Cumbrian netball star Helen Housby and cricket legend Paul Nixon are among a number of special guests that will be attending this year’s Cumbria Sports Awards.

They will be joined by people from all over Cumbria and further afield to celebrate the very best of Cumbria’s sporting excellence in Windermere, the heart of the Lake District on Friday, November 29.

The evening celebration for the Cumbria Sports Awards 2019 will be held at the Low Wood Resort & Spa on the shores of Windermere and will also take a look back on the last four decades of Cumbrian sport on what is the 40th running of the event.

The nomination period for this year’s awards closed on October 21, with 115 nominations coming into Active Cumbria, the award organisers.

Individuals from a whole range of sports and activities have been nominated, having excelled in their sport, from rugby to running.

Richard Johnston, senior manager at Cumbria County Council’s Active Cumbria Team said: “The standard of nominations has been extremely high again this year and as always we are left amazed at the wealth of sporting talent here in Cumbria and the breadth of sports being represented.

“We have world, European, and national Champions as well as County Champions, and will also be celebrating the people behind the scenes who are the glue that make sport happen. Tickets for the evening in Windermere have been in high demand as we get ready to celebrate Cumbria’s sporting excellence.”

The evening will close with a talk show-style interview with three of the sporting guests. England Netball’s Housby, winner of Cumbria Sports Personality of the Year 2018, will be part of a question-and-answer session hosted by BBC Radio Cumbria’s Mike Zeller.

They will be joined by Malcolm Wilson, managing director of M-Sport, and ex-international cricketer Nixon completes the line-up to be quizzed as Zeller delves into their extraordinary careers.

Leicestershire head coach Nixon, who is from Carlisle, said: “I am honoured and delighted to be attending and supporting the event to celebrate 40 years of positivity in Cumbrian Sport. I’m looking forward to a great night of celebrating sporting pride in our county”.