THE company constructing the River Thames’ game-changing ‘super sewer’ have been nominated for a high-profile London Sport Award.

Tideway have been shortlisted for The Business Contribution Award, in association with the City of London Corporation, for their work alongside London Youth Rowing which aims to enhance the river’s wider social benefit and reconnect Londoners with the Thames.

The Award recognises the valuable role of businesses in providing sponsorship, support and resources that enable communities and sport to thrive in London.

London Youth Rowing aims to make rowing accessible to all and, in 2017, jointly-funded the Active Row programme, which encourages 11 to 18-year-olds in 70 schools across 12 priority boroughs to get involved in rowing.

John Sage, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Tideway, said: “We were absolutely thrilled to get shortlisted for this award.

“It’s been a long partnership between us and London Youth Rowing, and it really has emphasised the benefit of thinking long term and being prepared to fund long-term.

“It would be the cherry on the cake to win the award because we’ve formed friendships as well as really strong professional links with London Youth Rowing, so to win would be such an endorsement of how we’ve built the relationship between the two organisations.

“The Thames is such an underused asset, and we really felt London Youth Rowing were the right partners for us to encourage accessibility, especially when rowing has a reputation as an elite sport, so for us to be able to help London Youth Rowing change the face of rowing was another great reason to support them.”

Over the last five years, the annual London Sport Awards, in association with the City of London Corporation, has grown to become the biggest celebration of grassroots and community physical activity and sport in the city.

And this year’s showpiece event will once again recognise, celebrate, and shine a light on the stories of the incredible individuals, groups, and organisations for their outstanding work across the capital, helping Londoners of all ages and backgrounds to be physically active.

Tideway are the company delivering the Thames Tideway Tunnel, a 25km sewer under the tidal section of the rivers across inner London to capture, store and convey the raw sewage and rainwater that overflows into the Thames.

Tideway’s support of London Youth Rowing during the pandemic included moving forward scheduled payments and de-restricting funds to be used to meet core costs and support team development, using their cohort of trained life coaches to support team members with their career and life aspirations.

Andy Mitchell, 61, Chief Executive Officer of Tideway, said: “I was born in St Agnes in Cornwall, which is where Surfers Against Sewage first started because our beach was heavily polluted.

“We at Tideway saw there was a lost love affair between Londoners and the river because it had been biologically dead since the 1950s, and all of that seemed wrong. 

“So the opportunity to work with London Youth Rowing was all part of our reconnection, and I think it’s been an incredible journey.”

The London Sport Awards, in association with the City of London Corporation, shines a spotlight on the unsung community heroes helping Londoners of all backgrounds to enjoy the benefits of physical activity and sport. Find out more about the Awards and how London Sport aims to make London the most physically active city in the world at www.londonsport.org #MakeYourMark