The Medway Sports Awards are back - celebrating four years of sporting success.

The prestigious awards highlight the fantastic achievements of clubs, teams, individuals and coaches as well as volunteers and schools.

Organised by Medway Council, The Medway Sports Awards are a celebration of everything and everyone involved in sport across the towns.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the bi-annual awards have not been held since 2018. This means that this year’s awards will cover the last four years.

Nominations are now open in 11 categories, which are junior club, club, junior team, team, primary school, secondary school, coach, official, unsung hero, junior sportsperson and sportsperson.

Shortlisted nominees will be invited to a gala celebration evening on Friday, December 16 at the Rochester Corn Exchange, when gold, silver and bronze winners will be announced in the presence of celebrity sporting stars and other invited guests.

Previous winners include gold medal winning Olympic hockey goalkeeper Maddie Hinch, Paralympic gold medal winning skier Charlotte Evans and professional boxer Karol Itauma.

Deputy Leader of Medway Council and Portfolio Holder for Community Services, Cllr Howard Doe, said: “The Medway Sports Awards are a wonderful celebration of the hard work and dedication shown by athletes, coaches and volunteers across Medway’s professional and community clubs.

“The impact of the pandemic on sports participation and competition has been significant, clubs and individual sportspeople have had to overcome significant challenges over the last two years, which makes this year’s celebration more important than ever. I look forward to toasting everyone’s efforts and achievements in December.”

The Medway Sports Awards also celebrate children and young people’s sporting achievements, which supports the council’s aspiration to make Medway even more child-friendly. The awards cover achievements during the period October 1, 2018 to October 31, 2022. The deadline for nominations is midnight on Monday, October 31.

To nominate an individual or team for an award visit medway.gov.uk/sportsawards If businesses or organisations are interested in sponsoring the awards they are also encouraged to visit the website for more details.