Here is a wee photo of Fiona running at this year's MOKRUN and the official news release from the Council below.
SPORTING VOLUNTEERS RECOGNISED
Sporting volunteers from across Argyll and Bute were honoured this afternoon in a ceremony at the Council headquarters in Kilmory.
The third annual Sports Volunteer Awards took place as part of Volunteer Week. The event is a partnership between the Volunteer Centre and Argyll and Bute Council, and recognizes the valued work that volunteers contribute to community life in the area.
The Sports Volunteer Awards have three categories – Adult, Junior and Club/Organisation.
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.
Winners for 2009 are –
Sports Coach of the Year – Duncan Aitken for his contribution to the development of Rugby in his home club, Mid Argyll, over the past 30 years as a player, coach and official. Duncan played a pivotal role in the Pathway Programme that has seen under 15 to under 18 youth players encouraged with extra coaching to the extent that they have enjoyed National success this year.
Sports Administrator of the Year – Fiona Irwin for her work with the Kintyre Jogscotland group ‘Wee Toon Runners’ which boasts over 100 regular joggers. Fiona’s enthusiasm and bubbly character encourages others and has had the effect of persuading 12 others to become Jog leaders within the group.
Junior Volunteer of the Year – Katherine McNaughton for her contribution to the development of swimming on Islay. Katherine has been a volunteer helper at Islay and Jura Dolphins Swimming Club since the age of 14 and has gained teaching qualifications in swimming to help others. She regularly mentors younger swimmers and teaches for the local swimming pool. Katherine is involved in organizing and running competitions and is a role model for both junior and senior members of the club.
Sports Club/Organisation of the Year – Oban Saints AFC runs teams in a wide number of age groups from under 8s to adults as well as veterans and ladies teams. The club has been awarded the SFA Quality Mark for its work and organization and is regularly held up as a model for others to follow. The club sets very high standards and this is reflected in the popularity of the club within the Oban and wider Argyll community where it draws its membership. The club also run very successful annual tournaments involving Premier League clubs as well as youth teams.
In the Area Sports Volunteer 2009 category, the winners are:
Bute and Cowal
Adult Sports Volunteer – Catriona Perlich, Tighnabruaich, for athletics, tennis and Active Schools
Junior Sports Volunteer – Craig Murray, Bute, for football, primary schools and Active Schools
Helensburgh and Lomond
Adult Sports Volunteer – Sam Gemmell, Helensburgh, for 20 years’ dedication to football administration
Junior Sports Volunteer – Natasha McLean, Helensburgh, for help with out of school hours sports clubs.
Mid Argyll, Kintyre and Islay
Adult Sports Volunteer – George Bruce, Lochgilphead, for 20 years’ service to Soccer Centre and great attitude
Junior Sports Volunteer – Katherine McNaughton, Islay, for swimming coaching and mentoring
Oban, Lorn and the Islands
Adult Sports Volunteer – Murray Hamilton, Oban, for boys/girls rugby teams and personal coaching achievements
Junior Sports Volunteer – Robert Alexander, Oban, for contributions to shinty and football coaching and teams.
All these area winners will be presented with their awards at the August round of Council Area Committee meetings.
Councillor Douglas Philand, Argyll and Bute’s spokesperson for Arts, Culture, Leisure and Sport, said all nominees for the awards 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.
“Several weeks ago we agreed our Sport and Physical Activity Strategy 2009-2014, which seeks to maximise the opportunities for people of all ages and abilities in Argyll and Bute to participate in sport, other physical activity and outdoor sports and learning.
“The commitment and dedication of the hundreds of sporting volunteers across Argyll and Bute is ensuring that we are taking big strides in this regard, and I congratulate and thank them for their efforts.”
The Sports Volunteer Awards are nominated by members of the public, sports organizations, Sports Development staff and Active Schools who value the contribution the winners and nominees have made to the development of sport in Argyll and Bute over the past year.
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).
