Professional Sportsman of the Year Sponsored byBirmingham University

A week has passed since nominations closed for the Birmingham Sports Awards and already we are hearing word from the judges that they have a tough set of decisions to make.

With a shortlist of three finalists to be drawn up for every one of 13 different award categories, nominees are itching to find out who is to be honoured.

All will be revealed at a star-studded ceremony at Aston Villa Football Club on Thursday, September 18, where many of the West Midlands’ finest sportspeople, of yesterday and today, will come together to celebrate the past year of wonderful sporting achievements in our region.

This week we spoke to Zena Wooldridge OBE, Director of Sport at the University of Birmingham , who explained why they are supporting the Sports Awards by sponsoring the Sportsman of the Year Award.

She told us: “As one of the largest providers of sporting opportunities in the City, the event is an excellent opportunity for University of Birmingham Sport to support the celebration of our sportsmen and women’s outstanding achievements with our partners and other key stakeholders.”

Zena sees sport as key to the vitality of the West Midlands.

She added: “The Birmingham Sports Awards goes further than recognising the hard work, commitment and outstanding achievement of our region’s teams and athletes.

“National and international sporting success is pivotal to what any major city would like to achieve.

University of Birmingham Sport
University of Birmingham Sport

“The standard of a city’s sport and its facility provision is an important benchmark by which to judge and measure numerous aspects of its culture, quality of life and ultimately, its competitiveness and success as a city.”

“Sport is as much about the economic impact on our society, the health impact and the many social and cultural benefits it provides, as it is about winning gold medals. Sport brings people together. It talks to all people in the same language and in the same voice, crossing barriers perhaps unlike any other activity we know.”

She also believes there are tangible benefits in later life for individuals who take part in sport. “Research conducted by British Universities and Colleges Sport recently showed that the current average salary of graduates who engaged with sport at university was significantly greater than those who did not.

“Graduate recruitment companies are increasingly targeting students who played sport at university, as they present with a wide range of skills – from teamwork to enhanced leadership qualities, which are some of the inherent benefits of sports participation.

“Personal development through sport is an important strategic objective at University of Birmingham Sport and we provide a range of vocational sport settings to enhance citizenship, employability and help create our business and society leaders of the future.

“University of Birmingham Sport is one of the UK’s leading sporting universities, attracting talented student athletes from across the country and around the world to study, train and compete. Many of our students and alumni go on to represent their nations at the highest level and so the Sportsman of the Year award is a natural fit for us.”

Work has begun on the University’s £55 million indoor Sports Centre, which will fill some well-evidenced gaps in the city’s sporting facility provision.

Opening in early 2016, it expects to cater for around 3,000 community members, as well as students, staff and alumni, and more casual ‘pay as you go’ users, community clubs and groups.

* Click here to book your table to celebrate Birmingham's Sporting stars of 2014!