Awards winners revealed on celebratory night of #GreatCoaching

The winners of the 2018 UK Coaching Awards have been revealed.

The showpiece annual event, which is seen as one of the most prestigious by the coaching community, took place at The Honourable Artillery Company, London on Thursday 29 November 2018. 

This year’s event, which saw a record number of nominations, continued UK Coaching’s celebration of great coaching, which commenced earlier this year with the UK’s first ever Coaching Week. 

The winners of the 2018 UK Coaching Awards are:

• Awards for coaches
• The following categories have been awarded to coaches:
• Children’s Coach of the Year – supported by sportscotland
• Ady Gray (Karate) (Wetherby)
• Community Coach of the Year – supported by Sport England
• Lee Coulson BEM (Multi-sport) (Aberystwyth) 
• Disability Coach of the Year
• Melanie Timberlake (Multi-sport) (Aylesbury)
• Heather Crouch Young Coach of the Year – supported by Youth Sport Trust
• Izzy Cottrell (Multi-sport) (Chesterfield) 
• High Performance Coach of the Year
• Matthew Lawrence (Paracanoe) (Nottingham)
• Lifetime Achievement Award
• Peter Stanley (Athletics) (Loughborough)
• Talent Development Coach of the Year
• Francesca Lewis (Tennis) (Swansea)
• Awards in support of coaches
• The following categories have been awarded in support of coaches:
• Coach Developer of the Year
• Richard Cheetham MBE (Multi-sport) (Winchester)
• Coaching Culture Organisation of the Year
• British Canoeing (Nottingham)
• Coaching for an Active Life Award 
• Move More Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland)
• Transforming Coaching through Technology – supported by Reading Room
• Project 500 (Kent)
• Great Coaching Moment of the Year

Kris Stafford, Stephen Quinn and Harrison Marshall of Old Otliensians RUFC – 2018 RFU Junior Vase (Rugby Union) (Otley) won the new for 2018 Great Coaching Moment of the Year. Open to a public vote, which concluded on the night of the Awards, the Old Otliensians managed to field of stiff competition from Tracey Neville and Gareth Southgate to take the gong which celebrates a particular moment in time when a coach’s support and guidance really paid off.

Following winning the Great Coaching Moment of the Year Award, Old Otliensians Head Coach Kris Stafford said:

“This is unbelievable. It’s not just what the three of us have done, or the players, it’s the whole of Otley that have got behind us.

“We got the whole town of Otley together for a big day at Twickenham and this is just another piece in that amazing puzzle.”                    

In The Coaching Chain category, Welsh Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas’ coaches were recognised for the contribution they’ve made throughout his life. The winning coaches were Tim Kerrison, Matt Parker, Rod Ellingworth, Darren Tudor and Debbie Wharton.

Also on the night, the head coaches of GB’s gold medallists from the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games were inducted into UK Coaching’s hall of fame. 

Amanda Pirie, coach to Menna Fitzpatrick and guide Jennifer Kehoe, who won gold in the alpine skiing women’s slalom, and Eric Bernotas, coach to Lizzy Yarnold, who won gold in the women’s skeleton, were presented with Mussabini Medals (named after pioneer sports coach Sam Mussabini) to acknowledge their hand in creating GB winter Olympic and Paralympic success.

Emma Atkins, Director of Coaching at UK Coaching said:

“The UK Coaching Awards is a way for the nation to praise the great coaching that takes place, and a chance for us in the coaching sector to reflect and celebrate the effect great coaching has on society.

“We are privileged to be able to recognise more great coaching again, especially, in a year where we’ve worked hard to help the public understand what great coaching looks like following the launch of the first ever Coaching Week. 

“I am also thrilled to see that more women coaches were recognised for their great coaching expertise, which is testament to the hard work and dedication of many partners who work tirelessly to ensure we create a culture in the coaching sector where everyone can thrive. 

“I would like to congratulate all of this year’s winners – as well as the finalists – for their incredible achievements and for benefiting the lives of so many. Well done”

About UK Coaching: Brand name of the National Coaching Foundation, great coaching encourages people to be more active and lead healthier lifestyles and our mission is to put coaching at the heart of physical activity and sport.

Coaching is in our DNA. For more than 30 years, alongside our partners, we have provided the coaching workforce with the skills and knowledge they need to make a positive difference. We’ve also supported our partners to do the same.

We’re now widening our scope to do this on a broader scale. How? By adopting a wider definition of coaching and extending our reach into new markets where great coaching makes a difference every day.

We’re here to:

• raise the profile of coaching so that it is recognised for the wider benefits it brings to society and individuals
• help our partners create coaching systems to deliver a fit for purpose workforce that better reflects society
• make coaching easier to get into and stay involved in
• supply the coaching workforce with the information they need to be participant focused
• be a hub of research excellence for coaching
• help coaches feel better connected, more knowledgeable and confident
• be central to the sport and physical activity landscape; we’ll run an effective and efficient organisation
• encourage technology to enable coaches and coaching.

In England, we support governing bodies of sport, county sports partnerships and leisure providers, as well as many other organisations across the sport and physical activity landscape.

In Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and at high performance level, we work with the relevant Sports Councils to reach partners throughout the coaching system. Further information on UK Coaching can be found on our website: