Amazing nine-year-old who cycled 150 miles left shaking after Best of Hartlepool win - now he's encouraging others to enter their nominations

He’s the Hartlepool youngster who cycled 150 miles in three days – but it was a very special awards night which left him shaking.
Lewin Tubuna with his trophy after winning the Best of Hartlepool Child of Achievement Award.Lewin Tubuna with his trophy after winning the Best of Hartlepool Child of Achievement Award.
Lewin Tubuna with his trophy after winning the Best of Hartlepool Child of Achievement Award.

Lewin Tubuna raised more than double his initial target of £2,500 when he rode from Whitehaven in Cumbria back to Hartlepool last year.

He did it on behalf of Alice House Hospice and won the hearts of supporters who followed his progress on social media.

But despite such a phenomenal achievement, he was still shocked to be chosen as the Child of Achievement Award winner at the 2018 Best of Hartlepool Awards.

A thumbs-up from Lewin after completing his charity challenge last year.A thumbs-up from Lewin after completing his charity challenge last year.
A thumbs-up from Lewin after completing his charity challenge last year.

But mum Lynsey remembers it well because it was a ‘brilliant evening’, she said.

“When Lewin got back to the table after receiving his award he said to me his heart was was beating so fast and his legs were shaking because he never expected to win.

“It was a brilliant evening the set up and arrangement was fantastic!

“We and Lewin were very honoured and proud to be part of it. When Lewin won, we were all overwhelmed as everyone who was nominated was a worthy winners.

“We were proud and Lewin was ecstatic.”

There were ups and downs as well as tears along the way as Lewin battled through tough conditions on his epic bike ride in August 2018.

But throughout it all, he had his support team and his dad Suli by his side.

Lewin never gave up and a crowd of supporters were waiting at Hartlepool Rugby Club to greet him as he arrived back in town – on the day of his 10th birthday.

Now, we are searching for this year’s Best of Hartlepool nominations.

We want to hear about the wonderful causes out there which are worthy of recognition. We want you to nominate them all for honours in this year’s Best of Hartlepool Awards which are officially launched today.

It’s your chance to give those very special unsung heroes the praise they so richly deserve.

Don’t worry about puzzling over which category to enter your nomination in - we’ve got loads for you to choose from. Take a look at the list below and choose the right one for your community favourite.

In fact, put as many nominations in as you like as we are sure there are loads of worthy causes out there.

Let’s make this a hugely difficult task for the judges by coming up with a glut of entries.

The deadline for entries is Monday, November 11 with judges meeting to draw up the shortlists on Wednesday, November 13.

And then comes the grand finale which will be held at Hardwick Hall on Wednesday, December 4.

But first, get those nominations in. Send them by email to [email protected].

Here are the categories to choose from;

Role Model;

Green Champion;

Child of Achievement;

Fundraiser of the Year;

Carer of the Year;

Student of the Year;

Sporting Excellence;

Volunteer of the Year;

Community Group;

Community Champion;

Child of Courage;

Sports Team of the Year;

Emergency Services Award;

Performer of the Year (under 21);

Lifetime Contribution.

If you are nominating or entering the Young Performer of the Year category, remember to send us a video of the nominated person performing.

Our thanks go to this year’s sponsors for their invaluable support and they include Stagecoach North East, Specsavers, English Martyrs, Northern School of Arts and Hartlepool Borough Council.