A date has been set for the presentation of the Watford Observer Young Sports Writer of the Year Awards.

The presentation ceremony will be held at the Watford Observer’s office on Monday, July 14, starting at 6pm.

Invitations will be sent to each of the category winners, via their schools or educational establishments, early next week. Each winner will be allowed to attend with up to two guests to receive a certificate and a prize and find out who has won the overall title of Young Sports Writer of the Year.

The awards were established to promote sports writing among young people in our areas and entries were submitted for judging in three academic Key Stages and three categories – live reporting, feature writing and comment.

Those entries are currently in the process of being judged by a panel consisting of Group Sports Editor Anthony Matthews and two former Watford Observer staff members, Lionel Birnie and Adam Parsons.

Lionel is a specialist writer on cycling who has written and published four books on Watford FC while Adam is a former BBC sports correspondent who currently presents Radio 5 Live’s daily programme Wake Up to Money.