2005 Wattie's Volunteer Coach of the Year Award
Volunteer coaches really are super coaches. They support their players on and off the field, dedicating their time and energy and also passing on their knowledge to inspire and motivate.
Sport Southland is pleased to announce that Chris Baker is the regional Wattie's Volunteer Coach of the Year for 2005. Awarded at a special breakfast on Wednesdy 28 October Chris Baker has coached netball, tennis, athletics, and rugby in Southland for over 30 years.
Judges described Chris as deserving of the regional title for many reasons. Their comments included "Chris is the grass roots backbone of Southland sport, the unsung hero who keeps sport in the province strong."
"It was a challenge to select just one winner", says Sport Southland's Sport Development Manager Gordon Crombie. "So many outstanding coaches were nominated and it was important that each was considered carefully. It's clear that sport in Southland would not be the same without these dedicated volunteers." Twelve regional finalists each won an ACC injury prevention pack with Chris Baker winning the overall honour of being named Southland's top volunteer coach. "When you look at the calibre of the other eleven finalists you realise how well served sport is in Southland. The fact that ACC was willing to jump on board as a regional sponsor to allow Sport Southland to acknowledge all nominated coaches illustrates the important role volunteer coaches play in the Southland community."
Chris has won sporting apparel and travel to the National Awards evening which will be held in Auckland in November, including accommodation, as well as a year's supply of Wattie's Baked Beans!
Wattie's General Manager of Marketing, Mike Pretty, says he is impressed by the response from sports fans everywhere in showing their support for their volunteer coaches.
"Volunteer coaches are a valuable and talented group of New Zealanders. The sincerity and sheer volume of the nominations shows just how involved volunteer coaches are in their communities. Wattie's is delighted to be supporting such a great competition to acknowledge these people."
The Wattie's Volunteer Coach of the Year awards are a joint initiative between SPARC (Sport and Recreation New Zealand) and Wattie's. They aim to acknowledge the thousands of volunteer coaches that are supporting kids and sport all over New Zealand. In Southland the awards are promoted by Sport Southland with ACC as the local sponsor who wish to acknowledge the tremendous work volunteer coaches do in the injury prevention field.
Each of New Zealand's 17 Regional Sports Trusts will select a local winner whose entry goes forward to the national judging panel. The judging panel includes chair Mike McHugh, National Coaching Consultant for SPARC and assistant coach to the NZ Tall Ferns, world cup winning former Black Sox coach Don Tricker, Silver Fern Adine Wilson, sports dietitian Jeni Pearce and Wattie's General Manager of Marketing Mike Pretty.t aid kit and drink bottles for their team or athletes to help to prevent injuries. Finalists will also be provided with an ACC injury prevention course focusing on a topic of their choice eg. Nutrition and hydration, stretching and strapping, athlete screening and profiling, etc. Finalists will also receive invitations to the Wattie's Southland Volunteer Coach of the Year awards breakfast to be held at Stadium Southland.
The National Wattie's Volunteer Coach of the year will win $5,000 towards coaching development, and two runners up each receive coaching development up to $3000.
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2005 Finalists
| Huia Akuhuta - Golf | Huia has coached golf for 5 years. He has helped develop the current junior golf programme and spends about 12 hours per week coaching. |
| Chris Baker - Netball, tennis, athletics, rugby | Chris has coached both club and school sport for over 30 years. Although he has since retired from teaching at Aparima College in Riverton, Chris continues to coach there. |
| Grant Baker - Squash | Grant has coached squash for 6 years both at club and school level, covering all ages. During competition, Grant takes time off work to coach his athletes and attend their tournaments. |
| Ian Baker - Soccer, basketball, softball, teeball, hockey | Ian Baker works his farm at night, so hes free to coach his teams and watch them play. Hes done coaching & referees courses so his children can play the sports they want. |
| Monny Burns - Netball | Monny has been coaching netball for as long as anyone can remember. She is also a life member of Netball Southland |
| Sarah Dollman - Hockey | Sarah has been coaching hockey for 14 years, including Collingwood Intermediate, Southland Girls High School & United teams. Sarah has been a KiwiSport coach, Treasurer for her club, and on the Southland Hockey Association. Sarah also coaches goalkeepers from opposition teams. |
| Ken Johnston - Smallbore rifle | Ken coaches smallbore rifle shooting at club and school level, and is also involved as an administrator |
| Silver Sekone-Fraser - Weightlifing | Silver has been coaching weightlifting for about 20 years. He coaches athletes with disabilities as well as able bodied athletes. He starts coaching at 6.30am and finishes his last session at 8.30pm. |
| Lance Smith - Athletics | Lance coaches athletics across all age ranges for about 25 hours per week. |
| John Sutton - Swimming | John has been coaching swimming for over 40 years, as well as developing new swim coaches, and involving himself in the administration side of swimming. |
| Anja Wall - Cycling | Anja coaches cycling and has helped to develop new initiatives to get people into cycling. Anja was also a finalist in last year's Volunteer Coach of the Year Competition. |
| Alister Wilson - Athletics | Alister has coached athletics at school and club level for over 30 years, as well as assisting in administration and officiating. |
Past Winners of Southland Volunteer Coach of the Year
| 2004 | Ian Hamilton | Rowing |
| 2003 | Peter Skelt | Rugby & Cricket |
| 2002 | Bert Tobia | Basketball |
| 2001 | Malcolm Walker | Various, National Volunteer Coach of the Year |
| 2000 | Graeme Hyde | Athletics |
| 1999 | Laurie Tall | Cycling |
| 1998 | Robyn Broughton | Netball |
