Partnership Magazine - Issue No. 15 1 | Page 8

2014 AWARDS NIGHT Achievements of the The work of volunteers and clubs achieving GolfMark accreditation recognised at the sixth BB&O Golf Partnership’s Awards Night The sixth annual BB&O Golf Partnership Awards Night – sponsored by Invesco Perpetual – was held on Wednesday, February 19. There were 45 guests in attendance at Studley Wood Golf Club to help the Partnership celebrate both club and player achievements over the past 12 months. Each year the Partnership relies heavily on volunteers to help our programmes run smoothly, whether they are volunteer coaches or members of the Union and associations who sit on committees. Everyone is crucial to the Partnership running successfully. County cards were given to Max Kaye, David Westlake, Margaret Berriman, Pauline Cameron, Kate Evans, Jenny Ward, Karen Platt and Sue Lee, who have all given up their time to sit on the steering and junior academy committees. 8 There were also awards for Alan Leason, who put a vast amount of time into our Feel Inspired Academy, and Janet Cross, who helps out with coaching on both the junior and Feel Inspired Academies. Coach of the Year Andrew Simmonds GolfMark plaques were also presented to all clubs who had completed accreditation over the last 12 months – Denham GC, Iver GC, Newbury and Crookham GC, Ritchings Park, The South Buckinghamshire and Winter Hill Golf Club. The Partnership would like to thank all the clubs for all their hard work in completing the award. Our coach of the year for 2013 award went to Andrew Simmonds who is coaching on the County Academy and Feel Inspired Academies as well as being a ‘Get into Golf’ coach and running the programme for adults. Outstanding Achievement winner Bobby David Andrew’s commitment and hard work in helping the Partnership bring new people into the sport has been incredible and was the reason he was named coach of the year. An ‘Outstanding Achievement’ award – awarded to someone who has excelled and gone above and beyond – went to 17-year-old Bobby David, who is Autistic and suffers from developmental delays. However, that doesn’t stop him from enjoying the game of golf. The Partnership first met Bobby last June when he came along to one of our Feel Inspired taster sessions and straight away impressed us with his golfing ability. As his golfing ability was quite advanced we actually decided it would be more beneficial for him to go into our mainstream County Academy Programme. Bobby joined the coaching programme and settled in really well. He got to know the other boys in his group and the coaching team and improved throughout the remainder of the year. Joining the programme also gave him the opportunity to play in the competitions, which he had never done before. He played in the competition at East Berkshire Golf Club and enjoyed the experience. To go from just hitting golf balls on the range with his father to a coaching programme and competing in compe ѥѥ