AN ELITE Kendal golfer has been named as Cumbria’s junior sports personality of the year.

Caitlin Whitehead, who plays at Carus Green, picked up the accolade at the 2018 Cumbria Sports Awards held at the Low Wood Bay Resort and Spa, near Ambleside.

A member of the England under-18 squad and former winner of the rising star award, Caitlin enjoyed an exceptional year of sport.

In June she won the West of England Amateur Open at Bath Golf Club. She then represented the Cumbria ladies team at the Northern Counties match week, winning all of her five singles matches against Cheshire, Northumberland, Yorkshire, Durham and Lancashire.

In July she won the Young European Masters championship in Norway, while in August she was picked to represent Team Europe in the Asia Pacific Junior Championship in Hong Kong, winning the competition with an impressive 64 and also winning the mixed pairs with partner Sakke Siltala from Finland.

Her performance helped Team Europe to victory for the first time – and Caitlin has since been selected to represent England at the World Junior Championship in Canada and also played for England against Ireland in a mixed under-16 international, where she was only one of three players to have a 100 per cent winning record.

The talent and dedication of athletes, sports teams, coaches, volunteers, schools and workplaces in Cumbria were celebrated at the awards attended by 230 guests, including speaker Jenny Meadows.

Organised by Cumbria County Council’s Active Cumbria team and supported by United Utilities, the awards recognise the successes of teams and individuals from across Cumbria in sport.

Winner of the prestigious Sports Personality of the Year award was England netball player Helen Housby, from Wigton, while Nick Miller – who claimed gold in the hammer event at the Commonwealth Games in Australia in April – picked up the Performance of the Year prize.

He also finished second in the Athletics World Cup event in London, and was a finalist at the European Championships in Berlin.

The Special Award was presented to 19-year-old cyclist Ellie Dickinson, who won her first World Cup medals at the third round of the 2017/18 UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Milton, Canada.

Award winners included – Junior Personality of the Year, Caitlin Whitehead, Kendal; Rising Star awards, Emie Seward (BMX), Millom; Elliott Hodgson (karate), Seaton and Archie Davis (golf), Carlisle; Junior Team of the Year, Thomlinson Junior School girls football team, Wigton; Team of the Year, Workington Comets; Disability Performance of the Year, Ella Cooper-Holmes (para-swimming), Cockermouth; Volunteer of the Year, Irwin Wallace (football), Penrith; Service to Sport, Paul Burns (athletics), Barrow; Be Inspired Award, James Addyman (rugby), Keswick.