WHO are South Cumbria’s sporting stars of the year?

The Mail sports desk wants you to help us pick some worthy winners for our 2017 South Cumbria Sports Awards.

There will be five prestigious awards up for grabs, with the winners being unveiled and trophies handed out at a special presentation night in the New Year.

Backed by our generous sponsors Furness Heating Components, we select a sports performance winner every month – and now the build-up to the annual awards begins.

Candidates for the awards must come from within the Mail’s circulation area. This stretches from Grange in the south, Holmrook in the north and Ambleside in the east.

The first award is for sportsperson of the year, and is sure to be a hotly-contested category.

There have been some incredible individual achievements from local sportsmen and women over the past 12 months. We have listed a few star performers here. But this is not a closed shop, and if you can think of other worthy contenders, please put their names forward.

How about Barrow boxer Liam Conroy, who was crowned English light-heavyweight champion after a sensational second-round stoppage win over reigning champion Joel McIntyre in London?

Or Lancashire’s former Barrow CC junior Liam Livingstone, who made his England Twenty20 debut and enjoyed another great County Championship campaign, including scoring a career-best 224?

In rugby league, it was another good year for Barrow Island product Brad Singleton, who helped Leeds win the Super League Grand Final and starred in Ireland’s excellent World Cup campaign Down Under.

Another former Rating Lane player who made an impact at the World Cup was St Helens ace Morgan Knowles, making a try-scoring contribution for Wales, and he was also shortlisted for the Super League young player-of-the-year.

From the footballing world, there is the Manchester City connection in the shape of talented teenagers Georgia Stanway and Curtis Anderson.

Stanway was on the scoresheet regularly in the Womens Super League, helped City win the FA Cup at Wembley, and played for England under-19s.

And Ulverston goalkeeper Anderson had an unforgettable year between the sticks as he helped England under-17s win the World Cup in India.

At 17 years old, Anderson also qualifies for the junior sportsperson of the year prize, which is open to those aged 18 or under.

Other standout performers include golfer Natasha Slater, who was county champion and English County Champion of Champions, and novice Barrow jockey Charlotte Jones, who who blazed a trail with winners at Cartmel and Aintree.

Next up is the open-age team prize. Barrow Raiders would be a popular vote after winning the League One Cup and promotion to the Championship.

Also in with a shout are Croftlands Park FC, whose meteoric rise through the Furness Premier League ranks saw them win the Premier Division title; Millom CC, who pulled off a North Lancs Division One and Sowerby Cup double; and Black Combe Runners’ women’s team, who were England fell running championships runners-up.

There will be many candidates for the junior individual and team prizes, so please send us your nominations.

The aforementioned Anderson will be joined in the running by the likes of footballer Aimee Everett, who signed for Liverpool and played for England under-17s in their European Championships qualifiers; table tennis ace Ben McDonald, who has enjoyed success in regional and national competitions; while judo’s Harvey Burns has become a regular in the England squad and in international tournaments.

Contenders for the junior team prize include Ulverston Victoria High School’s orienteering team, who were crowned British champions and world silver medalists, and Dalton RLFC under-16s, who claimed a North West Youth League and Cumbria Cup double.

Last, but certainly not least, comes the service to sport award. We want to hear about the unsung heroes and volunteers whose work behind the scenes has made a vital contribution to local sport.

Nominations should be emailed to sport.em@cnmedia.co.uk or posted to Sports Awards, Evening Mail Sportsdesk, Newspaper House, Abbey Road, Barrow, LA14 5QS and reach us no later than midday on Friday, December 22.