Boccia England- Celebrating our volunteers
In celebration of the NVCO’s annual Volunteers’ Week starting today (1st June) we wanted to shout about the huge team of dedicated volunteers that supported our recent Lord’s Taverners National School Finals and The BE Cup Finals, in Sheffield.
3 action packed days of top class boccia competition and over 40 timekeepers, liners, referees and classifiers helped the events run successfully. We couldn’t have done it without them!
Starting off on Friday 20th May at the Lord’s Taverners Finals, we invited 9 of the top Young Officials from across the country to complete their Level 1 Award in Officiating Boccia. With the support of experienced ‘buddy referees’, they put their new skills into action by refereeing all matches at the National School Finals. Well done to Joshua, Sophie, Alaya, Callum, Zoe, Megan, Tessa and special congratulations go to; Young Official of the Year, Devon Jade Gomersall and Reece Dinsdale who was awarded the Jean Ratcliff Outstanding Achievement Award.
We look forward to seeing you all at another boccia event soon!
Next up was The BE Cup Finals, starting with equipment checks and classification on Friday evening, followed by 2 intense days of competition on Saturday and Sunday.
The volunteering team was made up of classifiers, an announcer, time keepers and and a range of Level 1,2,3, and 4 boccia officials. This amazing group travelled from all over the UK and beyond, and gave up many hours of their time to be with us at our biggest competition of the year. Whether you have been volunteering with us for weeks or years – thank you for all that you do for boccia…
Richard, Maggie, Fran, Anne, Liz, Pete, Lauren, Claire, Andrea, Steve, Chris, Toby, James, Daniel, Rachel, Tim, Glyn, Kate, Katie, Jan, Cassandra, Anne, Joe, Amy, Sarah, Dave, Jamie, Matt, Rob.
As well as the team listed above, a few specific mentions go to; 2015 National Talent Camp graduates Sam Darling and Stephen Errington who volunteered as part of their follow up from the Youth Sport Trust camp and worked with mentors Matt Kendrick and Dan Headley. Sam and Stephen fitted brilliantly into the group and impressed everyone with their professionalism and enthusiasm.
Also thank you to the following time keepers; first time volunteers Sina Bahrami and Carla Rodriguez and our youngest volunteers Nathan Fisher (age 13) and Jamie Fisher (age 10)– all of whom were invaluable in their roles.
Thank you to each and every one of you for helping to create an amazing competition weekend.