THE search to find the stars from the last 12 months that will be celebrated at West Fife's sporting 'Oscars' is now under way.

Nominations for the 2018 Dunfermline and West Fife Sports Council awards are open and both sports clubs and individuals are invited to cast their vote and put forward who they believe deserves to be in with a chance of winning one of 10 prizes at next month's annual prizegiving ceremony.

The awards, which first took place in 1978, celebrate the best of talented sportsmen and women from across the area with the top accolade, the West Fife Sports Personality of the Year, given to an individual deemed to be the outstanding sports person from the past 12 months.

Celebrating last year – which was the 40th time that the awards ceremony had been held – was 400 metres hurdler Jack Lawrie, who won the top prize after missing out to Paralympic silver-medalist Alison Patrick a year earlier.

Although the Pitreavie AAC runner missed out on a qualification time narrowly for the Commonwealth Games, Lawrie represented Great Britain at the European Under-23 Championships in Poland and reached the 400m final; won gold at the Scottish Athletics Senior and Under-17 National Championships, and at the National Relay Championships in the 4x400m; and a silver medal running for Scotland at the Manchester International.

Previous winners of the Sports Personality of the Year include fellow Pitreavie member, and Olympic bronze-medalist, Eilidh Doyle; Hillend swimmer Tain Bruce; and the late badminton player, Russell Hogg.

A further nine accolades will be presented on the night, and include the Junior Team of the Year (under-16s) and the Benny Hutton Team Award (over-16s); The East Kilbride Sports Council Award, which is aimed at athletes with a disability that have achieved significant progress in their sport; the Active Schools School Ambassador of the Year and Youth Coach of the Year; the Coach of the Year; the Services to Sport Award, presented to individual volunteers who have given exceptional service to their sport and help it develop; and the Dunfermline Press Young Sports Personality of the Year, which is awarded to a young person of 16 and under.

The awards ceremony will take place at the Carnegie Business Centre in Dunfermline on Thursday, February 21 from 6.30-8.30pm but nominations must be submitted by Monday.

Nominees should be resident within Dunfermline and West Fife or are a member of a club affiliated to the sports council, while those who derive their livelihood from taking part in competitive sport or coaching professionally are not eligible for nomination.

Nomination forms can be downloaded at www.westfifesport.co.uk; by emailing sports.councilwest@fifeleisure.org.uk; by calling 03451 55 55 55 (ext 493344); or by writing to Dunfermline and West Fife Sports Council, Music Institute, East Port, Dunfermline, KY12 7JA.

Completed forms should be returned to the Music Institute or emailed to sports.councilwest@fifeleisure.org.uk.