Tendring Youth Awards Cancelled For 2020

Posted on the 6th August 2020

THE FIFTH Tendring Youth Awards will now take place in 2021 following a decision by the organising committee to not go-ahead with the awards this year.

The awards aim to celebrate achievements by inspiring young people who live, study or work in Tendring, across a wide range of categories, as well as adults who support them.

Usually held in early July, the Tendring Youth Awards Committee had in April decided to postpone the awards due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and to keep the situation under review.

But with the volunteer committee members facing increased demands in their day jobs due to Covid-19, a lack of nominations due to school closures, and ongoing uncertainty about venue availability and the risk of further restrictions, Tendring Youth Awards has now decided not to go ahead in 2020.

A provisional date has been set in July 2021 for the next awards, and the nominations cycle will re-launch in the New Year. Any nominations made for the 2020 Awards will be carried forward to 2021, and the age limit on the categories extended by a year so no young people who may have been recognised this year miss out.

Karen O’Connor, Tendring Youth Awards Chairwoman, said it was a disappointing decision to make, but the right one.

“This is not a lightly taken decision, but we want to do things properly and allow ourselves the time to do that,” Karen said.

“We look forward to coming back bigger than ever next year, and we hope to get a bumper crop of nominations as we’re sure young people have been busy supporting their communities during Covid-19 – we’re also considering creating a special category next year for this.

“I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to all of our sponsors, who have supported our decision and all agreed to rollover their funding to next year, as well as thanking the committee for their ongoing support.”

Harwich Haven Authority is headline sponsor for the awards, which are supported by Tendring District Council and Essex County Council. Other sponsors are Galloper Wind Farm, Tendring Careline, the Princes Theatre and Nova Training, while the awards are also supported by Clacton Pier and the Clacton, Frinton and Walton Gazette and the Harwich and Manningtree Standard.