TASS Stars Awards finalists get set for presentation day
Talented athletes from across the country are getting ready to celebrate at the TASS Stars Awards along with the London 2017 IAAF World Championships tomorrow.
The inaugural awards aim to recognise the achievements of young student-athletes and reward their successes, both on and off the field.
A select group of athletes from a variety of sports including canoeing, shooting, skiing and boxing are set to enjoy a morning of world class athletics action at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, with the winners’ presentation to follow in the afternoon
TASS Delivery Sites including University of Birmingham, Leeds Beckett, Durham University and Cambridge will all be represented by the athletes, with University of Bath leading the way with six individuals in the shortlist.
The finalists, who have all been supported by TASS in the past academic year, were nominated by their peers, parents, NGB Leads or Delivery Site Leads and were selected following a rigorous scoring process.
Nominations were made across five categories designed to celebrate the attributes of a dual career athlete: Most Committed, Most Inspirational, Most Enterprising, Most Determined and Star of the Year.
A panel of experts in the industry – including Olympic silver medallist Shelley Rudman, Paralympic gold medallist Danielle Brown and BBC Sport’s Joel Goldman – were responsible determining the prize winners.
During tomorrow’s presentation afternoon, the five champions will be revealed and they will receive a TASS Stars Awards trophy.
TASS will also be represented on the track and field at London 2017, with fifteen athletes in the GB Team who have been supported by the programme during their careers.
Current TASS athletes competing at the world championships include 400m relay runner Cameron Chalmers and 1500m semi-finalist Sarah McDonald, who both appear in the Awards shortlist.
Paralympic gold medallist and three-time World Champion in archery, Danielle Brown said, “It was a real privilege to be able to judge the first TASS Stars Awards.
“The standard of the nominations was exceptionally high and the athletes’ outstanding commitment to both sport and study was evident.
“And as a former recipient of TASS support myself while I was studying for my Law degree, I’m well aware of the many challenges student-athletes face.
“For me, it was inspiring to read many of the remarkable stories submitted and it made judging even more difficult! Congratulations to all of the finalists.”
The TASS Stars Awards 2017 finalists are:
Most Committed
Antonia Bunyan (Goalball / Leeds University)
David Heath (Powerlifting – Army / University of Manchester)
Sarah Leiter (Goalball / Cambridge University)
Most Inspirational
Kristian Callaghan (Shooting / University of Bath)
Nathan Edge (Disability Football / Nottingham Trent)
Naomi Ogbeta (Athletics / University of Manchester)
Most Enterprising
Issa Batrane (Volleyball / Bournemouth University)
Liam Hall (Goalball / University of Southampton)
Jonny Jones (Canoeing / University of Birmingham)
Rhys Thompson (Judo / University of Bath)
Most Determined
Sarah Collin (Modern Pentathlon / University of Bath)
Calum Johnson (Triathlon / Leeds Beckett)
Lloyd Wallace (Snow sports / University of Bath)
Star of the Year
Cameron Chalmers (Athletics / University of Bath)
Tom Gale (Athletics / University of Bath)
Sarah McDonald (Athletics / University of Birmingham)
Georgia O’Connor (Boxing / University of Durham)