After the historic season De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) sports clubs have recorded it would be wrong to not a throw a party to celebrate their sporting success. The world famous Welford Road Stadium played host to an inaugural ceremony on Thursday 18 May, which recognised the outstanding achievements of exceptionally talented #TeamDMU clubs and athletes. Ten gongs were awarded on the night from hundreds of nominees put forward by sporting students which were judged independently. Here’s what happened.
Men’s Rugby kick rivals into touch to pick up two of the big awards on Thursday at an end of season sports awards and dinner.
The club were awarded Club of the Year, whilst Vice-Chancellors Sports Scholar Henry Clement clinched Sportsman of the Year.
The awards come off the back of an exceptional season for the club, who secured a British University and College Sports (BUCS) Conference Plate trophy in addition to impressive Varsity performances.
(Above) Club of the Year, DMU Men's Rugby pose with their trophy alongside Deputy Vice-Chancellor Andy Collop
All three of the clubs teams were marginally defeated in their Varsity fixtures, pushing rivals the University of Leicester (UoL) right to the wire despite their opposition being considerably higher in BUCS Sport rankings.
Henry Clement has been pivotal in the 1st team’s success, kicking vital points and scoring vital tries during their BUCS league and cup campaigns in just his first year at the university. He also scored a game changing try in his side’s cup final against the University of Northampton on his way to being clubs highest points scorer.
Henry said: "I am delighted to pick up Sportsman of the Year. It's been a great season on and off the field especially with the likes of our Strength and Conditioning sessions playing a vital role in the clubs success.
"There's been a lot of hard work from the coaches and squad all season which has seen us go from strength to strength and also resulted in our historic BUCS cup victory."
#TeamDMU hopes he can continue his strong performances in the years to come.
(Above) Henry Clement, DMU Men's Rugby's highest points scorer and Vice-Chancellors Sports Scholar, picks up Sportsman of the Year
Henry wasn’t the only sports scholar amongst the awards on Thursday night as Niamh Bailey received the Special Recognition Award.
The recognition comes after the heptathlete recently underwent open heart surgery before quickly returning to training ahead of the BUCS Outdoor Athletics Championships in Bedford which she had to pull out of because of a hamstring injury.
The Bespoke Footwear Biomechanics MA student who has hopes of reaching the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Durban, won the heptathlon at the Championships in 2015 and 2016.
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Nimah said: "I would like to say thank you very much for the award, it means an awful lot to me.
"It is an honour to represent DMU and I am thankful for all of the support I've received this year.
"DMUsport have provided me with everything I need as a sports scholar here and I am looking forward to competing in BUCS again next year, in what will be my final year of study."
It has been an incredible sporting season for #TeamDMU, reaching 71st in the BUCS sport rankings, their highest ever position.
The rise of 14 places comes as a result of #TeamDMU recording 31% more BUCS points than ever before.
In addition to Men’s Rugby 1st cup success, there were five league titles secured by #TeamDMU sides and their BUCS trophies were awarded on the night.
One of those, Men’s Tennis 1st resulted in them being awarded BUCS Team of the Year at the celebratory event.
The award faced fierce competition from Netball 1st, Women’s Hockey 1st and Men’s Basketball 1st who also clinched league titles this season.
(Above), Vice-Chancellors Sports Scholar Niamh Bailey picks up the Special Recognition Award for her impressive Athletics performances.
#TeamDMU scored their highest ever Varsity points tally too in March, with a total of 20.5, to UoL’s 30.5.
The defeat leaves #TeamDMU still searching for their first ever Varsity victory in 25 years, but with over 8 fixtures being decided by only a few points, there is hope that next year could be even closer.
Speaking on the night, Head of Sport Fiona Dick highlighted some of the other key #TeamDMU achievements this season.
These included individual BUCS success for Maddison Moore in karate, Ricky Millar in kayaking and Jay Butt and Lewis Fraser in boxing.
DMU Men's Tennis celebrate being awarded British University and College Sports (BUCS) Team of the Year.
A recent national nod for Men’s 1st Team Hockey play at VC sports scholar Matt Lilley featured, whilst established partnerships with the city’s sports club and additional dedicated sports coaches rounded off Fiona’s speech.
Charity projects featured heavily too, with specific recognition for DMU Equestrian who raised nearly £800 for their annual naked calendar.
For their charity work, volunteering and social media interaction, the club were awarded Community Club of the Year.
The Swim and Triathlon Club were also praised for their efforts in raising funds for Kidney Research UK in February. They won Committee of the Year.
You can also view all the photos on our Facebook page.
Posted on Friday 19 May 2017