East Midlands volunteer award winners

The Volunteer Awards 2018 are a chance to celebrate and recognise the unsung heroes amongst all of our volunteers in the Athletics and Running community - volunteers across England have been nominated in 10 categories, and the winners in each of the nine Regions will be announced over the next few weeks.  Winners are then put forward to our National Volunteer Awards.

Our England Athletics East Midlands regional Volunteer Awards presentation evening took place at the Crowne Plaza in Leicester on 24 September. Nine East Midlands Region winners received their awards and four worthy runners up were presented with certificates.

The winners are listed here and excerpts from their nominations are below.

• Athletics Coach of the Year - David Turner
• Athletics Official of the Year - James Charters
• Athletics or Running Club of the Year - University of Leicester Running and Athletics
• Inclusion Award - Barry Sherwood (Start2Jog)
• RunTogether Group of the Year - Mansfield Runners
• RunTogether Leader of the Year - Sally Staveley (Sisters Sunday Worksop Runners)
• Services to Athletics or Running - Rob Griffiths
• Spirit of 2012 Award - Melton Running Club
• Volunteer of the Year - Rachel Dowle
• Young Volunteer of the Year (14-25) - Finn Broderick
  

Click here or scroll right down to see Runners up.

Athletics Coach of the Year – David Turner

Our winner tonight is no stranger to the highest heights our sport has to offer, working with all multitude of Athletes from beginners through to the current F46 Olympic and World Champion Hollie Arnold, and Commonwealth Heptathlon Medallist Niamh Emerson.

David doesn’t distinguish between these athletes; they all receive the elite athlete treatment! He understands the full development of an Athlete, from technical skill, to strength and fundamental movement skills, through to mental health and wellbeing. He has also organised UK Javelin Camps and the UK Javelin Carnival.

His dedication to all levels of our sport is immense.

Athletics Official of the Year – James Charters

This Official is a committed club official and club member. He manages his Officiating around being an athlete and also a parent, which is no easy feat! His nominator praises his professional attitude, and his immense technical knowledge, noting his ‘fair’ attitude.

He doesn’t like to say too much, but as his nominator mentions, his input is always high quality!

Athletics or Running Club of the Year – University of Leicester Running and Athletics

Our winner tonight is a club dedicated to giving. Not only have they partnered with the #HeForShe campaign to make their club more inclusive for females, they also have strong links with the University BAME & LGBT societies, to ensure everyone feels comfortable joining in during their time at university.

They work closely with Saffron Lane Athletics Stadium to deliver training sessions at a high-class facility and raise thousands of pounds every year for charity. Their 8-person committee work hard to organise social events, competitions and the five weekly training sessions. They are experiencing year on year growth in their performances in major and minor leagues in Track & Field and Cross Country.

Inclusion Award – Barry Sherwood (Start2Jog)

The winner of our Inclusion Award this evening is a club who have been inclusive from their inception. Their group includes runners of all ages, from 16-71 , those with health problems, Mental Health Challenges and everything inbetween.

They have created a real family feel in their club.

RunTogether Group of the Year – Mansfield Runners

This group strives for inclusivity, no matter your background. They provide an invaluable source for getting women back into running.

The opportunities they offer have only grown because they are linked to a local Affiliated club; their runners are able to compete and access higher level training.

The Club have supported two of the Leaders to become CiRF qualified and this coach education has definitely been to the benefit of the group. The group boasts a Run Leader Mentor, a Mental Health Ambassador and a Mental Health Champion, organising regular run and talk sessions also.

RunTogether Leader of the Year – Sally Staveley

Our RunTogether Leader of the Year strives to ensure all new runners feel welcome in the group. It is her friendly approach that puts new runners at ease, supporting the growth of the group.

She likes to challenge her runners with new routes, planning meticulously to ensure that her new routes are suitable for everyone. Despite an injury that stopped her running for much of this year, she continued to support the group on their 3 runs per week, on her bike!

Services to Athletics or Running – Rob Griffiths

Our long-term service award this evening goes to a man who has been voluntarily coaching 4-5 times per week for many years.

Not only this, but he gets involved mentoring other coaches, supports administration, such as county championship selections every year, is always cheering athletes on during Track & Field meets and cross country competitions.

He also set up the East Midlands Elite Day at Loughborough, and supports anyone he can, regardless of which club you run for!

Spirit of 2012 Award – Melton Running Club

The Spirit of 2012 winner is the first RunTogether group to be awarded Game Changer funding. The group was started back in 2014 by a gentleman who found inspiration when he noticed the effect running had on his own mental health.

The group is going from strength to strength, with the Game Changers project supporting their growth. Not only are some of their young people getting involved in volunteering, they are also encouraging more young participants to the group.

Volunteer of the Year - Rachel Dowle

Our Volunteer of the Year is someone who’s behind the scenes work often goes unnoticed but is fundamental to the running of the club.

She leads much of the work in the Club Juniors, is the link between the Juniors & Seniors, presents regular reports to the Club committee, supports senior events, secured the Game Changer funding for the club and is now leading the programme. If this wasn’t enough, she is a qualified coach, successfully uses the club facebook and website and works on paperwork for the club including Clubmark, the newsletter and awards presentations. She has attended the Sight Loss Awareness workshop & is a Guide runner.

Her contribution is outstanding.

Young Volunteer of the Year (14-25) – Finn Broderick

Our Young Volunteer of the Year is a pro-active, valuable member of the England Athletics Youth Panel.

In his work with the panel, he ensures that the views of young people are considered in England Athletics projects and programmes.

He supported the 2018 Team Spirit conference, promoting the Youth Panel and raising the profile of the work they do. He is also a Coaching Assistant at his club and manages all this around exams!  .

Runners Up

• Athletics Coach - Richard Massey
• Athletics or Running Club - North Derbyshire RC
• RunTogether Leader - Rachel Kieranx
• Services to Athletics or Running - Mitchell family