Feature

Preview: The Army Sports Awards

The Army Sports Awards take place at Sandhurst on Tuesday evening, and you'll be able to follow the evening on BFBS Radio's Facebook page and on the @BFBS Twitter account.

There are multiple categories, so here's a look at some of the contenders in the run-up to the big event.

RISING STAR

Craftsman Jamie Abley – WT Taekwondo

Currently in phase two training at MOD Lyneham to become a REME technician, Jamie Abley aims to become the first serving soldier to be selected for the GB squad for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Private Chloe Jones – Fullbore Target Rifle

A dog Handler with 1 MWD Regiment in Germany, Chloe Jones is in the Welsh Development Squad with the 2018 Commonwealth games in her sights.

Lance Corporal Alhagie Drammeh – Athletics

LCpl Drammeh of 4 Rifles became West German 400m champion, narrowly missing out on Olympic qualification for his native Gambia. He's now targeting the 2017 World Championships in London.

SPORTS OFFICIAL OF THE YEAR

WO2 Andy Halliday – Football

Andy is a Premier League official, and was appointed assistant referee at this year's FA Cup final between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Wembley.

Major Adrian Pery – Telemark Skiing

Adrian has been instrumental for the past 11 years in bringing Telemark, the oldest form of skiing, into the fold as a fully-integrated military winter sport.

Staff Sergeant Jason Browring – Boxing

Jason has been head coach since 2012. The team is one of the most successful in British amateur boxing, currently holding three national belts.

TEAM OF THE YEAR

Army Karate Team
Women's Rugby Team
Women's Hockey team

ADAPTIVE SPORTS ATHLETE

Captain (Retd) Nick Beighton

A former Captain in the Royal Engineers, Nick was injured in 2009 after stepping on an IED while serving in Afghanistan, which resulted in him losing both of his legs above the knee. He won a bronze medal in Rio in the KL2 Sprint Canoe event.

Captain (Retd) Dave Henson MBE

Dave Henson joined the Army in 2008 and served in the Royal Engineers. He lost both legs in an IED strike in Afghanistan in February 2011. He has become a successful competitive swimmer, and at the 2016 Invictus Games Dave set a world best time of 25.04 and went on to win a bronze medal at the Rio Paralympics

Corporal (Retd) Nerys Pearce

In 2008 Nerys was involved in a motorcycle accident that resulted in a spinal injury. She has gone on to success in multiple events in the pool and on the track. In September she won gold in the Weightlifting GB Open Para Powerlifting tournament in the 62KG+ category. She is now focusing on alpine skiing and hopes to race for Paralympics GB in the Winter Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang in 2018.

SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR

Sgt Amanda Potgeiter – Cricket

Amanda Potgeiter has topped the batting and bowling averages in all forms since 2002, scoring 4229 runs and taking 120 wickets. She also played 29 times for the UK Forces team against top opposition in her 14-year career, scoring more than 800 runs in the process.

Captain Karen Owen - Karate

Karen won a gold and two silver medals competing for England at the World Karate Championships in Dublin. She followed that up with inter-services gold in Kata and Kumite.

Corporal Stephanie Wroe – Boxing

Steph won the Southern Area welterweight belt before becoming Elite Welterweight champion of England then went on to claim the British Welterweight title. She's now in pole position to follow in the footsteps of Nicola Adams to the 2018 Commonwealth Games and Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR

Major Don MacIntyre - Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu

Don won gold at the IBJJF European championships and took silver at the British Championships and a gold and silver at the Inter-Services before leading the Army team to gold at the World Masters in Las Vegas.

Sergeant Dale Crossley - Wakeboarding

Dale was the first serving soldier ever to win the national championship and is the current men's masters world number one, while also continuing his role as a troop Reconnaissance Sgt with 22 Engineer Regiment.

Private Chris Rowan - Karate

Chris is the current Army Karate captain and has been inter-services champion for the past two years. He's English national champion and also holds the national titles of Malta and Poland.

Just click here to relive all of the highlights of last year's ceremony, meanwhile.