MORE than 400 people attended the eight Community Action Through Sports (CATS) awards evening recently.

Ed Coode, rowing Olympic and World Champion was one of the guests of honour who attended the prestigious awards ceremony for Callington and Saltash CATS.

Ed was invited, alongside local sports stars Elliot and Dave, rugby players from Plymouth Albion, Ed Buckingham, a local mountaineering star and Eva Pascoe, Year 8 student from Callington Community College who is the Under 14 British ski champion.

The athletes were interviewed by former CATS awards winner Tara Couch from Saltash.net and Michelle Roberts, chair of Callington and Saltash CATS. They were able to share their inspirational sporting journeys with young nominees, parents and friends of their community. The young people enjoyed listening to their stories and were inspired by their recognition of the value of volunteers and the importance they have in sport and many other areas of the community.

Over 170 young people received an award ranging from a level 1 award, which is the first step into volunteering, and level 5.

The CATS Volunteer of the Year award for 2015/16 went to a student of Saltash.net, Milliesha Vanstone, in recognition of her commitment to volunteering with the local brownies, a children’s club and a local charity shop.

The Young CATS Volunteer of the Year award was given to Will Tucker from Callington College. There were many worthy winners of the award, however, the judging panel decided that both Milliesha and Will had gone the extra mile in their volunteering roles.

Will has volunteered his time for a number of years with Launceston Town Band, playing at a variety of community events and recently developing its website. He has given up many hours of his time to benefit individuals in the band and the wider community.

The Young Volunteer of the Year award was presented by Denise May, MBE and founder of CATS. The presenters praised the dedication and commitment of all the volunteers who were recognised on the evening.

Michelle Roberts, chair of Callington and Saltash CATS, said: ‘The young people have once again shown a high level of commitment and dedication to our community. This has been recognised in an inspirational awards evening. I am proud of what our young volunteers have achieved and would encourage them to continue with their volunteering as they make a valuable contribution to many people in the Callington and Saltash area.’