Now in its second year the sports awards campaign and event allows we at the Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter to reach out to the sporting communities by acknowledging and rewarding local sporting achievements and celebrating their success. In the coming weeks we will be highlighting randomly-selected nominees to inspire people to nominate those they think are deserving of recognition.

This week the spotlight is on the Loch Lomond Highland Games Committee, which has been nominated in the Volunteer of the Year category.

Hamilton Stewart, James McCrae, Ian Gurr, Alan Jones, Jack Hope, Ricky McGilchrist, A Thornton, D. Hume, L Ward, Bob Burness, and C. McLeod, have been put forward to be recognised for their work organising the annual games.

The LLHG Committee comprises of all volunteers who give up their time – 700 hours a year to be exact – to organise a locally treasured and important event.

The group works alongside West Dunbartonshire Council to provide the infrastructure that allows the Loch Lomond Highland Games to take place.

The committee members attend meetings scheduled by the council as well as their own planning meetings year round and have been doing so for over five years.

Fiona McGuigan, of West Dunbartonshire Council, nominated the group. She said: “The chieftain of the games James McCrae has been exceptionally good to work with and I admire his dedication and true passion for ensuring the games continue. The local people and many visitors/tourists have a tremendously good day at the event and it is an annual event that is very much looked forward to as a traditional Scottish sporting event.

“I feel that James along with the other committee members deserve some recognition of the time and effort that they put in to organising the Highland Games events on the field, which includes all the traditional Scottish events such as tossing the caber and the event also annually hosts the Worlds Heavy Weight Highland Games Competition.” The Loch Lomond Highland Games Committee works in partnership with West Dunbartonshire Leisure and West Dunbartonshire Council Greenspace to deliver the event.

Last year’s inaugural West Dunbartonshire Sports Awards was a huge success, attracting 37,000 votes from members of the public and decorating winners and runners-up across 12 categories.

In 2015, the awards promises to be bigger and better, culminating in a glittering awards ceremony at Clydebank Town Hall on Friday, October 30.

To nominate someone you think deserves to be in the spotlight, visit: www.westdunbartonshiresportsawards.co.uk.