Cathryn Moore, 19, secures Child of Wales Young Leader award 2026

Key Points

• Cathryn Moore, 19, of Llandovery, is this year’s winner of the Young Leader Award at Ascona Group Child of Wales Awards 2026.
• She is the youngest woman volunteer firefighter of Llandovery and one of the youngest women firefighters in Wales.
• In addition to being a firefighter, she serves as a lifeguard and swimming teacher at the Llandovery Leisure Centre and a coach for Llandovery Ladies Netball Club.
• Organisers of the award highlighted her cool, compassionate, and professional handling of a call-out involving a cardiac arrest case this year.
• Cathryn had openly talked of her struggles with dyslexia while studying for the written exams necessary for qualifying as a firefighter.
• The awards ceremony was held on Friday 2 October 2026 at Swansea Building Society Arena, with BBC presenter Gethin Jones as host.

Wales (Wales Times) October 06, 2026 — Cathryn Moore, 19, was recognised at the Ascona Group Child of Wales Awards on Friday 2 October 2026, after a summer in which she served as an on-call firefighter during widespread wildfires while continuing her work as a swimming instructor and netball coach.

The Young Leader Award acknowledged her leadership across emergency response, youth sport and water safety, with organisers highlighting her maturity in high-pressure situations and her commitment to mentoring younger people in the town.

What happened at the Child of Wales Awards 2026?

The Ascona Group Child of Wales Awards marked its fifth anniversary with a ceremony attended by about 700 guests at uk/local/swansea/">Swansea Building Society Arena. BBC Morning Live presenter Gethin Jones hosted the event for the fifth consecutive year, as the awards recognised children and young people from across Wales for courage, community service and achievement in areas including sport and the environment.

Blanche Sainsbury, founder and chief executive of the Child of Wales Awards, said bringing together 700 people to celebrate young people from every corner of Wales was “something very special”, adding that it was a privilege to give them a platform and shine a light on achievements often made in the face of significant challenges.

Who is Cathryn Moore and what roles does she hold?

Cathryn Moore, from Llandovery, is the town’s youngest female on-call firefighter and one of the youngest female firefighters in Wales. In addition to her duties with the fire service, she works as a lifeguard and swimming instructor at Llandovery Leisure Centre, where she helps young people build confidence and learn life-saving skills.

She is also an active member of Llandovery Ladies Netball Club, playing at weekends and coaching younger teams as part of her voluntary work in the community.

How did award organisers describe her performance during emergencies?

A spokesperson for the Child of Wales Awards said that, despite her young age, Cathryn has already faced situations that many people would find overwhelming, noting that even highly trained responders can struggle emotionally with such incidents.

“Cathryn remained calm, compassionate and professional throughout, supporting both her crew and the casualty with remarkable maturity,” the spokesperson said, referring to her response to a cardiac arrest call-out earlier in the year that sadly proved fatal.

The statement added:

“Cathryn leads by example every day. Whether protecting her community, teaching children to swim or mentoring young netball players, she demonstrates selflessness, dedication and an unwavering commitment to helping others.”

“She is an inspiring role model and a truly deserving recipient of the Young Leader Award,” the spokesperson concluded.

What personal challenges has Cathryn Moore overcome?

Cathryn has spoken openly about her experiences with dyslexia, which made aspects of her education more difficult. Despite this, she demonstrated determination and resilience in preparing for the written exams required to become a firefighter, ultimately passing and joining the on-call crew in Llandovery.

Her pathway into the fire service began early: she decided at the age of six that she wanted to be a firefighter, and by 19 she had turned that ambition into a frontline role while balancing multiple community responsibilities.

What recognition did she receive for her work with swimming pupils?

Reports from local coverage note that Cathryn received thank-you cards from her swimming pupils after the summer wildfires, as families acknowledged her continued presence and support at the leisure centre despite the demands of emergency call-outs.

The Child of Wales Awards’ official winners’ profile for 2026 lists her alongside firefighting as a lifeguard and swimming instructor who helps young people build confidence and learn vital lifesaving skills, while also inspiring the next generation through netball coaching.

Background to the development

The Child of Wales Awards were established to recognise children and young people across Wales who have shown remarkable courage, kindness, resilience and achievement, often while facing adversity or supporting their communities. Now in their fifth year, the awards have grown into a major national ceremony, with the 2026 event drawing around 700 guests to Swansea.

The Young Leader Award, sponsored in 2026 by Greenhat Consulting, is designed to honour young people leading with vision and heart in their communities. Cathryn’s selection reflects the awards’ emphasis on multi-faceted service: she combines emergency response work with youth sport coaching and water-safety education in a small market town where such roles are highly visible and interlinked.

Her recognition also comes against a wider backdrop of increased pressure on Welsh fire and rescue services during the summer of 2026, with wildfire incidents stretching on-call crews across rural areas. Llandovery Fire Station has previously been acknowledged for its proactive community engagement, including strong local business ties and work promoting diversity and equality, according to Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service awards.

Prediction: how this development may affect young people and emergency services in Wales

Cathryn Moore’s award is likely to have several effects on her peer group and on local emergency services. For young people in Carmarthenshire and beyond, her story provides a visible example of how early career ambitions, such as becoming a firefighter, can be pursued alongside education, part-time work and voluntary coaching. The explicit mention of her dyslexia and exam success may encourage other neurodivergent learners to consider roles in emergency services that they might previously have assumed were inaccessible.

For fire and rescue services, high-profile recognition of a 19-year-old on-call firefighter may aid recruitment efforts among teenagers and young adults in rural communities, where retaining on-call crews can be challenging. It also reinforces the value placed on community-based roles, such as lifeguarding and youth sport coaching, as complementary to emergency response work rather than separate from it.

In the longer term, if similar cases are publicised, there may be increased interest from schools and colleges in developing pathways that combine fitness, first aid and volunteering with academic support for learners with specific educational needs, creating a broader pipeline into roles within fire and rescue, leisure services and community safety.