Press Releases
New Zealand's volunteer coaching ‘All Star’ named
28 Nov 2006
Alfred Welsh from Northland has won the 2006 Wattie's Volunteer Coach of the Year title. He was selected from more than 2,700 nominations from all over New Zealand.
Alfred has been a coach for more than 22 years and has coached numerous sports, including athletics, cross country, rugby, rugby league, surfing, swimming and touch rugby.
He stood out to the judges not only for his dedication and commitment to coaching a number of sports, but also for the values and sportsmanship he instils in his players.
Chair of the judging panel, Mike McHugh of SPARC, said the calibre of entries was extremely high this year. "All 17 finalists are very special people, but Alfred stood out as a shining star of volunteer coaching. He is a prime example of the lengths volunteer coaches go to, to ensure Kiwi kids get a chance to play sport and have fun doing it."
Alfred has coached 18 teams this year, personally transporting many of the players to and from games so they could make it across the river at high tide. He has also personally paid the club fees for players that couldn’t afford it, and only asks for kina and puha, and a dedication to the sport, in return. "Coaches like Alfred are the backbone of small committees, such as Taipa, where he lives," said McHugh.
Melvin Tudor of Otago and Binh Nguyen of Waikato were the 2006 Wattie's Volunteer Coach of the Year runners up.
The awards were presented at a star-studded national event on Friday 10 November. The country's top 17 national finalists and their partners attended, plus the judges: Mike McHugh (Tall Ferns coach), John F Reid (former NZ cricket player), Waimarama Taumanu (former Silver Ferns Captain) and Suzie Muirhead (former Black Sticks captain). Dallas Seymour, former All Black and NZ Rugby Sevens player, was the guest speaker, and sports broadcaster Brendan Telfer was the MC for the evening.
A surprise announcement was made at the event: lifetime achievement awards were presented to Monica Burns of Southland and Terry O'Neill of Hawkes Bay, who have dedicated more than 90 years to volunteer coaching between them.
Four prize draws, made from the 2,700 nominators, were won by Kim Rewi of Auckland ($1,000 cash), Shaun Pomeroy of Nelson ($1,000 cash), Danielle Johnson-Moat of Ahipara School ($500 worth of sporting gear for her school) and Fraser Hill of Hamilton West School ($500 of sporting gear for his school).
The Wattie's Volunteer Coach of the Year Award is a joint initiative between SPARC and Wattie's. The Award acknowledges grassroots volunteer coaches that make a difference in communities around New Zealand.
Summary:
National Winner
Alfred Welsh from Taipa, Northland (Taipa Area School)
National Runners Up
Melvin Tudor from Dunedin, Otago (Taieri College Cycling Club)
Binh Nguyen from Hamilton, Waikato (Hamilton and Rototuna Karate)
Lifetime Achievement Awards
Terry O'Neill from Napier, Hawkes Bay (Eskview Soccer Club)
Moni Burns from Invercargill, Southland (Southland Netball)
Updated | 20 Dec 2007.
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