SPORTS clubs in Helensburgh and Lomond are being urged to nominate their hard-working volunteers for an award.

The call comes from Live Argyll, the charitable trust charged with the management of Argyll and Bute’s health and wellbeing, which has launched its 2020 Volunteer Sports Awards.

There are seven categories in this year’s awards, and nominations in all of them are open until early next month.

In the coaching section there are five awards: volunteer coach: young person’s coach of the year (open to coaches of under-18s); coach of the year; young coach of the year (aged 25 and under); and disability coach of the year.

READ MORE: Helensburgh and Lomond winners honoured at 2019 LiveArgyll Sport Awards

There are three non-coaching awards too: lifetime volunteer; volunteer of the year; young volunteer of the year (aged 25 and under).

For full nomination criteria and details of how to nominate someone you think deserves to win one of the awards, click here.

Live Argyll’s Active Schools and sport manager Alex Edmonstone said of the awards: “Volunteers are the lifeblood of community sport in Argyll and Bute.

“The commitment which so many people show allows sport to thrive in our towns, islands and villages.

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“These awards help us celebrate and say ‘thank you’ to a few of those people who have made a positive difference in supporting their community to live richer and more active lives.”

The list of winners at the 2019 LiveArgyll Sport Awards included several from Helensburgh, among them Helensburgh Hockey Club, which was nominated in four categories.

Club captain Gordon Black said: “I think the awards are a really nice addition to the sporting calendar for Argyll and Bute.

“None of us volunteer for recognition but it is always nice to receive such recognition, and to get it from your local authorities is extra special.

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“I would encourage other clubs to get involved. When you volunteer at a club, especially for a number of years, it is a real nice touch to know that members of your club appreciate what you do and nominate you for such an award.”

The closing date for nominations is midnight on Sunday, July 5.

Shortlists will be unveiled in August, and the final winners will be announced in early September.

The 2020 winners and runners up will also have their entries submitted to the national sportscotland Coaching, Officiating and Volunteering Awards.

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