Bevis and Hunt take the top individual sporting honours

12:50pm Thursday 28th February 2008

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DISABLED shooter James Bevis had four reasons to celebrate at the Hereford Times sponsored Herefordshire Sports Council 2007 Sports Personality Awards.

The 31-year-old picked up the Sportsman of the Year and the Disabled Sports Personality honour at last Thursday's event.

The Ross-on-Wye Target Shooting Club member has received conformation that he is the top-ranked disabled shooter in Great Britain.

And Bevis is now almost 100% certain of gaining selection to the Great Britain team for the Paralympics in Beijing this September.

Bevis, who lives in Fawley, has enjoyed a tremendous rise in the sport after having only started shooting in April 2006.

Westside Netball Club's, Jaydee Hunt, was the Sportswoman of the Year.

Hunt has proved inspirational to her Herefordshire netball colleagues and she is hoping her own success will rub off on her Westside team who are chasing the West Midlands Regional Netball League Division 2 title.

Hereford Rowing Club had a night to remember with a hat-trick of victories.

Frank Ford was the Coach of the Year, while the club's junior squad was the Junior team of the Year.

The rowing club's Women's Veteran B Coxed four were named the Senior team of the Year.

Kathryn Hawkins, 18, was the inaugural winner of the Young Volunteer of the Year award. She is a member of Hereford Lads Club and joined when she was just 14 years old.

Kathyrn was described, at the event, as a shining example to all those around her. She is an FA Level 1 coach with First Aid and Child protection qualifications.

And the under-12 Hereford Lads Club Vixens team which she manages has scored more than 60 goals and conceded just a handful.

Kathryn coaches at the Herefordshire Girls' Development Centre and, at present, she is working hard towards her Level 2 coaching badge.

She plays an energetic role on the club's committees and is in involved in their fund-raising efforts.

Kathryn plays football for the Hereford Sixth Form College girls' team and devotes a lot of time to helping young people.

Richard Wydenbach, who taught PE at Weobley High School for 36 years, won the Service to Sport accolade.

Wydenbach has enjoyed a variety of roles in Herefordshire school sports.

He was secretary of Herefordshire School Sports' Association and chairman of the Leominster District Athletics Association for 18 years.

Wydenbach is also a former chairman of the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Athletics Association. He was manager of the Herefordshire Under-13 cricket team for 23 years and had various roles in the schools' football association. Those roles included being secretary, under-16 team manager and chairman for 30 years.

The new sports hall at Weobley High School has been called the Wydenbach Sports Centre.

Since his retirement in July 2006, Wydenbach has remained active. He also helped, voluntarily, at the Weobley school with lunch-time practices and after-school sporting activities.

He teaches basketball and is coach of Weobley Girls' Under-16 football team.