26 June 2023

Declan Kohl

England Korfball Awards 2023

At this year’s Grand Finals we celebrated the great achievements of the korfball community through our annual England Korfball Awards. England Korfball members make nominations for the Awards which are then reviewed by a nominations panel. This year, the panel members were Cathy Hughes England Korfball Board member, Sally More from the EK Competitions Committee and Liz Davidson Volleyball England.

The Awards

JAN HANEKROOT AWARD

The Jan Hanekroot Award, also known as the Lifetime Achievement Award, is presented to mark outstanding service to korfball in England over a long period of time.

This year, the award goes to a couple who have been dedicated members of England Korfball for 40+ years.

Both former players, they continued to give back to the korfball community in many guises over the subsequent years, with Gary coaching and Christine’s personal training programmes.

At Trojans, they went from a team fighting relegation to National Champions for 13 years and these two were at the forefront of the success.

They contributed to the England programme, training various age groups from youth to senior level for England and GB. They volunteered their time consistently for years and became notable figures on the international scene, making strong bonds of friendship and respect.

The korfball community was deeply saddened to hear of Christine’s passing at the end of 2022. In honour of her contributions, Jan Hanekroot Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded to GARY AND CHRISTINE BROOKS

Gary Brooks, receiving the Jan Hanekroot Award, alongside his sons, Dave, Dom, and Sam.

MARION ATKINSON AWARD OF HONOUR

The next Award is the Marion Atkinson Award of Honour. This award is presented to an individual who has given outstanding service to korfball over an extended period of time, usually 10 years or more.

This person started playing korfball when he was 11 years old at Mitcham. Over the years, he has contributed to the korfball community in many guises; as an international player, referee and in more recent times as England Korfball’s PR and Comms manager.

The winner of the Marion Atkinson Award of Honour is DEAN WOODS.

CLUB OF THE YEAR

The England Korfball Club of the Year is awarded to a club celebrating their 25th anniversary and that has managed to rebuild their membership levels after the pandemic left them down to just three teams. Now back to six thriving teams, this club continues to grow across all levels of competition, gaining promotion to the EK National League Promo division this season.

This year’s England Korfball Club of the Year is SUPERNOVA KORFBALL CLUB

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

This is presented to a young volunteer who has committed considerable time and effort as a player, coach, and referee. The awards panel watched videos from all the players that this person makes a huge impact on. She leads youth korfball coaching at the club. and this year became our only U18 female referee, blazing the trail for other young girls to follow in her path.

The winner of the England Korfball Volunteer of the Year award is ELLA MOORE, Bromley Korfball Club.

Ella Moore, Bromley, receiving the Volunteer of the Year award, presented by Ellen Pearce.

FRANK SIEBER YOUTH KORFBALL

This award recognises a volunteer who has made an outstanding contribution to Youth korfball at a national and local levels.

This individual has set up youth korfball activities in the Lancaster area, including now having two junior sections within the local club and North-West youth teams competing at the inter-area. He liaises with sports leads in over 40 local primary schools to deliver korfball lessons as a part of the PE curriculum, after-school clubs, and to provide termly schools tournaments.

The winner of this year’s Frank Sieber Youth Korfball Award, from Lancaster Phoenix Korfball Club, is ANDY BARNES.

Andy Barnes, Lancaster Phoenix, receiving the Frank Sieber Award for youth korfball, presented by young members of Lancaster Phoenix.

UNIVERSITY STUDENT OF THE YEAR

This award recognises a student who has made a valuable commitment to their University Korfball club.

The winner of the University Student of the Year award this year received multiple nominations for their hard work in establishing a new University club. To do so they forged relationships within their university as well as taking on roles within the BSKA.

The winner of this year’s University Student of the Year award, from Loughborugh University Korfball Club, is ZARA WHEATON.

Zara Wheaton, Loughborugh University, receiving University Student of the Year award presented by Clive Dobbin.

CERTIFICATES OF MERIT

Korfball volunteers were selected by the panel to receive a Certificate of Merit. These volunteers have worked tirelessly to drive and develop korfball, and we would like to extend our thanks to them for their services to korfball.

JOSH LUCHMUN (Buckingham Royals), FLO TIMNEY (University of Oxford), SALMAN RUKHSAR (Manchester Hawks), BECCA AND KIERON CLEMENTS (Supernova).and JAMIE RATCLIFFE (University of Manchester).

Josh Luchmun, Buckingham Royals, receiving his Certificate of Merit, presented by Ellen Pearce.

Jamie Ratcliffe, University of Manchester, receiving his Certificate of Merit, presented by Ellen Pearce.

TERRY SAGE FAIR PLAY AWARD

This award is made to the Premier Division club with the highest number of points which are awarded during the regular season by the match referee. Points are awarded based on a number of criteria; respect for opponents, respect towards the referee, behaviour of team officials, behaviour of the public.

This year’s winners are CAMBRIDGE TIGERS and KINGFISHER