Steven Arroyo from ITF England was presented with the Sports Personality of the Year Award for 2009 in the Sussex area on Tuesday 16th March.

Steven, who trains under Mr Philip Lear in Crowborough, Sussex, won Gold at the European Championships in Benidorm, Spain for Senior Male 2nd Degree Patterns. This was his second senior Euro title that he has won after his Gold at the same degree at the 2007 European Championships in Slovakia.

The award is seen as a massive achievement as Steven was nominated by the sports editor of the local newspaper, The Courier, along with 14 other nominees from more mainstream sports including football, rugby, swimming, equestrian and hockey. The general public voted for their winner and Steven came out on top winning the award ahead of the horse jumping two time winner of the title.

On receiving his award Steven made a short speech to thank those who had supported him over the years and set out his plans for the future. Instructor Mr Philip Lear was very proud of him saying “Steven is a world class competitor and his consistent results since winning the Junior World Championships in 2006 are testament to that, he still has more to achieve, but I am very proud of his hard work and determination”.