Orkney Sports Awards

A lifelong sportswoman, Betty represented Orkney at junior level in netball, hockey, badminton and athletics, then continued at senior level in netball and hockey before adding squash to the list.

Betty started playing squash in the 1990s and became a regular at the Hatston Squash Courts, competing keenly in ladies' night and the winter leagues.

Between 1992 and 2019, Betty won the 15-minute handicap competition 5 times, the Kirkwall Open Championship 11 times, and the Orkney Ladies Squash Championship 15 times, more than any other player. She won 14 titles between 2000 and 2015, then came out of retirement in 2019 to win her 15th.

Betty represented Orkney multiple times in inter-county competitions against Shetland and Caithness, playing at number one for the ladies' team for many years until her retirement from that position in 2015. She also represented Orkney at the Inter-Island Games in Shetland in 2005, finishing 11th.

Beyond playing, Betty coached beginners and junior players, and served on the club committee, including as President from 2003 to 2007.

Kareen's love of rowing began on Swanney Loch, where she rowed during the summer months as a child. Her career took off at university, where she joined the rowing club, and she went on to become the only Orcadian woman to represent Great Britain in rowing.

Her achievements span more than a decade and several continents:

• 1982 and 1983 Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, Cambridge team, winners both years
• 1983 World Rowing Championships, Duisburg, Germany, Women's Eight
• 1989 World Rowing Championships, Bled, Slovenia, Women's Quadruple Sculls
• 1990 World Rowing Championships, Tasmania, Australia, Women's Coxless Fours
• 1991 World Rowing Championships, Vienna, Austria, Women's Eights
• 1992 Olympic Games, Barcelona, Spain, Women's Eights
• 1994 Commonwealth Games, Victoria, Canada, Women's Eights
• 1995 World Rowing Championships, Tampere, Finland, Women's Eights

Born in 1856 and raised at Orphir House, Henry is the only Orcadian to have received full Scottish honours in rugby.

He took up rugby after leaving Orkney, playing at Dollar Academy and then Edinburgh University, one of the top teams of the era. While there, he was selected to play for Scotland, part of the first international games played under the new 15-a-side structure.

Henry won 2 caps as full-back for Scotland against England and Ireland in 1877, with a 100% win record, Scotland won both games.

The 5 Hutchison brothers, Jackie, Freddie, Bobby, Ian and Eric, are part of Orkney football folklore, largely for their contribution to the annual clash against Shetland.

Between 1948 and 1973, at least one Hutchison brother represented Orkney County Football, amassing 36 caps against Shetland between them.

Jackie, the oldest, had his career interrupted by the Second World War, but played for Ness Battery and, while stationed in Italy, alongside professionals. He gained 3 caps for Orkney between 1948 and 1950.

Freddie, regarded as one of the best centre-halves in the north of Scotland, won 4 caps before transferring to the police service in Paisley.

Bobby began as right-half in 1954, gaining most of his 8 caps as a forceful half-back, and captained Orkney to two memorable inter-county victories.

Ian made his debut with a hat-trick in the 1956 6-1 win over Shetland, and scored 11 goals across his 7 caps.

Eric, the youngest, made his debut in 1959, won 14 caps and scored 5 times against Shetland, and attracted interest from Dundee United.

Ian and Eric were both part of Orkney's North Atlantic Cup win, overcoming Shetland and the Faroe Islands across 8 fixtures between 1968 and 1973.

Ian's involvement with swimming began at Scapa Beach, where many local people learned to swim. He was part of the Junior Inter County Swimming team in 1961, breaking the 50-yard breaststroke record, which he still holds.

After Kirkwall Indoor Swimming Pool opened in 1972, Ian helped set up a disabled swimming club, beginning a lifetime commitment to the sport. He held numerous roles at Kirkwall Amateur Swimming Club and Orkney Amateur Swimming Club, including President of both.

Ian gained coaching and refereeing qualifications, and was appointed Orkney Area Officials Convener in 1995. He went on to officiate at over 300 district meets and over 200 national and international meets, including the 1994 Scottish Open and Commonwealth Games trials, the 1999 World Cup in Glasgow, and the British International Grand Prix in Manchester.

He was lead referee for the 2005 Island Games in Shetland, working with 72 officials and 67 volunteers. In 2015, he received Life Membership of North District, awarded for outstanding service to Scottish swimming.

Melvin played badminton for Orkney from 1972 to 1993, earning 21 caps against Shetland and numerous caps against Caithness. He competed regularly in singles, doubles and mixed doubles, and represented West Mainland against East Mainland for many years.

In the early 1970s, he was spotted by Scottish Badminton and invited to train at sportscotland's National Training Centre in Largs, a rare honour for an Orkney player at the time.

Melvin represented Orkney at the second Inter-Island Games in 1987, playing mixed doubles against a Guernsey pairing that included Europe's then-number one player, in a closely fought match.

Rognvald competed at local, Junior Inter-County and District level, and at the time of his induction still held all Orkney Open short course backstroke records, set in the early 1990s.

He represented Orkney at Junior Inter-County from 1983 to 1988, breaking the 50m backstroke record, and became North District champion and gold medallist for 100m backstroke. He won gold and silver for Scottish Schools in 1988 and 1989, was part of the Scottish Senior Swimming squad from 1988 to 1991, and Scottish Universities backstroke champion in 1990, with 2 caps for Scotland.

He achieved success at 2 Island Games:

Faroe Islands 1989

• Gold, 50m Backstroke
• Silver, 100m Backstroke
• Bronze, 4 x 50m Medley Relay

Åland Islands 1991

• Silver, 100m and 200m Backstroke
• Gold, 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay
• Silver, 4 x 50m Medley Relay and 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay

Rognvald received the University of Stirling's Airthrey Trophy in 1989-90, and was the university's first Sports Bursary recipient in 1990. At the Commonwealth Games trials for the 1990 New Zealand Games, he finished second in the 100m backstroke, a qualifying time, though funding constraints meant not all qualifiers were included in the team.

Shona began her sporting career aged 12, playing hockey for Dounby Athletic Club, and went on to represent Orkney across four decades in both hockey and netball.

As a junior, she captained both the Orkney and Shetland junior inter-county hockey and netball sides in 1980, receiving her first senior cap the same year.

Shona is Orkney's most capped senior inter-county hockey player, with 34 caps and 3 times captain, and most capped senior inter-county netball player, with 25 caps and 4 times captain. In 2004, she won Veteran Sportswoman of the Year while still actively playing both sports.

She won 2 winners' medals in the Scottish Hockey District Cup, and Netball Scotland's Evelyn Beattie Quaich in 2010. She represented Orkney at 3 Inter-Island hockey tournaments, in 2009, 2011 and 2013, and has since moved into umpiring and coaching, including Dounby's hockey team and junior inter-county hockey.

Born in 1907 at Scar House, Sanday, Tom Ward is among Orkney's greatest sporting exports. He left the island to join the Metropolitan Police in London, where he was introduced to wrestling.

Tom was a reserve for Scotland at the 1934 Empire Games in London, then selected for the 1935 European Championships in Brussels. He became British freestyle light heavyweight champion in 1936 and 1937, and again in 1943 after a break from competition.

In 1936, Tom represented Great Britain in freestyle light heavyweight wrestling at the Berlin Olympics, where he met the American sprinter Jesse Owens. In 1938, he won bronze for Scotland in the freestyle light heavyweight at the Empire Games in Sydney, now known as the Commonwealth Games.