Scottish Women in Sport Awards – our finalists

We are delighted that the scottishathletics and jogscotland community has scooped a total of eight nominations for this year’s Scottish Women in Sport Awards, across six separate categories. They include jogscotland member Alison Miller-Duff of Ready, Steady, Go Pitreavie, who was the winner of the jogscotland Achiever of the Year award this year.

The awards seek to celebrate women and girls across the full range of sporting endeavour in Scotland, including participants, coaches, and volunteers, from grassroots to performance level.

The winners will be announced at an awards dinner held in the voco@Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow, on 26 November. The finalists from the scottishathletics and jogscotland communities are as follows:

SW/S Inspiration in Sport

Alison Miller-Duff, Ready, Steady, Go Pitreavie – Alison signed up to her local jogscotland group to try to stay as healthy as possible after being diagnosed with Alport Syndrome. She soon had to begin dialysis but kept coming back to the group whenever she was able. She underwent a kidney transplant in September 2020 and started walking for exercise within weeks. She soon re-joined her group and even completed a half marathon in May 2021. She was named jogscotland Achiever of the Year 2021 (pictured).

sportscotland Young Sportswoman

Katie Johnson – Katie was U17 Athlete of the Year at our own 4J Studios Annual Awards this year, marking a breakthrough year for the 16-year-old Edinburgh AC athlete. She won 800m gold at both U17 and U20 at both the Scottish and English age group championships. She also helped the U20 women set a new Scottish 4x400m record at the Manchester International, where she represented GB at U18 level, and Scotland at U20. Katie also took both the Schools International and UK School Games 800m titles.

Kube-net Volunteer of the Year

Sophie Allan – Sophie is a dedicated official, coach and general volunteer and in the past year has officiated at over 41 events, team managed at Scottish Schools events and organised events for Dunfermline Track and Field. Sophie does all this while holding down two jobs. Most of her spare time is dedicated to athletics, she sits on SSAA committee, Peer Groups for Field and Start Team, and takes the time to mentor new officials.

Pamela Stephen & Fiona Pollock – Fiona and Pamela are the silent heroes of Cambuslang Harriers who give a lot so freely and willingly with a smile. They kept in touch with young members of the club during lockdown, with social media and phone calls keeping athletes active and engaged. If anyone felt down or unsure, they offered a personal pick-up through their humour and cajoling.

Frame Coach of the Year

Andy Young – Currently regarded as one of the top middle-distance coaches in the world, Andy has continued to deliver athlete success on the track, particularly with Jemma Reekie and Laura Muir. Jemma continued her progression to a world class level narrowly missing out on a medal to finish fourth in the 800m at the Tokyo Olympics. Laura Muir’s stellar year culminated in a tremendous silver medal in the 1500m.

Nichola Crawford, Aberdeen AAC – During lockdown, Nichola moved training online, providing athletes with weekly training plans and weekly group circuits, STRAVA groups, Pilates and individual/group challenges. As restrictions eased, working within the guidelines, Nichola’s innovative approach saw her set up multiple training sessions across different locations and establish a buddy system to ensure that athletes were not training alone.

Para-athlete Sportswomen of the Year

Maria Lyle – Dunbar’s finest has been no stranger to the podium over the years and Maria extended that sequence in fine style in Japan. A sprint double in the Paralympics repaid her hard work, with a bronze in both the T35 100m and 200m finals.

Sportswoman of the Year

Laura Muir – Laura broke the Scottish 800m Record in Monaco but opted to focus solely on the 1500m at the Olympics. And that paid off with a fantastic silver medal and a new PB for a British Record.