EWOOD Amateurs picked up the Team of the Year prize -- to add to almost every other cup and award you could think of -- at the Blackburn & District Sports Council awards.

The side won the Blackburn Combination Premier Division last season, the Sports Council Cup, the Birtwistle Cup and the North West Inter league Alliance Champions of Champions Cup.

Other winners included Darwen junior netball club and sports stars Elaine Pickup, Sue Whittaker, Pauline Powell, Gemma Heggarty and Danielle Guppy.

Darwen netball club's teams picked up a host of prizes during 2000.

The Under 14s won the Bolton Junior tournament and had four members called up to the Lancashire County squad.

The Under 16s team won the Lancashire Youth League, had nine girls help Blackburn with Darwen to success in the Millennium Youth Games, had three players called up to Lancashire squad and have four on the England training programme.

The girls also run coaching sessions every Monday to help Darwen primary school children develop their skills.

Gordon Govier was named Official of the Year for his involvement in supporting referees. Each Saturday he can be found helping up-and-coming refs improve their performances.

Keith Whiteside, who formed Park Lane Rangers football club more than 25 years ago, the schools swimming programme's Sylvia White and Salim Dalal, the treasurer of Blackburn Community League, were all praised for their services to sport. World arm wrestling champion Elaine Pickup, badminton star Sue Whittaker, Blackburn Harrier Pauline Powell, Great Britain international and gold medal winning gymnast Gemma Heggarty and British junior ice skating champion Danielle Guppy won awards for international achievement.

Danielle was also named Junior Sports Personality of the Year, Pauline was Senior Sports Personality and Elaine won the Special Award for Excellence in Sport.

Swimmers Jim Dunn, a lower limb double amputee, and Paul Billington, who suffers from Cerebal Palsy, as well as sports acrobatics star Jill Riley won Merit awards.