TALENTED teenage athlete Alex Botterill is urging the people of York to celebrate the city’s sporting stars.

Nominations are now open for the 2018 Active York Sports Awards, with entries being sought across 16 categories ahead of an awards ceremony at the University of York on Thursday, March 22.

Alex, 18, was named Young Sportsman of the Year in the 2017 awards and he believes the event is a superb celebration of the city’s sporting scene.

The Archbishop Holgate’s School sixth form student said: “It is great to be recognised by your own community. It gives you a real boost.

“It is a great award to have and it gets your name out there and gets you noticed.

“I would say to anyone that if they know someone who they think deserves an award, they should nominate them for the Active York Sports Awards.”

Alex used his Young Sportsman of the Year accolade as the springboard to a successful season, in which he won 800 metres gold in the ISF World Schools Championships in France and then the 800m title at the Youth Commonwealth Games in the Bahamas.

The City of York Athletic Club runner rounded off the year with further recognition in the form of the British Athletics Supporters Club Young Athlete of the Year award.

He said: “It was nice to have that confidence booster at the start of the year in the Active York Sports Awards. It was the start of a really good year for me with the Commonwealths and then the British Athletics Supporters Club award.”

The annual awards are organised by Active York, the city’s sport and active leisure partnership, which is working to encourage people to be more active more often.

Nominations are open until February 9 and the 16 categories are: Junior Team/Club of the Year, Team/Club of the Year, Active Primary School, Active Secondary School, Active in York, Coach of the Year, Disabled Sportsperson of the Year, Student Sportsperson of the Year, Sportsman of the Year, Sportswoman of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Young Disabled Sportsperson of the Year, Young Female Sportswoman of the Year, Young Male Sportsman of the Year, Youth Group Provider of the Year, and Outstanding Contribution to Sport.

To be eligible for nomination for any Active York Sport Award you must live, attend school or train or play sport within City of York Council’s boundaries.

There is a period of qualification, a minimum of a nine-month period from February 2017 to February 2018.

The awards will be judged by members of the Active York board, which includes sporting partners from across the city.

Nomination forms and awards criteria are now available at www.activeyork.co.uk