Your chance to celebrate alongside Oldham's grass roots sporting heroes

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With less than three weeks to go until the glitzy presentation evening at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Oldhamers are now being urged not to miss out on their chance to celebrate with their local sporting heroes at the 2018 Oldham Sports Awards.

The great and the good of the borough's sporting fraternity will converge at the QE Hall on Friday, September 21.

This year marks the 16th annual award ceremony.

The event allows people from different sporting backgrounds to unite as a community and appreciate each other's efforts in order to help improve the local area, while also congratulating and celebrating the accomplishments of the borough's biggest sporting heroes.

Winners from the Sport's Awards - there are eight categories - will go on to represent the borough at the Greater Manchester Sports Awards later in the year.

The award categories this year are Unsung Hero, Club of the Year, Coach of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Disabled Sports Achiever of the Year, Contribution to School Sport Award, Sports Achiever of the Year and the Changing Lifestyle Award.

Today the Chronicle begins with the first of our eight looks at the award nominees with a focus on the Unsung Hero.

Two people have been nominated:

Steve Corless

Steve has spent ten years at Chaddy Park Football Club, where he coaches his own team and sits on the committee, regularly attending matches to ensure standards are maintained.

In his additional role as head of the welfare team, Steve has set up the Steppers walking group to promote good mental health in the community.

He has gone above and beyond in the area of community responsibility, arranging collections for the local foodbank and hospital to ensure that everyone has food and gifts to enjoy at Christmas.

Described as a pillar of the community, Steve's generous nature involves always putting a child's welfare first with his strong moral ethic and awareness of wider issues.

Dave Donlan

Current chairman Dave has been at Springhead Football Club for over 30 years, during which time he has also occupied the roles of player, coach, youth team manager and committee member.

The club's 23 youth teams and two open age teams take many hours of paperwork and days stood coaching in the cold, and Dave is described as the person to call on no matter the time or the issue.

He takes on the role of ensuring the club is run correctly not just on match days by co-ordinating fundraising, managing committee issues, and meeting with players and parents.

To engage the community, Dave has developed a Saturday morning soccer school, organises the community bonfire and has recently begun a five-year development plan to continue the club's progress.

He has been nominated as a thank-you for his many years of service.

Tomorrow we'll take a look at the Club of the Year award nominees.

September 21 will present a great evening to recognise local people for their contribution to sport and activity.

Call 0161 770 4051 to book your tickets, which cost just £15 each.

In the meantime, check out local updates on Twitter using the hashtags #TeamOldham and #OSA2018