Senior Sport Volunteer

Volunteers are extremely important to any organisation and our local sporting community are fortunate to have a wide range committed to assisting in a variety of roles. The following eight were nominated to represent the countless others within Basingstoke & Deane and were reviewed by a panel of judges to decide a winner.

Helen Brooker – Hatch Warren Runners

Helen has been a dedicated committee member since the club began in 2013. During this time, she has held a number of key roles from Coaching, Club Treasurer and Membership Secretary.  It is easily forgotten how Helen is a mum of two and works full-time, however she still continues to put many hours of commitment, which does not go unnoticed to Club members. Helen always keeps the club at the forefront of any committee decisions made, whilst ensuring any decision is made with every member considered and she played a significant role in the growth of the club over 2019 in which it grew by over 50 new members.

Alison Clarke – Synchronised Ice Skating

Alison is the sort of volunteer every club needs. She is proactive, highly supportive and committed. She understands the needs of the skaters and has the wider awareness needed for effective committee membership. She challenges when needed and encourages others. Her baking skills are impressive, she is a very good seamstress and her organisational skills are obvious. Alison is also an active member of the adult ‘Ice Age’ team and always attends competitions. She is proactive, supportive, challenging when needed and a very valuable member of the Club Committee.

Erne Esslemont – BMX Racing

Eric has many roles as a volunteer and official in the sport of BMX Racing in the South Region, and in 2019 has driven his club to some great fundraising success in excess of £20000. Erne also showed willingness as a race official and operated as a Chief Commissaire at South Regional Race Days. On the Coaching side of his volunteer roles, Erne was involved in the delivery of the Regional Talent Pathways and as Andover BMX Club Chairman, British Cycling L2 Coach and Discipline specific L2 BMX & CX (Cyclocross), Committee member and BC Commissaire he is a fully engaged Volunteer for Andover & South Region BMX. He is a dedicated volunteer at club sessions coaching all spectrums of abilities and also a mentor coach for new and young coaches.

Elizabeth Foster – Gymnastics

Liz has been involved with Basingstoke GC as a volunteer since 2004.  In her volunteering she has done things with events, selling raffle  tickets but ultimately involved in the cafe and making cakes/biscuits for the club on a weekly basis to support the fundraising..  As a couple Liz and her husband Brian have made large donations to the club in helping with the tumbling section in which their son is involved in. The largest donation recently being £18,000 to support the club in getting a brand new tumble track.

Chris Healey – Cycling

Chris’ enthusiasm is immense, from the very start of the club over 4 years ago, his unwavering dedication to making sure that all of the members of the club have the best experience is what makes the difference. Chris’ enthusiasm flows through all members of the club; without his commitment and dedication the club wouldn’t be where it is today. Chris has been the Chairman of Hatch Warren Beggarwood Cycling from the very start, and has been a driving force behind growth of the club. He is always on hand should anyone have any suggestions to help make the club more successful and he has been instrumental in making sure that members are heard, understood and learned from.

Corey Payne – Taekwondo

Corey has flourished as a senior coaching assistant, allowing Bluewave to continue to run its regular sessions and to also grow the club further. He has demonstrated his commitment to Taekwondo and Bluewave, by undergoing development courses and qualifying as a Poomsae competition judge. He has also given up more of his own time to support club competitions and grading’s and continues to train in regular and specialist sessions to keep his own knowledge and abilities up-to-date.

Mark Sadler – Swimming

Mark is a key member of the technical operations team at club, County and Regional swimming championships. He was present at every session for the County and Regional Championships event in 2019. He leads the Basingstoke Bluefins technical team and is known for his calm, friendly and professional approach to troubleshooting problems and ensuring that swimming competitions run efficiently.

Zoe Sadler – Swimming

Zoe is a regular Technical Official and announcer at all levels of swimming galas. She travels all around the South of England, and sometimes further, to gain experience and help at swimming galas on a voluntary basis to achieve qualifications and mentor other trainee judges.  In 2019, Zoe devoted a considerable amount of time towards becoming a referee and, having passed the formal examination part of the referee programme with a high score, she will complete the training with a formal practical poolside assessment in early 2020. After this, Zoe will be able to referee at all levels of swim meets. 

Dean Tierney – Football

Dean doesn’t have any of his own children in the club but is the backbone of keeping the club together. He’s always there at training and games and his energy is without bounds. He is always trying to better the teams, recruiting new players to keep the team going, and organising playing teams outside the league. Without Dean this group would dwindle and fall apart. He always has a smile on his face and even with challenging children and parents, Dean is always professional. In 2019, through his coaching, the U8’s won the Peter Houseman’s fair Play award.

Olivia Wade – Hockey

Olivia, at just 18, is a performance player, regional coach and club umpire. She is ‘total Hockey’, working passionately to support the development of the sport on and off the field.  Basingstoke Hockey Club takes significant pride in supporting Olivia in this award and acknowledging the invaluable service she gives to the club, and the wider sport as a whole.

Terry Wegg – Athletics

Terry is champion of grass roots Road Running and Athletics and is a committee member who goes above and beyond. He is Road Running Secretary, Junior Athletics Coach, Road Running Coach, Junior Cross Country Results Secretary, Cross Country Team Manager and Track and Field Official. He also does much more behind the scenes including updating the BMHAC website, club Facebook communication, analysis of results as well as being an event organised. Terry is definitely an unsung hero of BMHAC club.