SPORTS stars of the future were celebrated at the 18th annual Believe Sports Awards at the DW Stadium in front of more than 300 guests.

The winner of the Disabled Sports Achiever award was Anya Butterworth, from Tyldesley for the Dwarf Sports Association UK who competes in football, swimming, basketball, badminton, track and field and boccia.

The 10-year-old has weekly street dance classes and a swimming programme to help with general fitness, with additional lessons during times of competitions. She also attends monthly football and basketball training in Birmingham.and competed in the 2017 DSA World Games in Canada with 22 countries taking part and captained the GB Football Team to a gold medal. In total she has won nine gold, three silver and one bronze medals.

Then Leigh Harriers Keely Hodgkinson won Sports Achiever of the Year for not only training five days per week – completing her strength and conditioning programmes while revising for her GCSEs but also for representing England in a home nations Cross Country meet - finishing fourth overall and winning gold for England.

She also represented GB at the U18 European champs in Gyor, Hungary in the 800m where she won gold to become U18 European champion and broke the championship record in the process. She is now training to retain her U17 national 800m title and to represent the north of England, in the 800m, at the UK school games.

Teacher Martin Lynn at St George’s Central Primary School in Tyldesley was also praised for School Commitment to P.E and Sport.

This comes after the school hosted the FA Primary PE Teachers Awards in 2018 and worked with specialist sports coaches including Jenny Meadows for athletics and Chris Kirkland for football goalkeeping.

All classes at the school now have two hours of weekly PE, swimming is offered, and also, the Daily Mile and has been involved in more than 35 inter-school sporting competitions, providing 260 opportunities for 3,000 children.

Lastly Astley and Tyldesley Cycling Club was named Club of the Year for having more than 110 members. The club has its own race track and facilities, which is maintained by the club and its members, and caters for all ages from three3 to 75 years old. They are currently 1st place in each cycle speedway division in 2018.

The club has five British Cycling qualified coaches, one British Cycling qualified Ride Leader and they have actively recruited women and girls riders, with the club finishing 3rd in both the women and U-6’s Girls British Cycle Speedway Club Championships.

This year, they were the first club ever to win all three North & Scotland League Divisions in the same season and were the National winners of British Cycling's Go-Ride Club of the Year 2017 (first out of 370 clubs), therefore currently ranked as the top cycling club in the UK.

Athletes also awarded Believe talent funding in 2018 from Leigh were:

Holly Toone, aged 12, who plays waterpolo and is part of Tyldesley Water Polo Club. She will use the funding towards training with the England Academy Squad and Keely Hodgkinson, aged 16, who will use the funding to support her national and international competition calendar. Keely is part of Leigh Harriers.

Calum Coleman, aged 17, plays rugby league for Leigh Miners and has been selected for the England Lions U19 Tour.