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A medal-winning gymnast “with a smile for everyone” who used lockdown as an opportunity to perfect her routines has been named Jersey’s disabled sports personality of the year.
Alex Wheatley was given the top award by the Jersey Sports Association for the Disabled at the Hotel Ambassador last Saturday (13 November).
It was the first time in two years the JSAD's annual awards ceremony had been able to go ahead due to covid.
The event was a sell-out success that celebrated both the success of the island’s talented disabled sportspeople and those behind the scenes coaching and keeping clubs in motion.
While relatively new to the footballing community, James Lang was awarded the Heather Jones Memorial Trophy for his “boundless energy” and “enthusiasm” that has led him to become a good defender, with a keenness to get “stuck in” and make it “difficult for the opposition.
A “valued member of the league for over three years”, Jacob Meyrick was handed the Sir James Knott Trust Trophy as he “epitomises everything the league is all about.”
He was celebrated for having improved “enormously”.
Angie Nicholson and Ken Wheatley were both nominated for the Howard Walker Memorial Trophy.
However, it was longstanding JSAD member and Wheelchair Sports Manager Alan Ronxin who took first place.
Pictured: Alan Ronxin was lauded as an "unsung hero" for his work "behind the scenes" on wheelchair sport.
“Alan takes great pride in his work behind the scenes with the wheelchair side of our activities, but he is also there to support all our sportsmen and women. It would be very easy for Alan’s tireless efforts to go unnoticed, so he richly deserves this award,” explained JSAD Chair Paul Patterson.
Now in its 19th year, selection for the Graeme Pitman Memorial Trophy for Endeavour is always “so difficult”, according to the JSAD team, given that “so many JSAD members have to overcome great difficulties to take part in sport.”
Pictured: Melissa was said to have had a tough pandemic - but that didn't stop her from giving her all to wheelchair basketball.
But Melissa Alves’s determination to keep turning up at wheelchair basketball “with a smile on her face” whenever she was well enough despite a difficult 18 months due to the pandemic swayed the judges.
They said she should be “very proud” of her development in the sport.
Not only a “fantastic sportsman” with “great perseverance” himself, involved in football, tenpin bowling and the JSAD 26x1 marathon relay, Ryan Jones also “encourages others to do their best” – particularly his sister, who also has learning disabilities.
Judges therefore found him to be a “very deserving” recipient of the Cliff Batchelor Memorial Trophy.
“Dedicated sportsman” Darren Renouf took home the Tim Collins Memorial Trophy for the second year running.
Pictured: Darren received the accolade for the second year in a row.
He has never missed a session since wheelchair basketball training started again a few months ago, and his shooting skills have improved greatly. The award was also a mark of his constant support for others in all sports he takes part in.
Despite never seeking the limelight, according to Paul Patterson, it was Angie Nicholson’s time to shine with this award.
A JSAD member of more than 30 years, Angie has undertaken various roles supporting physically and learning disabled islanders and working on the General Committee.
She set up the Shooting Stars Basketball team, coached the Jersey Wheelers and is now said to be a key member of the LD football support team.
The JSAD Chair himself, Paul Patterson, took the title for his “relentless pursuit of excellence on the wheelchair basketball court.”
Pictured: Paul was described as an "absolute inspiration".
Described as an “absolute inspiration to beginners and stalwarts alike”, Paul was said to have “kept a very engaged cohort of basketball players who continue to improve week on week” even “throughout the most difficult times.”
While the Jersey Wheelers were finalists, it was Ryan Le Monnier and his horse, Finn, who recently qualified for the Southwest regional Riding for the Disabled Association League, that received the Vernon Tomes Memorial Trophy.
“We know, only too well, how much effort goes into developing a true working relationship between a human and a four-legged partner. When people see a working partnership it looks to them to be easy, well it is not,” the JSAD observed.
Pictured: Ryan and Finn reached the Southwest qualifier in the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) event last year.
“Trust and symbiosis are required to get it right, as Ryan has done, and it is a wonderful experience for both parties in the relationship so hats off to Ryan Le Monnier and his great friend and companion Finn the horse.”
This award was created by JSAD Patron, Roger Bara, to celebrate the “extraordinary efforts of some to keep the lights on, even in the darkest moments of the pandemic.”
Presenting the award to the JSAD Back Office Team, Roger commented: “From the very first minute it became apparent that JSAD was going to be facing some very significant disruptions to services the back office team of Alan English, Jeannine Carey, Dorothy Patterson and Paul Patterson have, between them, manned the back office and provided support, advice, guidance and encouragement to individual members and affiliated groups, firstly to orchestrate an ordered suspension of services ensuring that our members had all the right information, encouraging alternative activities during lockdown periods and then carefully planning safe restart to services when it was the right time to do so.
“Many members of JSAD have commented on the fantastic support they received and the hope for a return to something like normal was offered by virtue of the fact that the back office team were planning events like the iconic JSAD 26x1 Marathon Relay and of course the wonderful JSAD Awards night.”
Alex Wheatley took the coveted title for her continued development and enthusiasm for gymnastics over the past two years.
Even during lockdown, she continued exercises given to her by coaches, but went a step further by learning full routines – progress that showed on her return to the gym.
Paul Patterson explained that Alex also “never misses a session and gives 100% effort, and also is a great help to her fellow gymnasts”.
Beyond gymnastics, Alex has participated in the JSAD 26x1 marathon relay team for the past three years, and is always keen to fundraise or support other JSAD events.
Paul added that she “always has a smile for everyone and loves to make others laugh”, while her coach, Nikki Kirkland, described her as a “joy”.
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