Colchester United are delighted to confirm that the Colchester Youth Awards will be held at the Weston Homes Community Stadium this year.

The Colchester Youth Awards (CYA) are now in their fourth year and this year's ceremony will be taking place on Thursday September 25th at the Colchester United Community Stadium.

U's Chief Executive Marie Partner told the official website that she was pleased to be able to host this prestigious event.

"This is a fantastic event for the whole of Colchester and we are delighted that it is to be held at the new stadium," she said.

"I was part of the original committee that got this event up and running and we feel that the stadium will be the perfect venue to hold this awards night.

"Even from the very early days, it was clear that this was a superb opportunitiy to recognise the efforts of young people throughout the town and give them the acknowlegement that they deserve.

"Due to the events of the past year in getting us ready for the stadium move, I have not been able to spend as much time as I would have liked on the event this year, but it is my strong intention to get fully involved once again from next year onwards."



Hundreds of people are expected to attend the event in September, which will be the first of many community based events at the new 10,000 all-seater facility.

Gill Thomson from the CYA partnership says "We are delighted to be bringing the Awards to the new stadium.

"Everyone involved in organising this event is so excited to have such a prestigious venue for the ceremony.

"Young people deserve the best, and the opportunity of coming to the best venue in town will really lift the awards into a different league."

The awards are a celebration of the achievements of young people aged 11-25 who live, work or study in the borough, and there are eight award categories:

Carer
Entrepreneur
Community
Volunteer
Environment
Outstanding Achievement
Arts
Personal Journey

You can nominate a young person, or even nominate yourself, for more information go to www.colchesteryouthawards.org.