Last Friday 21st November, we celebrated the successes of our athletes, and the contribution of our wonderful volunteers at our annual awards presentation night at the Abbotsford Hotel in Ayr. It was an evening jam packed with recognition, especially for our hard working athletes who racked up a significant amount of national level placings over the past 12 months.
A big thank you to Hatch Creative Studios for assisting us with our awards program this year, a copy of which can be viewed below.
The cover photo chosen for the program is of our Central and South of Scotland Athletic League, league winning team. At the end of the awards presentations, our team manager for this league, Ruth Kirk, collected the league trophy on behalf of the club. Ruth (pictured below) also received recognition for her efforts in helping the club to this fantastic achievement when she received the Andy Smith Special Recognition Award. Thank you once again to all of the athletes, coaches, officials, team managers and parent helpers who contributed to this success.
Highlights
Over 70 trophies were awarded to winners and runners up from our club championships, cross country and road championships, national placing athletes and special award winners. Congratulations to all of the winners! Below is a small selection of those who received an award…
George Spankie Trophy for Excellence in Track Events
Presented by Helen Spankie, the trophy for excellence in track events went to our under 13 girls medley relay gold medallists from the National Track Relay Championships last summer. The quarter of Emily and Abigail Good, Murrin Ronney and Emma Murray set a Championships Best Performance on their way to the gold medal. Well done girls!
Glen Harrower Memorial Award for Male Club Athlete of the Year
Our male athlete of the year once again went to under 17 athlete, Matthew Cox. Matthew claimed multiple individual and relay team medals at national level. Across the 2024-25 indoor and outdoor seasons Matthew collected 1 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals. He also set a new U17 Men’s club record for the 60m Hurdles and was selected to represent Scotland at the SIAB International.
The Jackson Family
It was a real family affair for Sophie Jackson and her two daughters Matilda and Piper who all received special awards this year. Sophie was our Female Coach of the Year, in recognition of the effort she has put into coaching our Development Group athletes and supporting our throws specialists. Matilda was the winner of the Ernest Thursby Trophy for Excellence in Throwing Events following a fantastic year as an under 13 throws athlete. Piper (U15) was awarded the Maureen Harrower Memorial Trophy for Female Athlete of the Year. Piper was a gold medallist in the Shot Put at the National Age Group Championships in Aberdeen. She also placed top 5 in the Javelin and Discus Throw at nationals. These awards are a testament to how hard these young athletes have been working and the contribution the whole family makes to Ayr Seaforth.
Spirit of Ayr Seaforth Award
We had some new awards this year including a “Spirit of Ayr Seaforth” award kindly donated to the club by the Milligan Family. This award recognises a club member (athlete or volunteer) who embodies the values, character and community spirit of Ayr Seaforth Athletic Club. The first recipient of the award was Club President, Conor Rennie. Conor is a former athlete turned coach who has been a part of Ayr Seaforth for over 20 years. In addition to coaching our sprints athletes, he has performed a variety of volunteer roles including team manager, coaching co-ordinator and most recently stepped up to become our club president.
Photos from the awards night can be viewed and downloaded here. Thank you to Richard Campbell for providing his photography skills at the event.
Thank you also to our event sponsors:
The Good Travel Company
Jeffrey Fabrication
Ayrshire K9 Playpark