It was a night of celebration on Saturday evening at the British Ethnic Diversity Sport Awards (BEDSA) in London.
Organised by Sporting Equals, BEDSAs are designed to recognise and celebrate ethnic diversity in sport. The awards are part of a mission to make a sustainable difference to the inclusion of all under-represented communities in sport and physical activity.
Attending on behalf of Saje Impact and the Sports Think Tank, our Director Andy Reed OBE commented on a wonderful evening, saying:
“It’s great to see community groups and volunteers who give up so much of their free time get the recognition they deserve, and celebrate the success of our elite stars such as Kadeena Cox MBE who will hopefully inspire the next generation. I was delighted to see our table guest and Harlequins rugby player Marcus Smith (pictured below) win the prestigious Youth Sport Trust award for the Young Sports Person of the Year.
Sporting Equals has been one of our favourite clients at Saje Impact and we look forward to working with them on a wide range of projects to promote the BAME agenda into sport.”
The awards evening was hosted by stand-up comedian Sir Lenny Henry CBE and supported by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who said:
“I wish to congratulate Sporting Equals for organising such a fantastic event. It’s a showcase for the power of sport and the positive impact it can have on people and communities.”
Full list of BEDSA 2018 winners:
- The Royal Navy Sports Woman of the Year Award - Ellie Downie
- Sporting Equals Sportsman of the Year Award - Maro Itoje
- Youth Sport Trust Young Sportsperson of the Year - Marcus Smith
- UK Sport Inspirational Performance of the Year - Kadeena Cox
- The British Army Unsung Hero Award - Tarsem Singh Cheema
- England Athletics Coach of the Year - Christian Malcolm
- Sport England Community Sports Project of the Year - Singh Sabha Slough
- Spirit of 2012 Connecting Communities Award - Manchester Womens Sports Programmes
- Tennis Foundation Serves Community Tennis Project - Sikh Welfare Awareness Team
- England Wales Cricket Board Special Recognition Award - Essex Cricket in the Community
- RFU Special Recognition Award - Harborne RFC and Joseph Chamberlain College
- Jaguar Lifetime Achievement Award - Permi Jhooti
- FA Special Recognition Award - Cyrille Regis