Even before the great and good assembled in the Aurora Sports Centre this Friday night, the omens weren't looking good for Bangor Rugby Club's 1st XV. Holding the awards evening at almost the exact time and duration of the Wales v Ireland match in this year's 6 Nations Championship, arguably one of rugby's biggest fixtures, showed a lack of appreciation of what this meant not only to rugby at grass roots level in North Down, but generally across our nation and beyond. This, coupled with the fact that the event pre-show majored repeatedly on the eventual winners of the 'Team' category, was certainly a less than confident expectation level.

In the end, the result was no surprise as the sailing team of Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern picked up the award for their sailing performances on the world stage, eventually finishing 6th at last year's Olympics in Rio.

While Bangor cannot argue with the extraordinarily high level that these sailors compete at, the relative achievements that each sporting team attains within the particular level and sphere of their respective competitions is surely worthy of consideration. The comment was made that while coming 6th in the Olympics is something quite outstanding for a small sporting nation such as Ireland, it is something that may be repeated or hopefully bettered, given the participants' continued participation at that level. However, by contrast, Bangor 1st XV's record last season is unlikely to be repeated or bettered within the ranks of junior rugby in Ulster, and even less likely within the confines of Ards and North Down Borough.

Having reached the pinnacle of junior rugby, Bangor now find themselves as small fish in the large pool of senior clubs, and will undoubtedly have many seasons of hard work and struggle to initially consolidate and then hopefully progress to the higher divisions. What is particularly heartening is that the players who formed the all-conquering side last season are still together and supporting each other in the goal of their team's continued progression. Again, this is in sharp contrast to the breakdown of the sailing team who are now individually pursuing new partnerships and opportunities.

In an Olympic year, it's easy to home in on our local competitors, especially as this is a 'once in 4 years' occasion. However, it's often easy to overlook the many years of hope and disappointment that a team has had to endure in achieving their goal, no matter how long it takes (Bangor took 14 years to regain senior status, and their entire existence to win the Junior Cup).

Like all Ards and North Down folk, the hope is that all this year's nominated teams (and also the many more who competed but fell short) continue to bring glory to the borough in their respective sports. For Bangor's part, this continues immediately with a home fixture against Tullamore in the All Ireland League on Saturday. Despite the outcome of Friday night's award ceremony, the 1st XV players and their large team of support personnel are without doubt Bangor Rugby Club's Sports Team of the Year.