ENGLAND NETBALL’S GOALDEN GLOBES AWARDS 2010 DERBYSHIRE THE BEST

Counting the Hall of Fame and Long Service there were twelve awards to be won at the Athena, Leicester on 18th September.

Well – didn’t we do well! Derbyshire bagged five of them. (Although to be fair the rest of the country had several Long Service Medals). The people from our Region and County that attended a very enjoyable evening in a magnificent venue, did, in true East Midland’s style, make their presence felt by the vocal support they gave to our nominees.

Although maths is not my forte, I make that nearly half, or without the Long Service and Hall of Fame a quarter of the Awards recognising the special people from our County.
We missed out on two Awards for which we had nominees but they are to be congratulated for being part of the celebration.

The successful recipients were:

The Rose Award – Sue Danson (Derbyshire) for her work as a physiotherapist at county, regional and national levels. This alongside the work she undertakes in the Excel programme and time she gives to the County Management Board. As Sue was in South Africa supporting her husband, Peter, a member of England’s Veteran Hockey Squad, the Award was accepted on her behalf by Tracey Mellor.

Young Netball Volunteer – Oliver Hooper (Derbyshire). A truly inspirational young man who is a Level 2 Coach, an England Netball Young Leader and a member of the England Netball’s Youth Advisory Group. About to take up his studies in medicine at Manchester University, Oliver has expressed his wish to continue with netball volunteering. We wish him well with his studies and look forward to his next achievements.

Official’s Award – Heather Gleadall (Derbyshire). Heather’s dedication to umpiring is renowned in our region. An international umpire, mentor at all levels and recently an accredited tutor, Heather has set many people on the umpiring pathway and has, in the last two years, used her expertise to work with umpires in developing netball nations. As Heather had a planned holiday with her family, Donna Beckett received the Award on her behalf.

Long Service Award – Liz Alsop (Derbyshire). Liz has been volunteering in netball since 1978 at club, county and region. She has had numerous roles at County and Region and as a Coach Tutor shares her vast knowledge and expertise with so many people. Well deserved recognition at last.

Hall of Fame – Liz Broomhead, our President (Derbyshire). This was probably the best part of the celebration for our Region and County. Liz’s reaction, about two thirds of the way through the commendation was a joy to behold. We need a copy of the citation to fully appreciate why Liz should be added to England Netball’s Hall of Fame, but for those in the Region and County who have ever had contact with Liz, in whatever capacity, will appreciate that this recognition is long overdue.
The list of superlatives to describe Liz and her involvement in netball could be endless. Here are a few: inspirational, forward thinking, passionate, grounded, caring, sense of fun, dogged, approachable and above all – although a phrase not a superlative; the ability to communicate her vision of what netball is to all.

Cheryl Naylor and Caroline Richards were nominated respectively for Grassroots Coach and the Mary Bulloch Awards were not awarded the England Netball’s Goalden Globes but as East Midlands Goalden Globe winners, they, for us, are winners.

Thanks must go to the people who took the time and considerable effort to nominate candidates. The message is: there are people in our Region and County who deserve recognition so for 2011 – recognise them and fill in the forms. If 2010 is anything to go by, it is a job well worth doing. Yes, it takes time, but those people give of that and deserve the appreciation. Click Here to view photographs of some of the winners.

Mary Yardley.