Mar 21 - GBC Sports Awards Results
GBC has announced the winners of the GBC Sports Awards which celebrate sporting achievement in 2017.
The results were revealed at the GBC Sports Awards ceremony which was broadcast live from Grand Battery House yesterday evening.
150 guests including Members of Parliament and representatives of local sports associations attended the event.
The results in each category are as follows:
GBC SENIOR SPORTS INDIVIDUAL OF THE YEAR
Trophy presented by Minister for Sport, Steven Linares
Winner: Chris Walker. A former winner; Evergreen triathlete Chris continues to be a trailblazer with yet more successes. Once again he claimed a podium for his age group at the ITU World Championships. He was part of the Gibraltar team that won team bronze at the Island Games in Gotland and was imperious on the local triathlon circuit.
Runner up: Tom Sawyer. Clay target shooter Tom, certainly had an Island Games to remember claiming double gold in the trap event. Tom narrowly missed qualifying for the commonwealth-games at the CSF championships late in the year.
GBC JUNIOR SPORTS INDIVIDUAL OF THE YEAR
Presented by The Shadow Minister for Sports and Leisure Edwin Reyes.
Winner: Sebastian Desoisa. Last year’s winner; Sebastian’s incredible journey continued in 2017 following up 2016’s successes on the golfing scene with yet more silverware. Most notably the title of European Champion in Craiglaw, Scotland, plus second place in the Spanish Championships.
Runner up: Emma Bosio. Emma’s continued success in 2017 saw her make the grade for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She travelled to South Africa, Greece and U.K. to compete, recording the minimum consideration score required.
GBC SENIOR TEAM OF THE YEAR
Trophy presented by GSLA Chief Executive Officer, Regan Lima
Winner: Europa Football Club. A clean sweep of domestic honours saw Europa end Lincoln’s tenure as local champions. A memorable victory away in the Champions League qualifiers being the icing on the cake for the club.
Runner up: Special Olympics Winter games team.
The Special Olympics team returned with a host of medals from their efforts in Austria as they continue to exceed expectations.
GBC JUNIOR TEAM OF THE YEAR
Trophy presented by President of the Island Games Association, Linda Alvarez
Winner: The Youth Darts Selection. The youth darts squad took the local scene by storm, and on the international stage they reached the quarterfinals of the European championships.
Runner up: The Rhythmic Gymnastics Squad. In 2017 they reaped the rewards for their hours of training as they claimed medals at every competition they attended.
Special Achievement
Trophy presented by Joseph Chipolina, recipient of the Senior Individual award in 2015
Awarded to The GFA Under 21 National Side. The Under 21s pulled off an impressive victory against Macedonia in their UEFA qualifier in Faro. Captain Graeme Torrilla scored the only goal, recording Gibraltar’s first ever eleven aside points since becoming team 54.
Special Achievement
Awarded to Steven Alman. Para Athlete Steve competed at the Invictus Games in Toronto claiming medals as part of British Team. He’s now set his sights on promoting and coaching para sports both locally and abroad, as well as future competition where he proudly flies the Gibraltar flag.
Lifetime Achievement
Trophy presented by GBC Chief Executive Officer, Gerard Teuma
Awarded to Tony Avellano. Tony has a lifetime of sport under his belt as an athlete, coach, committee man and journalist. Starting off as a keen Sportsman he then turned his skills to revolutionizing committees and coaching, becoming President of the Volleyball Association and creating the GibSports Middle Schools Athletics Day, which has been running for over 20 years. As a journalist Tony’s fair and honest reporting has endeared him to his readers.
VOTING
The GBC Sports Awards panel this year comprised GBC Sports Co-ordinator John Shephard, and GBC Sports Reporters; Robin Sheppard-Capurro, Melanie Guiliano and Iain Triay Clarence, the Gibraltar Chronicle’s Stephen Ignacio, the President of the Gibraltar Island Games Association Linda Alvarez, GibSport’s Tyrone Avellano, and the General Secretary of the Gibraltar Commonwealth Games Association Joe Schembri. The panel’s decision has accounted for 50% of the total result.
The remaining 50% has been determined via a public telephone vote. Premium Line telephone voting numbers kindly provided by Gibtelecom, with calls charged at 50 pence each.
A points system has been used to rank nominees in both the panel and public vote. In the event of a tie, the nominee finishing highest in the public vote has been declared the winner.
GBC thanked Gibtelecom for donating all proceeds from the telephone voting to the GBC Open Day Charitable Trust. A total of 3,208 votes were registered, amounting to a donation of £1,604.
The GBC Sports team said:
‘The GBC Sports team congratulates all of this year’s nominees, and particularly the award winners on making 2017 such a memorable year for local sport. The support the GBC Sports Awards receive from the sporting community is exceptional and has been pivotal in the event’s remarkable growth since its reintroduction in 2010. We would also like to thank the general public for voting in such vast numbers, and Gibtelecom for their extremely generous donation to the GBC Open Day.’
{fcomment}
