The British Athletics Writers' Association (BAWA) is an organisation of British journalists who cover athletics. BAWA was founded in 1963 to represent the press covering the sport. It organises the BAWA Awards and is recognised by the

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, coverin ...

and the

Sports Journalists' Association The Sports Journalists' Association (SJA) is an association for British sports journalists. It represents the British sports media on the British Olympic Association's press advisory committee and acts as a consultant to organizers of major eve ...

Current Leadership

The current leadership team of BAWA for the period 2019-2020 includes: * Chair: Ben Bloom, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' * Secretary: Jason Henderson, ''

Athletics Weekly ''AW'' (formerly ''Athletics Weekly'') is a monthly track and field magazine published in the United Kingdom by Athletics Weekly Limited. The magazine covers news, results, fixtures, coaching and product advice for all aspects of track and field ...

'' * Treasurer: Tony Barden * Committee: Mark Woods, ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

;'' Jessica Whittington, ''

Past Chairs

Awards Luncheon

The Association has held an annual luncheon to recognise achievements in the sport since 1963 and award the BAWA Athlete of the Year trophy. It has been attended by notable figures including

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

president

Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British sports administrator, former politician and retired track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, incl ...

. The luncheon, where the winners are announced, is held in November at the Tower Hotel in London. Previous winners of the BAWA Athlete of the Year Award have included four-time Olympic champion

Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a Somali-British former long-distance runner. Considered one of the greatest runners of all time, his ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World tit ...

and two-time Olympic champion

Dame ''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronet, Baronetesses Suo jure, in their own right also u ...

Jessica Ennis-Hill Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill (née Ennis; born 28 January 1986) is a British retired athlete who specialised in the heptathlon and 100 metres hurdles. As a competitor in heptathlon, she is the 2012 Olympic champion, a three-time world champion (2 ...

, who have both been recognised with the trophy on numerous occasions. Former Olympic champions

Greg Rutherford Gregory James Rutherford Member of the Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 17 November 1986) is a retired British people, British track and field athlete who specialised in the long jump. He represented Great Britain at the Olympics, World a ...

MBE and

Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards may refer to: Musicians *Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, pseudonym of bandleader Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford *Jonathan Edwards (musician) (born 1946), American musician **Jonathan Edwards (album), ''Jonathan Edward ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

have also been recognised.

References

{{Reflist Sports journalism organizations in Europe Journalism-related professional associations Professional associations based in the United Kingdom Sports organisations of the United Kingdom * *