Meet the Coach of the Year nominees for the 2023 Betway Channel Islands Sports Awards

  • ITV Channel's Keilan Webster talks through the nominations for the Coach of the Year Award

Four people have been shortlisted for Coach of the Year at the 2023 Betway Channel Islands Sports Awards.

There are two nominees from each Bailiwick: rugby coach Myles Landick and football coach Elliot Powell from Jersey, along with swimming coach Sara Parfit and football coach Jordan Kelly from Guernsey.

Under Myles, Jersey RFC won promotion to Regional 2 South Central last year, a division the side looks set to win this season having only lost one match so far.

He also led the island to a Siam Cup win in May.

Reflecting on the year, he says: "It's been a tough time off the field, with Jersey Reds and Jersey Rugby Club rebuilding again sort of from scratch so that's been testing.

"Everyone's just pulled together really well and just made it happen so that's for me the biggest positive."

Guernsey topped the table at last year's NatWest International Island Games and a large part of that success is down to Sara Parfit, whose swimmers won many medals for the island.

She says: "The island games were absolutely amazing. They far exceeded my expectations, the girls in particular. It was a special game and the fact that it was in Guernsey made it all the more special."

Jersey ended up second in the medal table, with one of their golds coming in the men's football.

The team's coach, Elliot Powell, only took on the role at the last minute, but managed to guide them to the top prize, beating Ynys Môn 5-2 in the final:

He explains: "It's one of those years that I think now that I have come out of it and reflected on it, it's probably not really going to get better than that for the foreseeable, so definitely one that I'll always look back on fondly."

The final nominee is also involved in football, Jordan Kelly is Guernsey's FC's goalkeeping coach and manages the island's under-18 and under-21 Muratti sides.

In that competition, he has won two games from two so far and feels positive about the future.

Jordan says: "Obviously for Guernsey, we were going through a bit of a stage where Muratti wins weren't coming.

"They were few and far between, but now it's nice to start getting belief in building a new culture and personally to have a little bit of an influence is quite nice I must say."

The winner will be announced at a special awards evening in Guernsey on Thursday 8 February, with live programmes at 8:30pm and 10:45pm on ITV1 across the Channel Islands.

Award categories

🏆 Betway Channel Islands Sports Personality of the Year

  • Nominees for the main award of the night are likely to have performed well outside of the islands, though high performers at a local level will be considered.

  • The person needs to either have been born in one of the islands, lived in the islands for the year in question, or have very close relationships with one of the islands.

  • The winner will be decided by a public phone vote and announced live at the event.

🌟 Sure Rising Star

  • This award - which is decided by a panel of judges - is designed to recognise a young athlete who has the ability and attitude to make it to the top in their chosen sport.

  • The person needs to either have been born in the islands or lived in one of the islands for the last year and be under the age of 20 on 31 December 2023.

  • High performance at a national or international level will have a bearing on the decision.

👩‍👩‍👧‍👧 Grant Thornton Team of the Year

  • Any team of two or more people competing in the same event will be considered by the judging panel for this prize.

  • Performance at a national or international level is likely to have more bearing than at a local level. However, local performances will not be discounted.

🙋 Coach of the Year

  • Four coaches based within the Channel Islands will be selected by the team of judges.

  • The performance of a coach's team or athletes will be a significant consideration.

  • Their achievement with the resources available to them will also be taken into account.

🏅 Michael Lucas Sporting Hero

  • This award is for someone who, in the eyes of the judges, has put more into their sport than could be expected.

  • The winner is likely to be an ‘unsung hero’.

  • Nominations are sought from across Channel Islands sports, however, the winner will usually come from the island in which the awards are being held.