The baton isn't being dropped. We're simply pausing before we pass it on again.

It is with genuine sadness that I share that The Baton Awards did not go ahead this year as we had planned.

For me, The Baton Awards has never been just another awards ceremony. It was created from a deeply personal place, in honour of my late mother, Caroline, and from a determination to ensure that extraordinary women from diverse racial backgrounds are seen, celebrated and given the recognition they deserve.

Over the years, it has grown into a community, a movement and, importantly, the flagship fundraising event for Strength With In Me Foundation (SWIM), the charity I founded to help young people understand healthy relationships, recognise the warning signs of abuse and build the confidence and emotional tools to make healthier choices.

This year, however, we have had to pause.

The financial climate has been incredibly challenging. Securing the level of sponsorship required to deliver The Baton Awards to the standard our nominees, winners, partners and community deserve has become increasingly difficult.

At the same time, several members of our small Baton family have been navigating deeply sad and difficult personal circumstances. Sometimes, even when your heart wants to keep pushing forward, life reminds you that there are moments when you have to give people the space to deal with what really matters.

So, collectively, we made the difficult decision to pause. I won't pretend that decision has been easy.

The absence of The Baton Awards has also had a significant financial impact on SWIM at a time when funding across the charity sector has reduced dramatically. The Awards do more than celebrate remarkable women. They help us raise vital funds that enable SWIM to continue reaching and supporting young people.

But anyone who knows me, SWIM or The Baton Awards knows one thing about us. We are always up for a challenge.

A pause is not an ending.

To every woman who has been nominated, every past winner and finalist, every Torchbearer, sponsor, partner, volunteer and person who has supported us over the years, thank you. Your belief in what we created matters more than you know.

The Baton Awards were built on the idea of one generation passing opportunity, visibility and possibility to the next. That purpose has not changed. If anything, this pause has reminded us why we need to keep going.

So we will regroup. We will rebuild. We will find new partners who believe in the importance of this platform. And we will continue doing what The Baton Awards was created to do, shine a light on extraordinary women whose achievements deserve to be seen.

Returning in 2027. Bigger. Stronger. Re-energised.

Because sometimes you have to pause before you can move forward. But we will never drop the baton.