The event was held at Berwick Rugby Club and was hosted by the Mayor of Berwick, Coun Flora Simpson, whilst the awards were presented by special guest, Gary Armstrong, the former Scotland and British Lions rugby international, who also played for Newcastle Falcons and The Borders.
Armstrong, who has presented the awards before in their previous guise at The Maltings, said Berwick should be proud of its sporting heritage and he urged youngsters to take advantage of any benefits which came their way.
"One or two will make it to the top, one or two will drop out along the way, but that's the nature of sport," he said.
"What I would say, however, is that if you are involved in sport you should go out and enjoy yourself. If you're not enjoying it it's not worthwhile."
Armstrong praised the organisers for staging the event saying it was unusual for a town to recognise its own sporting achievements.
"But Berwick is in a unique position," he said, "situated in England but on the border with Scotland because scouts from both sides are always on the look-out for new talent.
"I got a lot out of playing rugby, now I am trying to put something back in and I think it's great that so many youngsters in this area participate in sport."

Sports Personality of the Year
Liam Holborn

LIAM is now one of the top cage fighters in Scotland. Liam's whole life is structured around peak performance at all times. He moved into the pro ranks of MMA in 2009, he won the Cage Combat cruiserweight title, he was invited to join the North of England Fight League and he went the distance in his charity 100 minute fight marathon.
Even though his commitments as a MMA fighter keep him extremely busy, Liam finds the time to give back to the local community. He has helped kids who struggle with anger management issues by organising and delivering kick boxing sessions through local groups. Liam is also the coach of many young local lads in Berwick and Alnwick for cage fighting. He commented that one of his most proud achievements this year was when three of those boys made their fighting debuts.
Liam is currently training to become an MMA instructor and is due to be graded by the UFC Ultimate Fighter winner - Ross Pearson. Liam's commitment to his sport and those interested in it is something we can all appreciate and learn from.

Other nominees were: Guy Learmonth (Athletics) and Alison Inglis (Rowing).

Performance of Year
Guy Learmonth

GUY Learmouth had an exceptional year in 2009 and his achievements were:
* World Youth Festival 800m champion at U18
* Scottish indoors U20, 400m champion
* Scottish U20 800m champion
* Represented Scotland in the Celtic Cup and Falkirk Cup
* England Schools U19 bronze medallist in 800m
* Raced against Ethiopia, England and Scotland seniors and finished an impressive third place - some of the athletes in the race have been tipped for the Commonwealth Games next year
* He also represented Northern England and Northumberland at the English Schools Final
As you can tell from his achievements, Guy has had an exceptional year and his performances reflect the hard work and dedication he puts into his sport.
Guy looks to continue his form into 2010, where he is set for another big year, indeed, he has already set a new Scottish indoor junior record for the 800m.

Other nominees were: Liam Holborn (Cage-fighting) and Ballet Bewegung.

Junior Achievement
Robyn Pick

ROBYN, who is 14, has excelled in many sports during 2009. She has represented her school in every sport offered, but her achievements in football and hockey at the highest levels are most notable. Robyn's commitment, dedication and determination to be the best she can be and to excel in these two sports at the highest level is remarkable for a 14 year old girl.
After playing for l Lowick girl's football team and also playing with the Tweedmouth junior boys team, Robyn was recommended to the Hibernian Girls Football Club. She was immediately asked to play for the U15 Colts team and she rightly earned her position in midfield.
Robyn's commitment to her team was ever apparent as she travelled twice a week up to Edinburgh for training and games as well as attending all social and fundraising events. Robyn's dedication was rewarded when at the start of the 2009 summer season she was made captain of the team and was able to demonstrate her excellent leadership skills with the team. Robyn was also a member of the U14 Hibs squad competing at the National Scottish Championships.
In the sport of hockey, Robyn had an even more successful 2009. She progressed to the highest level for her age group in England Hockey's player development pathway. With her county experience, the 2009 season saw Berwick High School and Berwick Ladies Hockey Club nominate her to attend the Junior Development Centre in Morpeth. This led to a further invitation to the Junior Academy Centre in Newcastle where she was selected to play centre half for the Durham Pumas who would play in the trial games selection for the England High Performance Centre. From these trials Robyn was further selected for the Pennine Pumas team for the England High Performance weekend held at Leeds University. She was one of only three players selected from the North of England and one of only 64 players selected from throughout England. Robyn's love for sport and her drive and determination have shown her to be one of the area's most dedicated young athletes.

Other nominees were: Corey Graham (Football) and Law Atkinson (Cricket).

Team of Year
Tillside Cricket U13s

THE Tillside U13 team has made quite a name for itself over the past few years as it is one of the most successful young cricket teams in the area. The squad has lost only one league game in the last four years and have gone on to capture the league title each of these occasions. Tillside's development of young cricketers has been outstanding and the U13 squad of 2009 seems to be producing some of the strongest players in the region.
In 2009 the team won the Alnwick and District U13 league title and were unbeaten in the season. From this squad of ten players, three have gone on to receive county squad honours and a further three played for their district team. Within this age group at the club, there are also two players who played for the U12 County team and another who played for the District U13s as well. Tillside U13s have supplied more players to the U14 County training squad than any other club in the county.
This young cricket squad has excelled as a team of highly talented and skilled players. Their ability to work together and let all of that talent shine through makes them one of the strongest teams in our area.

Other nominees were:
Goswick Golf Club 'A' team and Berwick Rangers Juniors U13s.

Coach of Year
Henry Gray

HENRY has been involved as a coach in the Berwick area for many years. This year Henry has been nominated for his dedication to athletics coaching and the success of his team of athletes from around the Berwick area.
This year alone he has produced world, national, regional and county champions. Henry gives up a lot of his extra time to help his athletes to reach their potential and his team and community respect him immensely for this.
He has had a successful coaching career producing multiple national champions. 2009 has been deemed by most people who work and know Henry as his most successful coaching year.
His achievements this year include (but are not limited to) coaching Guy Learmonth to become the World 800m champion at the World Youth Games in Sweden. He coached Andrew Crighton to win two North of England titles and five East of Scotland titles. He also coached Hannah and Emily Jones and Cieran Turton who made the English cross country finals and Sam Atkins who came second in the points table in the sprint. Henry also spreads his coaching talent through fitness training and he was successful in developing British National MMA champion Liam Holborn.

Other nominees were: Allan Rodger (Goswick Golf) and Carolyn Strangeways (Belford Archery).


Disabled award
Harry Thompson

HARRY is an electric wheelchair user and has dedicated so much time and effort to reach his potential in many wheelchair sports.
He is a regular member of the Percy Hedley Sports Academy Club at Killingworth and he travels several times each week to train and compete- his achievements reflect his dedication to his sport.
In the 2009 Powerchair Football National League Harry played with the Northern Thunder Blues team based out of Percy Hedley Academy. The success of Harry and his team was apparent when in April, the team competed and finished third in the National Championship League.
In the sport of table cricket, Harry and his Northern Thunder Cricket Club team won the regional qualifying heats at Durham Riverside and went on in May to place a strong third in the National Table Cricket competition held at Lords.

Other nominees were: Laura Patterson and Suzanne Dalrymple.

Volunteer of Year
Debra Jerdan

DEBRA is an outstanding example of volunteering. With her experience in funding applications and youth work she has become invaluable to the various organisations that she is involved with.
Debra's work with Lowick United Football Club has helped to enhance the club greatly. Her fundraising talents have brought in much needed funding for the club and she has recently seen the return of this by securing winter training facilities for the U15 girls team. She worked with the club to help it achieve the highest level of Charter Status and she is also the appointed child welfare officer.
Debra's tireless work is always achieved with a high level of professionalism and her expertise has made sure that policies are implemented and good practice is promoted within the club. Debra's continued commitment to this will only see further positive developments within our sporting community.

Other nominees were: John Gill and Amanda Hindmarsh.

Service to Sport
Dougal Moir

DOUGAL, who is a teacher at Berwick Middle School, has been involved on the local sporting scene for many years, most notably at football and cricket.
He played for Alnwick Town before moving to Berwick in 1976 where he joined Spittal Rovers. He was also a member of Berwick Cricket Club, where he was a fast/medium pace bowler and left-hand batsman. He was also a regular in the Summer Cricket League, playing for Springhill.
But it is as a PE teacher that a lot of people will recognise him. For 15 years he has been the Borough football coach, but he has also taught cricket, athletics, rugby and tennis, and is a past chairman and secretary of the Northumberland Schools' Cricket Association. In 1993 he gained his ECB advanced coaching award, becoming an ECB staff coach three years later. He dedicated his time to coaching young local sides, but also coached the Scotland U18s and has now started mentoring the next generation of coaches.
In the late 1990s he also worked as an advisory teacher for PE with Northumberland County Council