After the success of last year’s biggest ever event and your feedback, this year’s ran to a very similar format, fun and games at the Fair after the AGM and a 3 course meal after the presentation and raffle. Raffle prizes were donated from sponsors and partners including Murbury Sport Ltd, Loughborough lightning franchise and Cancer Research UK; All monies raised has been donated to Cancer Research UK and this year through the sale of raffle tickets and Fun at the Fair a total of £150 was raised.
This afternoon event was all about recognising the amazing work volunteers do for netball in the East Midlands and celebrating their successes. The afternoon started off with ‘Fun at the Fair’ and then move on to the awards rooms where our MC Ruth Pickthorn made the whole afternoon go with a swing. Regional Chair Sue Collin was made to introduce Robin and Petra Bourne, Katherine Small, Emma Pritchard & Lindsay Satori EN President. Ruth continued detailing why we had all come together and explained that this year we had received nominations for all of our national awards categories, but not all the Regional awards – some didn’t get entries this year. The nominations we had received were a true testament to the Volunteers within the Region and a massive thank you to all who have taken the time to nominate. All nominated individuals received a pin badge at registration and were told to wear them with pride! We began with presentation with our Regional Competition winners as we have many competitions which take place within the region throughout the year. Several of the winners of these awards have succeeded at the highest level within the region before going on to National competitions in their category. Carol Spencer (Chair of the Competition Technical Support Group) came to the stage to present a training netball to each of the winning teams. Regional League Division 1 – Charnwood Rutland Regional League Division 2 – Bridgford Regional League Division 3- Northants Regional League U16 – Charnwood Rutland Regional League U14 – Cliftonettes Purple Regional High 5 Clubs – Briggs Regional U12 Clubs – Briggs Regional U14 Club – Brigg Regional U16 Club – Charnwood Rutland U19 Schools- Oakham School U16 Schools- Bramcote School U14 Schools- George Spencer Hi 5 Schools – Woodland View These awards were followed by CAPS clubs in the East Midlands CAPS (Club Action Planning Scheme) is a programme designed to captivate you and your netball club. It aims to support you to deliver a quality netball development programme and operate in line with best practice. Charnwood Rutland Netball Club - Bronze Reaccreditation The first award of the afternoon was the East Midlands Long Service Award – This award are presented to a nominated participant or member of an affiliated school who has given service to the region for at least 10 years within any capacity. Sue Collin was invited to the stage to present the awards. This year we have 8 recipients of this prestigious Award Liz Lorrimer – Nottinghamshire Lynn Moore – Leicestershire Caroline Richardson – Derbyshire Jayne Bell – Derbyshire Cheryl Naylor – Derbyshire (unable to attend) Helen Lillie – Derbyshire (unable to attend) Sue Danson – Derbyshire – (unable to attend) Kate Stephenson– Leicestershire – (unable to attend) Katherine Small, Emma Pritchard came to the stage to make their presentation of the Jean Perkins Walking Netball Award. This award was initiated in memory of Jean Perkins OBE, who sadly passed away last year, Jean was a stalwart of the East Midlands Region, having previously been chair of the region, and who inspired and assisted many of our more senior members achieve their goals in both officiating and coaching – Jean was passionate about netball, her county Leicestershire & the region and supported our efforts long after her retirement writing beautiful letters in the most amazing hand writing expressing congratulation when we had celebrated specific events and achievements. This award is presented to a walking netball participate whose personal lifestyle has changed significantly since coming to the walking netball sessions. This year nominations were exceptional and on this occasion the panel agreed to award two Winners: The first recipient of this award was, the main organiser of her group, since Sept 2017 when after seeing the programme she approached the local NDO for help as she wanted to start up a session. Obviously passionate and determined to succeed this lady had already been in contact with the local park to hire outdoor courts & subsequently advertised the launch as far & wide as she could. 10 ladies participated in that first session! This programme has given this nominee a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction seeing participants laugh and enjoy their session, many of whom have heart problems, depression and other ailments her aim is to ensure that everyone feels comfortable. Having undergone surgery to her foot her communication and participation never ceased she organised meals/outings, getting her husband to bring her to the sessions. Her quote: ‘it is lovely to hear everyone laughing it should be captured to show the impact that fun has on individuals’ The winner of this year’s Jean Perkins Walking Netball Award was….. Susan Bailey The second, recipient of this award, initially joined Walking Netball for social reasons - to meet new friends and to avoid loneliness. Having spent the last two years caring for her husband who died nine months ago loss impacted on her significantly and in affecting her confidence levels. Netball has provided her with a degree of release from her grief and brought her into a new circle of friends. She enjoys coming to Walking Netball sessions and recently took part in our first ever match. This member not on enjoys participating but she also is more than happy to share her skills and abilities on the netball court with those less experienced in the game. This is evident in her care for others helping them understand the rules and the skills of the game. Readily takes new players under her wing to ensure that they know their way around the court, helping them to put drills and skills theory into practice. She rarely misses sessions – only taking time out to care for her grandchildren when needed. This recipient is also very supportive of her Walking Netball Host and she is always the first to offer help in clearing away equipment at the end of session. The second winner of the Jean Perkins Walking Netball Award is…… Pam Harrison! Robin Bourne came to the stage to make the presentation of the Jean Bourne Back to Netball Award. This award is presented to a Back to Netball participant whose personal life style has changed significantly since coming ‘Back to Netball’, including their involvement in their local community. This year the award went to someone who joined B2N session in 2015 as part of a Free Sport scheme with Nottingham City Council. The scheme encouraged people to start or re-join a sport for free for 8 weeks the numbers attending these sessions allowed us to set up another team. This lady stepped up to captain the team and has been a brilliant source of support ever since. As well as all this, she recently began to try her hand at umpiring, getting involved at training and in friendly matches, and then recently undertook a C award umpiring course. ‘It’s been a pleasure coaching to watch her grow in confidence and skill, improving her fitness and become a much-valued member of the club who exhibits everything back to netball is about.’ The winner of this year’s Jean Bourne Back to Netball Award was…….Angela Cox Winners of 2018 Goalden Globe Awards will be put forward to the National Goalden Globe Awards hosted on Saturday 15th September at Nottingham Conference centre. This year we received nominations for every category which made selecting winners difficult for the panel so congratulations to all. Beginning with the Grassroots Coach of the Year award, RMB Elected Member Liz Broomhead was invited to the stage to present The Grassroots Coach Award which is presented to an affiliated coach who has made an outstanding contribution to netball club coaching as a volunteer for a minimum of 3 years. This coach is dynamic, original, and full of fun. The girls always leave with big smiles on their faces! She has incredible technical knowledge of netball and is, able to, convey this to all players so that every single player develops their game to a high standard and reaches their potential, indeed this year she has coached our U13 squad to such a high standard that five players got into the county and regional performance pathway. Here we have a coach at a grass roots level who is not only a brilliant technical coach but is one that aims at ensuring the emotional health and well-being of our young players is at the heart of the club’s ethos. That’s what makes her special. This year’s Grassroots Coach Awards went to… Justine Drury Moving on to Grassroots Official Award, this is presented to an affiliated volunteer who has made an outstanding contribution to netball officiating for at least 3 years. RMB Treasurer Liz Alsop was invited to the stage to present this. The impact this person has made in the past 12 months comes with her mentoring, and the qualification of young umpires due to her commitment. She is devoted and passionate about officiating and getting players interested in umpiring. Her mission is to get umpires enjoying umpiring, and not just doing it because their Club needs them to umpire. The results this season show she is succeeding. She introduces them to the joy and love of umpiring that she has experienced, encouraging them to look forward to it, and not find it a chore, as often happens when it is being done just because the club needs an umpire. Two of this season’s new young umpires have already been introduced to regional umpiring. This year’s Grassroots Officials Award went to… Jayne Bell The Unsung Hero Award; England Netball President Lindsay Satori was invited to the stage for to present this.. The Unsung Hero Award can be awarded to anyone who has been volunteering in any capacity at club netball for at least 5 years and be affiliated to England Netball. The nominees are: This person is a key part of netball in the county and the region. She has been volunteering for almost 30 years and her exceptional organizational skills ensure that other volunteers, coaches, umpires, team managers, and other committee members have the support they need to deliver their own roles effectively and without any unnecessary distractions Since 2008, she has represented the County on the Regional Competition TSG. She attends meetings, is the key communication link between her county and the TSG on relevant issues involving the County. She organises and runs Regional competitions on behalf of the county on an annual basis. If this member organizes anything then the club/ county/ region can be sure that it is done effectively and efficiently. This lady is a superb role model and inspiration to all…. This year’s winner of the Unsung Hero Award went to … Liz Lorrimer Mary Yardley - Volunteer & Governance Technical Support Group Chair was invited to present the Young Volunteer Award. The Young Volunteer Award is presented to a young person(s) under the age of 25 who has volunteered for at least 2 years and has made an outstanding contribution to the development of netball through volunteering. This young volunteer helps support some of the younger girls in school by offering them advice and support throughout their coaching journeys as voluntary netball coaches. She has been a great advocate for the leadership campaign acting as a positive role model for younger students within school. She has tirelessly promoted netball volunteering throughout her time at LMS and has actively helped to engage over 15 girls in netball volunteering roles such as coaches, umpires, and team managers. Her efforts have increased participation and retention rates by actively promoting the importance of leading a healthy and active lifestyle via talking in assemblies about the importance of sport and how much fun people can get out of participating in netball. This year’s Young Volunteer Award went to… Isobella Cottrell The next award was the Teacher Award; The Teacher Award is awarded to someone that has made an outstanding contribution to Netball through delivery in an educational environment as a volunteer for at least 3 years. This teacher set up and runs the young leadership and volunteer scheme within school which actively engages over 100 students who volunteer in a variety of sports including netball. She works closely with a set of girls between years 9-13 (school years) helping them develop their coaching abilities and giving them responsibilities such as leading warm ups at her sessions and being mini coaches to some of the younger teams. She has coached every year through their county level tournaments and in the 2017 season there were many successes with the Year 7 team coming third, the Year 8 team coming first. The winner of the 2018 Teacher Award went to Hayley Athey Unfortunately; Hayley was not able to attend. Award Outstanding Netball Club Award, England Netball President Lindsay Satori came to the stage to present this award. The Outstanding Netball Club Award is presented to an affiliated netball club which has made an outstanding contribution within their community. The club must hold or be working towards the CAPS award and have been active for a minimum of 3 years. The nominees are: This Club celebrated its 55th birthday this year and since it was founded in 1963, they have gone from strength to strength with strong senior and junior sections. Everyone is welcome at the club and they are committed to providing outstanding netball to all, starting with Fundamentals (littlest netballers as young as 4 years old). This club was awarded a Gold CAPs accreditation in 2008 and 10 years later, they are still the only club in the region to have this endorsement. Each year they host one of the biggest and highly anticipated junior tournaments in the country which sees over 60 teams come together to celebrate the start of the netball season. This annual junior tournament, hosted over 2-days, is an opportunity for different clubs to play each other, for teams to play together before the season starts and most importantly to have fun. In September, they will be hosting there 30th junior tournament in Bingham. This year’s Outstanding Club of the Year is…..Nottingham City Netball Club The Inclusion and Diversity Award was presented by Liz Broomhead RMB Elected Member. The Inclusion & Diversity Award is presented for developing netball addressing equality for the inclusion and participation of all people. Initiatives to equip the disadvantaged and overcome barriers to participation, engaging with communities, not-for-profits and other cause-related organisations. Providing opportunity and seeking to address diversity in the administration and governance of netball i.e., Board diversity, Youth Advisory This person has been pivotal in setting up and continuing to run a well-attended and successful netball club for girls with physical and learning difficulties. Providing these girls with a safe and inclusive environment for them enjoy and learn the sport of netball. She shares her passion, enthusiasm producing a hardworking and dedicated team of girls that have gone on to participate and win national competitions for the past four years. Going above and beyond for these girls, wanting them to be an active member of the netball family in all respects, wanting them to learn and grow through the game and take these skills out into the world and use them in all aspects of their lives. They grow to become fair, talented, and enthusiastic sportswomen and these qualities in turn encourage new members to join the team on a regular basis. The team has a reputation for being nice, welcoming and a safe place for all actively encouraging as many young members as she can to become a part of this. This year’s winner went to ….. Joanne Rutter The next award was the Mary Bulloch Administrator Award, and is awarded to someone who has given an outstanding contribution to netball delivery through administration, for a minimum of 3 years. This volunteer supports assistant Coaches, Table Officials, Events Volunteers on match days, her communication to the players and coaches is vital, for the without her they wouldn’t get to the arranged match, she organizes everything from kit, the timing of the bus, accommodation; as the manager she must juggle many plates to allow the players and coaches to concentrate on their roles and focus on their game and not worry about the logistics. Due to her excellent organization skills, her paper work pre-match and post-match to England Netball is impeccable, punctual, and accurate. Her diligence to protocols for players and bench officials is due to her making sure she is always up to date on any new rules or changes issued by England Netball. Ruth invited England netball President Lindsay Sartori back to the stage to present the award and welcomed the winner to receive her well-earned Mary Bulloch Administrator Award - Jackie Milsom The final award The Muriel McNally Award; was presented by Sue Collin. To receive the Muriel McNally Award, you need to have given at least 10 years of outstanding contribution to netball, through administration, coaching or officiating at grassroots level. This lady has been involved in netball in her County and East Midlands region for 30 years and beyond. This recipient has held various administrative roles over that period. This lady gives her heart and soul to everything she does in netball. After more than 50 years of involvement in the game as a player, umpire, coach, assessor and administrator she continues to want to develop less experienced netballers and to learn new aspects of the game. She truly loves netball - if you cut her in half, she would have netball written all the way through! Her willingness to become involved in any capacity in support of both the strategic and practical delivery of netball across the county and in the region is endless. She brings a wealth of expertise to all aspects of the game. The winner of this year’s Muriel McNally Award was….. Anne Henderson.. To end the presentation Sue Collins Regional Chair said her final thanks you to all the volunteers (RMB, ROG & EN Staff) who were presented with button holes at registration. Special guest Lindsay Sartori (England Netball President) was also presented with a bouquet of flowers. To finish the afternoon, Liz Broomhead and Mary Yardley presented flowers to Sue Collin as a thank you for all her hard work as Chair of the region for the last 12 months. |