MOKRUN win Council's Event of Year!
Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 11:05 pmWell done to the MOKRUN Committee who today picked up Argyll & Bute Council's Event of the Year!!! Well done to the committee of Elaine, Tom, Hendry, John, Pamela, Linda, John G and Gail. 
Sports Event of the Year – Mull of Kintyre Run. The Mull of Kintyre Half Marathon and 10k, held on the last Sunday in May, is now in its fifth year and continues to grow from strength to strength with the field of 650 entries this year closing in February – three months before the event. Voted by readers of Runners World as the best race in Scotland in 2009 and second in the whole of the UK, this event is not just a race and not just for runners but an entire weekend of activities for the whole family. It is very well supported by the local Campbeltown community , and brings an invaluable number of visitors to one of the remotest areas in mainland Britain - over 50% of this year’s contestants are from outwith Argyll and Bute. The event’s are not only evident on the weekend of the race. It has encouraged a huge part of our community to get active – Jog Scotland was formed following the inaugural race and every week many runners are now out and about on the roads and paths of South Kintyre. The event was nominated by South Kintyre Sports Council.
Full press release below
SPORTING VOLUNTEERS RECOGNISED
Sporting volunteers from across Argyll and Bute were honoured this afternoon in a ceremony at the Council headquarters in Lochgilphead.
The seventh annual Volunteer Awards, which took place just after the recent Volunteer Week, are a partnership between Argyll and Bute Council and Argyll Voluntary Action and recognize the valued work that volunteers contribute to community life in the area.
The Sports Volunteer Awards, which are sponsored by the council and are now in their fourth year, have three categories – Adult, Junior, Club/Organisation and Sports Event of the Year.
Nominations were received from across Argyll and Bute for people and sports organizations who have ‘gone the extra mile’ and made a positive contribution to their local or wider community.
The 2010 winners are:
Adult Volunteer of the Year – Willie Luke. Willie has been involved in football in Argyll and Bute and beyond for many years, playing for teams in Mid Argyll, Arrochar and Port Glasgow to name just three. When he finished his playing career he went on to coach and manage Lochside AFC for many years. Over the past few years, Willie has been involved in coaching at two separate Argyll and Bute clubs/organisations – the multi-award winning Oban Saints AFC and Lochgilphead Soccer Centre. He acts as the voluntary SFA Coach Co-ordinator for both, which involves a huge commitment to not one but two geographical areas. Willie also regularly attends SFA national, regional and local coaching courses, and is currently going through his Level 4 SFA Coach training. Willie was nominated by Oban Saints AFC, Lochgilphead Soccer Centre and SFA West Region.
Junior Volunteer of the Year – Chris Chew. Chris has been a valued volunteer throughout this 5th and 6th year at Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh, and a great support for Active Schools. He has completed a variety of coaching education courses so he can deliver quality sessions in school clubs. This year alone he has run a junior tennis club throughout the year, helped staff with the junior basketball club, officiated at junior basketball games, timekept at the Argyll and Bute swimming championships in Campbeltown, volunteered to help at active school transition day, volunteered at Hermitage Academy’s S1 health day and been responsible for a group at the Argyll and Bute School Games in Oban earlier this week. Chris is a fantastic ambassador for his school and an inspiration to his fellow pupils, and was nominated by Hermitage Academy’s Active Schools team and PE department.
Sports Organisation of the Year – G84 Netball Club. G84 Netball Club was set up in 2009 to support and develop the sport in the West Dunbartonshire and Helensburgh area, and has grown into one of the most vibrant, exciting and forward-thinking clubs in Argyll and Bute. Its two main coaches – Jennifer Wilkie and Linda Boyd – have been highlighted for their contribution and commitment as volunteers in gaining valuable coaching qualifications, driving the club forward by arranging competition and getting involved in clubs in other areas . With the Commonwealth games in Glasgow in 2014 having netball as one of its featured sports, G84 is well placed to take advantage. It was nominated by 10 year old Martin Gildea and Fiona McAulay.
Sports Event of the Year – Mull of Kintyre Run. The Mull of Kintyre Half Marathon and 10k, held on the last Sunday in May, is now in its fifth year and continues to grow from strength to strength with the field of 650 entries this year closing in February – three months before the event. Voted by readers of Runners World as the best race in Scotland in 2009 and second in the whole of the UK, this event is not just a race and not just for runners but an entire weekend of activities for the whole family. It is very well supported by the local Campbeltown community , and brings an invaluable number of visitors to one of the remotest areas in mainland Britain - over 50% of this year’s contestants are from outwith Argyll and Bute. The event’s are not only evident on the weekend of the race. It has encouraged a huge part of our community to get active – Jog Scotland was formed following the inaugural race and every week many runners are now out and about on the roads and paths of South Kintyre. The event was nominated by South Kintyre Sports Council.
Councillor John Semple, Argyll and Bute’s spokesperson for the Third Sector, said: “When people come together to work without reward, they can achieve much more for their community than can be delivered by any business or public agency.
“These volunteer awards go from strength to strength, demonstrating that volunteering is a powerful and growing force across Argyll and Bute. I am proud that Argyll and Bute Council recognises the capacity of its communities to flourish through volunteering by supporting these awards.”
Provost of Argyll and Bute Councillor William Petrie, who hosted the event, said all nominees for should be congratulated.
“These awards recognise those people who give up their own time for nothing more than the satisfaction of enabling others to enjoy sport,” he said.
“Many hundreds of people of all ages have benefitted from their efforts, and today’s event was just a small way of saying thank you to them.
“We as a council are taking great strides in trying to further improve access to and enjoyment of sport and physical activity for all our residents.
"The commitment and dedication of the hundreds of sporting volunteers across Argyll and Bute is ensuring that we are making real progress in this regard, and I congratulate and thank them for their efforts.”
Argyll and Bute has an estimated 24% of the population involved in sports volunteering, 10% higher than the rest of Scotland (Sportscotland Adult Participation in Sport, 2008).
Sports Event of the Year – Mull of Kintyre Run. The Mull of Kintyre Half Marathon and 10k, held on the last Sunday in May, is now in its fifth year and continues to grow from strength to strength with the field of 650 entries this year closing in February – three months before the event. Voted by readers of Runners World as the best race in Scotland in 2009 and second in the whole of the UK, this event is not just a race and not just for runners but an entire weekend of activities for the whole family. It is very well supported by the local Campbeltown community , and brings an invaluable number of visitors to one of the remotest areas in mainland Britain - over 50% of this year’s contestants are from outwith Argyll and Bute. The event’s are not only evident on the weekend of the race. It has encouraged a huge part of our community to get active – Jog Scotland was formed following the inaugural race and every week many runners are now out and about on the roads and paths of South Kintyre. The event was nominated by South Kintyre Sports Council.
Full press release below
SPORTING VOLUNTEERS RECOGNISED
Sporting volunteers from across Argyll and Bute were honoured this afternoon in a ceremony at the Council headquarters in Lochgilphead.
The seventh annual Volunteer Awards, which took place just after the recent Volunteer Week, are a partnership between Argyll and Bute Council and Argyll Voluntary Action and recognize the valued work that volunteers contribute to community life in the area.
The Sports Volunteer Awards, which are sponsored by the council and are now in their fourth year, have three categories – Adult, Junior, Club/Organisation and Sports Event of the Year.
Nominations were received from across Argyll and Bute for people and sports organizations who have ‘gone the extra mile’ and made a positive contribution to their local or wider community.
The 2010 winners are:
Adult Volunteer of the Year – Willie Luke. Willie has been involved in football in Argyll and Bute and beyond for many years, playing for teams in Mid Argyll, Arrochar and Port Glasgow to name just three. When he finished his playing career he went on to coach and manage Lochside AFC for many years. Over the past few years, Willie has been involved in coaching at two separate Argyll and Bute clubs/organisations – the multi-award winning Oban Saints AFC and Lochgilphead Soccer Centre. He acts as the voluntary SFA Coach Co-ordinator for both, which involves a huge commitment to not one but two geographical areas. Willie also regularly attends SFA national, regional and local coaching courses, and is currently going through his Level 4 SFA Coach training. Willie was nominated by Oban Saints AFC, Lochgilphead Soccer Centre and SFA West Region.
Junior Volunteer of the Year – Chris Chew. Chris has been a valued volunteer throughout this 5th and 6th year at Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh, and a great support for Active Schools. He has completed a variety of coaching education courses so he can deliver quality sessions in school clubs. This year alone he has run a junior tennis club throughout the year, helped staff with the junior basketball club, officiated at junior basketball games, timekept at the Argyll and Bute swimming championships in Campbeltown, volunteered to help at active school transition day, volunteered at Hermitage Academy’s S1 health day and been responsible for a group at the Argyll and Bute School Games in Oban earlier this week. Chris is a fantastic ambassador for his school and an inspiration to his fellow pupils, and was nominated by Hermitage Academy’s Active Schools team and PE department.
Sports Organisation of the Year – G84 Netball Club. G84 Netball Club was set up in 2009 to support and develop the sport in the West Dunbartonshire and Helensburgh area, and has grown into one of the most vibrant, exciting and forward-thinking clubs in Argyll and Bute. Its two main coaches – Jennifer Wilkie and Linda Boyd – have been highlighted for their contribution and commitment as volunteers in gaining valuable coaching qualifications, driving the club forward by arranging competition and getting involved in clubs in other areas . With the Commonwealth games in Glasgow in 2014 having netball as one of its featured sports, G84 is well placed to take advantage. It was nominated by 10 year old Martin Gildea and Fiona McAulay.
Sports Event of the Year – Mull of Kintyre Run. The Mull of Kintyre Half Marathon and 10k, held on the last Sunday in May, is now in its fifth year and continues to grow from strength to strength with the field of 650 entries this year closing in February – three months before the event. Voted by readers of Runners World as the best race in Scotland in 2009 and second in the whole of the UK, this event is not just a race and not just for runners but an entire weekend of activities for the whole family. It is very well supported by the local Campbeltown community , and brings an invaluable number of visitors to one of the remotest areas in mainland Britain - over 50% of this year’s contestants are from outwith Argyll and Bute. The event’s are not only evident on the weekend of the race. It has encouraged a huge part of our community to get active – Jog Scotland was formed following the inaugural race and every week many runners are now out and about on the roads and paths of South Kintyre. The event was nominated by South Kintyre Sports Council.
Councillor John Semple, Argyll and Bute’s spokesperson for the Third Sector, said: “When people come together to work without reward, they can achieve much more for their community than can be delivered by any business or public agency.
“These volunteer awards go from strength to strength, demonstrating that volunteering is a powerful and growing force across Argyll and Bute. I am proud that Argyll and Bute Council recognises the capacity of its communities to flourish through volunteering by supporting these awards.”
Provost of Argyll and Bute Councillor William Petrie, who hosted the event, said all nominees for should be congratulated.
“These awards recognise those people who give up their own time for nothing more than the satisfaction of enabling others to enjoy sport,” he said.
“Many hundreds of people of all ages have benefitted from their efforts, and today’s event was just a small way of saying thank you to them.
“We as a council are taking great strides in trying to further improve access to and enjoyment of sport and physical activity for all our residents.
"The commitment and dedication of the hundreds of sporting volunteers across Argyll and Bute is ensuring that we are making real progress in this regard, and I congratulate and thank them for their efforts.”
Argyll and Bute has an estimated 24% of the population involved in sports volunteering, 10% higher than the rest of Scotland (Sportscotland Adult Participation in Sport, 2008).