Kirkcaldy and Central Fife Sports Council Awards: Hugely successful night in awards' first staging since Covid hit

The 17-year-old, a member of Kirkcaldy’s Fins Swimming Club, landed both the council’s sports personality of the year and youth awards last Thursday night.

A successful year for the Kirkcaldy teenager, unable to make the council’s 13th award ceremony at Fife College but given her accolades at the weekend by her coach Ian Lewis at Kirkcaldy’s swimming pool, saw her ranked second for 100m and 200m breaststroke in Scotland, sixth for 100m in Britain and seventh for 200m, as well as qualifying for the sport’s British age-group championships and finishing fourth for 100m breaststroke, only narrowly missing out on a bronze medal.

Praising former Balwearie High School student Taylor’s achievements and welcoming back the awards ceremony, sports council vice-chairman George MacDonald told the Fife Free Press: “It was fantastic. The pool of talent that is right under our eyes is incredible and we don’t see it unless we have these awards.

“In a great year, Erin only missed out on a British bronze medal by 0.05 of a second and broke eight top-ten Scottish female age-group short-course records.”

The start of the evening had seen guests listen to an inspirational speech by Kirkcaldy-born disability swimming legend Paul Noble, a winner of 15 Paralympic medals at five games between 1984 and 2000, including four golds.

After a buffet, the awards presentation got under way, and in addition to swimmer Taylor, the winners were:

Team: Winner: Kirkcaldy Kestrels won their Scottish national ice hockey league and qualified for end-of-season play-offs. Runners-up: Kingdom Boxing Club and Fife Steel Basketball Club.

Senior: Winner: Motorsport star Gordon Moodie, of Windygates, won 2022’s Irish open, European championship, BriSCA nationals, BriSCA supreme title, LoveF2’s people’s trophy and the BriSCA Challenge Trophy. Runners-up: Ironman Nicholas Russell, of Glenrothes Triathlon Club, and Paralympics T46 marathon runner Derek Rae, of Kirkcaldy.

Junior/youth team: Winner: Glenrothes-based Flyers Trampoline Club were multiple medallists at three inter-regional challenge cup qualifying competitions. Runners-up: Buckhaven’s Enigma Gymnastics Club’s display team and East Fife Girls and Women’s Football Club’s under-16s.

Junior: Winner: Niamh Haig, a Kirkcaldy Ice Skating Club member, competed in her first British qualifier. Runners-up: Serena Bianconcini, of Glenrothes’ Sarah Hendry School of Dance, and Kirkcaldy Ice Hockey Club’s Brodie Kay.

Disability: Winner: Stuart Padley, of Glenrothes, landed an archery silver medal representing Great Britain at the 2022 Invictus Games at the Hague in the Netherlands. Runners-up: Ruby McDonald, a pupil at Auchmuty High School in Glenrothes, and Fife Athletic Club runner Ben Sandilands.

Coach: Winner: Lynn Simpson is head coach of Flyers Trampoline Club and members there won 50 medals at Scottish, British and international levels. Runners-up: Steven Wishart, of Kirkcaldy Ice Hockey Club, and Stuart Lee, of Glenrothes Strollers.