Vote for your FFP Group Sports Personality of the Year

The annual awards, supported by The Fife Free Press Group, is the largest celebration of sport in the Kingdom.

The event, which reaches a milestone 10th year, pays tribute to the achievements of amateur sports men, women and children from the Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes and Levenmouth catchment areas.

An additional award, The Fife Free Press Group Sports Personality of the Year, will also honour the region’s top sports professionals.

A shortlist has been created for this prestigious title, previously won by UFC star Steven ‘Braveheart’ Ray, and Hibernian FC footballer Lewis Stevenson.

The winner is decided by our readers via an online vote on www.fifetoday.co.uk.

Vote for your favourite now using our poll above, which will be refreshed daily so you can vote more than once, to ensure your sporting choice gets the recognition they fully deserve.

To help you decide on the most deserving winner, you can read a brief description of each nominee’s achievements by scrolling down the page.

Nominations are also open for the other eight award categories – open only to local individuals and clubs with amateur status – and the winners will be decided by a judging panel in the new year.

The awards up for nomination are Junior Award (born 2002 or later), Youth Award (born between 1997 and 2001 inclusive), Senior Award (born 1996 or earlier), Disability Award, Coach of the Year, Junior/Youth Team Award, Senior Team Award and Service to Sport Award.

To nominate a team or individual for an award, click here.

All winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in Fife College’s St Brycedale campus on March 8.

VOTE FOR YOUR FFP GROUP SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR:

SAFYAAN SHARIF (cricket)

Buckhaven cricketer Safyaan Sharif has been part of the Scottish national squad for some years now.

Playing his sport locally, at Falkland and more recently Glenrothes, all-rounder Sharif first appeared for Scotland in a one day international against the Netherlands in Aberdeen in 2011 before going on to make squads for the World Cup and World T20. With Sharif in the side, Glenrothes CC certainly get used to the taste of victory.

In 2017 he helped the side to 10 wins, racking up a stunning 645 runs in the process - his highest game total a 101 and averaging 49.6

With the World Cup qualifiers scheduled for Zimbabwe in March 2018, Sharif is again planning on make his presence felt at international level cricket.

JONNY ADAM (motorsport)

In an achievement to rival Fife’s all-time sporting greats, Kirkcaldy’s Jonny Adam fulfilled every racing driver’s dream by claiming victory in the Le Mans 24 Hour.

The race is ranked alongside the Indy 500 and Monaco Grand Prix as one of motorsport’s Triple Crown, and is watched by millions across the globe.

The former Balwearie High pupil wrote his name into history by guiding his Aston Martin V8 Vantage to victory in the GTE Pro class in one of the most dramatic endings to the 24 hour race, having snatched the lead on the final lap. The achievement, and the manner of it, made worldwide news.

In addition, Jonny also claimed the Blancpain Endurance Series drivers title to cap a memorable 2017.

CRAIG EASTON (football)

The achievements of Craig Easton’s development squad were the highlight of an otherwise forgettable 2017 for Raith Rovers.

While the first team suffered relegation from the Championship, Easton’s under 20 side restored pride by becoming champions of the SFPL Development League in their first year of existence.

Despite starting with just three signed players, Raith’s head of youth development quickly moulded a tight-knit, title-winning squad, as well as helping a number of youngsters make the breakthrough into the first team this season.

Easton has also played a major role off the park in terms of fundraising for the development squad and was heavily involved in the successful Jim Baxter Tribute night held at the Adam Smith Theatre in May.

LORRAINE WATSON (football)

Lorraine is a trailblazer for female football referees after becoming the first woman to take charge of a senior men’s match in Scotland. The Thornton whistler made history in September when she took charge of Edinburgh City’s 1-0 win over Berwick Rangers in SPFL League Two.

Lorraine has previously officiated at the Women’s Under-19 European Championships and was a fourth official at the Women’s Euro 2017 in the Netherlands this summer.

The FIFA official has also taken charge of games in the Women’s Champions League.

She is currently bidding to attain full Scottish FA category one status which would allow her to referee matches as high as the Scottish Premiership.