Nominations are now open for the Rose Paterson Community Sportswoman Award.
The award will be presented at the 2023 Grand National and was launched by Aintree Racecourse in partnership with BBC Radio Merseyside in memory of Aintree's late chairman Rose Paterson, who died in 2020. The accolade seeks to recognise a woman or girl from Merseyside who is making a difference to grassroots community sport, either through participation or support.
The inaugural Rose Paterson Community Sportswoman Award winner was Bridget Griffin, who is one of the founders of Park Palace Ponies. Nominations for the award can be made by the public, with a shortlist of five nominees set to be announced on BBC Radio Merseyside on Monday, April 3.
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Speaking at the launch of this year's awards, Rose's daughter, Evie Paterson said: "Myself and my family are all very grateful to Aintree and everybody there for coming up with the idea for the award in the first place, getting it off the ground and making it such an integral part of the Randox Grand National Festival. It is a wonderful way to remember her.
"Anybody doing a lot for community sport in the local area should be thinking about applying. We’re not just looking for sportswomen, I think that is important to highlight. We’re looking for the unsung heroes who are working really hard behind the scenes to support other women who really understand the benefits of community sport.
"We’re not just looking for the star athletes themselves, but anyone involved in the value of it and promoting it to woman locally. I don’t think that those people get enough recognition and that is why this award is so special. Hopefully it will draw out some of those unsung heroes and help them to get the recognition that they deserve.”
Bridget Griffin, 2022 Rose Paterson Community Sportswoman Award winner, added: "It was a special moment. Rose was a very special lady in our lives and helped us out a lot during lockdown and took some of our ponies to live up at her home which meant that we could furlough some of our staff.
"She looked after them as if they were her own and we are forever grateful for that. Rose is a really special person to us anyway and to receive this in her name was a real honour.
"It’s important that people don’t look at this just as an award for horse people and that they look to their local organisations no matter how big or small and that they think about those key people. It’s not just about the people who are taking part it in the sport, it’s the coaches, the people who are on the side-lines, looking after the facilities – it’s all those kinds of people who deserve the recognition.”
All five nominees will attend the Aintree Grand Women’s Summit on Ladies Day (Friday, April 14). The host of this year's Grand Women's Summit will be Sam Quek, who was part of the gold medal-winning hockey team at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The panel for 2023 will include world champion boxer Natasha Jonas, ITV Racing presenter Alice Plunkett and mixed martial artist 'Meatball' Molly McCann.
The winner and a guest will be hosted by Aintree on Randox Ladies Day. The winner’s name will be commemorated with a plaque on the Peter O’Sullevan Community Hub wall at the racecourse. They will also receive an annual pass to Aintree.
Nominations are open until Friday, March 31. You can find out more and submit a nomination here.
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