The winners of the eighth London Sport Awards, supported by the City of London Corporation, were announced last night.
The 2024 edition of the annual awards event celebrated volunteers, organisations, companies, charities and individuals who have gone above and beyond to improve the lives of Londoners through sport and physical activity. The awards praised those who not only improved access to physical activity to support Londoners physical health, but also for their mental and social wellbeing too.
Among the winners was Allan Cockram, who won the Volunteer of the Year Award, in association with Sport England. Allan, who makes football accessible to children with Down’s Syndrome, has run training sessions every week for over six years for all children from the age of five. Allan’s club, the Brentford Penguins, has an open-door policy where no child is ever turned away, providing a safe and friendly environment to socialise, make friends and learn new skills.
Other winners include:
Cycle Sisters – Community Impact Award, in association with Nuffield Health
Cycle Sisters is London’s largest Muslim women’s grassroots cycling organisation with more than 1,500 members, demonstrating the huge need for culturally inclusive sports activities.
LTA SERVES Level Up London – Enhancing the Sporting Workforce Award
The London-wide part of a wider programme, LTA SERVES supports children and young people from the most deprived areas of Britain, encouraging them to get active through locally-led tennis sessions.
The Featherstone School Sports Partnership – Supporting Young Londoners Award, in association with Play Innovation
The initiative strives to address the gaps in opportunities amongst young Londoners and has developed a comprehensive ‘levelling up’ programme which aims to ensure all disadvantaged children within its communities have equal access to sport and physical activities. It organises events for disadvantaged children, as well as providing breakfast and up to 60 hot healthy meals a day.
Nike and Jordan – Business Contribution Award, in association with the City of London Corporation
Nike and Jordan have long supported the Black Prince Trust – which offers sport and physical activity programmes in London – to create and maintain an iconic community facility, deliver programmes and provide quality training and development opportunities. Their support directly covers facility hire costs for nine weekly sessions for basketball partners, providing 17 free weekly hours for adults and children. They have also fully funded courses for coach and officials training.
Emily Robinson, Chief Executive of London Sport, said: “The London Sport Awards are always an incredible recognition of the efforts and achievements for those helping Londoners lead healthier more active lives.
“I would like to congratulate all the nominees on their fantastic achievements in making sport and physical activity more accessible and inclusive to all. A special congratulations to our inspirational winners – our winners and finalists should be immensely proud of the work they have done and the contribution they’re making in improving lives.”
City of London Corporation Policy Chairman, Chris Hayward, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to recognise the amazing grassroots work which is being done to support Londoners’ physical and mental health through sport.
“The UK sports sector is integral to our economic success and global reach – and our research shows major UK sport events could deliver up to £4 billion of soft power, trade, and investment benefits in the next decade.
“Sport transforms lives and is the glue that binds people and communities together. It is a cornerstone of our flagship Destination City programme, enhancing and elevating our attractiveness as a UK and global visitor destination.”
Full list of winners – London Sport Awards 2024
Volunteer of the Year in Association with Sport England
Allan Cockram (Hounslow)
Supporting Young Londoners Award in Association with Play Innovation
Featherstone School Sports Partnership (Ealing)
Health & Wellbeing Award in Association with Sid Lee
Mind in Croydon – Active Minds (Croydon)
Digital and Tech Innovation Award in Association with Exergame
London South Bank University (Southwark)
Environmental Impact and Sustainability in Sport Award in Association with Decathlon
Jog On (Westminster)
Uniting London Award in Association with Opinium
Sports Fun 4 All (Lewisham)
Community Impact Award in Association with Nuffield Health
Cycle Sisters (across London)
Enhancing the Sporting Workforce Award
LTA SERVES – Level Up London (across London)
Business Contribution Award, in association with the City of London Corporation
Nike & Jordan (Camden)
Lifetime Achievement Award, in association with BBC Radio London
Simone Laidlow (Newham)
