6th October marks World Cerebral Palsy Day. Cerebral palsy (cp) affects more than 17 million people worldwide and this day is an opportunity for the world to come together to celebrate and support those living with cerebral palsy, embrace diversity and to help create a more accessible future for everyone.
At CP Sport, we encourage all people with cerebral palsy to live more active lives by promoting the opportunity, capability and motivation involved in taking part in sport and physical activities. There are many benefits of being active; mentally, socially and physically. We provide sport and activity opportunities for people with cp, a range of support services and also use our voice to influence change for the benefit of disabled people. We can only do this with the support of our volunteers, fundraisers, partners and network of clubs and coaches.
We celebrate the achievements of people with cerebral palsy in sport as well as those who support them at our annual awards. Irwin Mitchell are the headline sponsor for our Awards evening on 11th December 2021 and we will also be marking the 20th anniversary of CP Sport at the event.
The Awards ceremony will take place virtually and public nominations for five of the awards categories are open today. These are for Coach, Volunteer, Club, Sporting Achievement of the Year and the Overcoming Adversity Award. These are an opportunity for our community to get involved and share what is being achieved in their local area.
There will be five further awards determined by an Awards panel. The Andrew Stubbs Trophy, Colin Rains Trophy for Endeavour, Fundraiser of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, Partner of the Year.
Jennifer Cawthorne, Partner and specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said:
“We’re delighted to be sponsoring the CP Sport Annual Awards once again this year, as part of our longstanding commitment to support the valuable work of CP Sport.
“Last year I saw first-hand the positive impact of the Awards; it provided the opportunity to bring everyone together online and share achievements and highlights following a difficult year. It’s been another challenging year which makes these occasions even more important and I am looking forward to this special event taking place in December.”
Adi Fawcett, COO of CP Sport added:
“We are delighted to be launching the CP Sport Annual Awards 2021. This is a special time of the year, where we can celebrate the achievements of everyone in our community and an opportunity for exceptional people to be nominated for awards as recognition of their contribution.
“It has been great to see live events get back up and running with the CP National Athletics Championships and the CP National League. These events remind us of the impact sport has for people with cp, not only physically but emotionally and also how much fun it is to be back together – seeing old friends and making new ones.
“On our 20th birthday we are delighted to welcome Irwin Mitchell as our sponsor of this event and thank them for the support they continue to provide to CP Sport and our community. We are excited to receive nominations for the awards and hearing the inspirational stories from this year and look forward to seeing everyone (albeit virtually) at the Annual Awards ceremony in December.”
The links to the public nomination forms for the 2021 awards are now open:
Sporting Achievement of the Year: https://forms.gle/BMU5b64T5s8VqFtPA
Volunteer of the Year: https://forms.gle/P8pMQSaG7ayiKKDK7
Coach of the Year: https://forms.gle/Hv7K4LCCwhxh2wb26
Sports Club of the Year: https://forms.gle/qka3R6QH9MkwYCgg7
The Christine Cruice Award for Overcoming Adversity: https://forms.gle/K3kthfZg622AgPhC9
The closing date for public nominations is 7th November 2021.
CP Sport are delighted that the winner of the Andrew Stubbs Trophy in 2020, Tully Kearney, has become an Ambassador for CP Sport. Tully, who is a regular participant of CP Sport events including fundraising, athletics and virtual cafes became a Paralympic Champion in Tokyo 2021, where she won both gold and silver medals in swimming.
Find out more about all of last year’s Awards and winners here: https://cpsport.org/winners-of-cp-sport-awards/
About Irwin Mitchell
Irwin Mitchell is proud to be a longstanding supporter of CP Sport.
Through our work with people who have experienced life-changing injuries, we recognise the range of benefits physical activity and sports can have.
We know how vital access to support around cerebral palsy can be for families. We’re committed to supporting CP Sport’s work in improving the health and wellbeing of people with cerebral palsy, through physical activity and community engagement.
For more information, visit irwinmitchell.com
