trust, said: "We were thrilled to be able to run our first face-to-face Sports Council Awards since 2019.

“There was concern that the event would be cancelled due to special Covid measures but thankfully we were able to run an event this year.

"We just couldn't invite as many clubs, volunteers and athletes as we would have liked to.

“The committee received an incredible number of nominations from across local sport, so they had some very tough decisions to make.

“We were really pleased to honour our chairman, Keith Thomas. He was rewarded for over 50 years of service to local sport at every level.

“Keith has been a mentor for many local sport and business leaders.”

Read more: 11 pictures from the 2021 Hartlepool Sports Council Awards evening

As a key member of Hartlepool Athletics Club, Scott was selected for the England & British Athletics Youth Talent Programme and has already secured the Indoor Nationals qualification time for 2022.

Earlier this year he claimed silver at the 400m and bronze in the 800m at the North-East Championships as well as silver at the Northern Championships.

Hartlepool Cricket Club’s Emily Sirs claimed the Primary School Sports Person of the Year.

Lewin Tubuna (Manilla Cycling), Toby Parker (Hartlepool Swimming Club) and William Gowler (Middlesbrough Swimming Club) were the joint winners of the secondary school equivalent.

Hartlepool Cricket Club’s success across multiple teams and in the prestigious Kerridge Cup earned them the Outstanding Club of the Year title.

The Outstanding Team of the Year was awarded to the Phoenix Kickboxing World Cup side.

Phoenix’s brilliant Peter Gale also won the Keith Hewitson Volunteer of the Year while Hartlepool Referees’ Association’s Gary Beswick earned a Services to Sport award.

John Spence was crowned the Coach of the Year for his brilliant achievements with Hartlepool Athletics .

Support your Mail and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news, the latest football stories and new puzzles every day.

With a digital subscription, you can see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.