DAVID BYRNE
Football
David is a man that I have known for many years and he dedicates a vast amount of his time helping to run Greenock Utd football club. He is also the manager of the Craigmarloch school football team. He delivers training to Greenock United every Wednesday from 6pm to 7:30pm and once a month the teams go through to Grangemouth to play their league games. The team have been doing well this seasons and are well placed in the league. The Craigmarloch school team David coaches have just won their league going through the full season undefeated. By volunteering his time and expertise in football David is helping to give young people who would not normally get a chance to play football the opportunity to play for a team and give them the confidence to try a new sport and to make new friends. He does this without looking for any platitudes or praise and that’s what makes him a great volunteer.
David is a man that I have known for many years and he dedicates a vast amount of his time helping to run Greenock Utd football club. He is also the manager of the Craigmarloch school football team. He delivers training to Greenock United every Wednesday from 6pm to 7:30pm and once a month the teams go through to Grangemouth to play their league games. The team have been doing well this seasons and are well placed in the league. The Craigmarloch school team David coaches have just won their league going through the full season undefeated. By volunteering his time and expertise in football David is helping to give young people who would not normally get a chance to play football the opportunity to play for a team and give them the confidence to try a new sport and to make new friends. He does this without looking for any platitudes or praise and that’s what makes him a great volunteer.
MORAG COWE
Golf
Morag has been a volunteer at Gourock Golf Club for over 18 years, having joined the Club in 2003. She has been the Ladies’ Section Match & Handicap Secretary, then Lady Vice-Captain for 2 years and Lady Captain for 2 years. From 2018 Morag has acted as the Women into Golf (WiG) Convenor as well as being a member of the Membership, Marketing and Sponsorship sub-committee. In 2022 she completed the ASQ Award for Golf Coach Assistants. In addition Morag stewarded at The Scottish Open and at the Ladies Open on 2 occasions at Dundonald.
Morag is a role model for anyone invested in golf. She has enthusiastically contributed to whatever the Club has asked of her, providing pertinent comments and participating wholeheartedly. Under her leadership our WiG programme, which includes indoor and outdoor coaching with input from our PGA Professional, assistance with equipment, buddy system with experienced members, fun Texas scrambles, informal social nights including discussions on golf etiquette and rules, has gone from strength to strength.
Morag ensures the programme is reviewed each year, with feedback sought from the participants and acted upon to ensure the content remains relevant and interesting. The programme for 2024 saw 44 ladies sign up for free coaching over a 7 week period from March, with 32 ladies regularly attending the sessions. Thereafter 22 ladies took up our Year 1 WiG summer programme offer, of which 16 continued into the Winter Season, and will move on to Year 2 WiG in March 2025. Of the 6 not interested in winter golf, 5 committed to taking up our 2nd year WiG offer from March 2025.
Morag’s dedication and commitment to Women into Golf has seen a significant growth in the Ladies’ Section, which today sees 45 lady golfers who have come through the WiG programme since its inception accounting for 43% of the current ladies membership.
JANICE HENDRIE
Athletics
Janice is a highly respected figure within sport in Inverclyde and has made an outstanding contribution to athletics and community sport through her long-standing involvement with the local Active Schools and Community Sports Hubs network since retiring as a PE teacher. She dedicates countless voluntary hours each week to ensuring children and young people can access athletics opportunities in both school and community settings.
Passionate about inclusion, Janice believes access to sport should never be a barrier. For many years she has delivered satellite athletics clubs in Port Glasgow and All Saints, creating local opportunities for participation and encouraging young people to engage in wider holiday programmes, often ensuring free access for those who need it. During school holidays, she coordinates and delivers athletics camps across an eight-week programme.
In partnership with Active Schools, Janice coordinates and delivers four annual cross-country events and a secondary school track and field event, alongside officiating at numerous athletics competitions including Sportshall events, heptathlons and sprint relays. She also supports the strategic development of athletics locally through her role on the local athletics partnership.
Janice’s commitment, leadership and lasting impact on children and young people make her a truly deserving nominee for this award.
Janice's impact extends far beyond coaching athletics and organising events for young people. She is deeply committed to developing the next generation of leaders, investing significant time in mentoring aspiring coaches and supporting volunteers to grow their skills and confidence within both the club and the wider community.
Through her guidance and encouragement, Janice has created a strong culture of learning, support, and continuous improvement. She ensures that every coach and activity leader is equipped to deliver high-quality, inclusive experiences, enabling children and young people to benefit from safe, engaging, and inspiring coaching. Her dedication to developing others has strengthened the club's capacity, improved coaching standards, and created a lasting legacy that will continue to benefit young people for years to come.
Janice's ability to inspire, mentor, and empower others, alongside her unwavering commitment to excellence, makes her an exceptional role model and a highly deserving candidate for this award.
SANDRA MALCOLM
Bowling
Sandra leads the Port Glasgow Bowling Club and their volunteers in delivering opportunities for juniors. She is hugely committed to the cause and runs a number of different clubs and events (see below) over a school year as well as supporting sports days, health weeks and more. This year alone Sandra has given up close to 100 hours, between meetings, planning, delivering and evaluating all that she has ran in partnership with Active Schools Inverclyde. She ensures herself and the rest of the bowlers have the proper training, qualifications and equipment to run the activities to the highest possible standard. Sandra continues to engage with Active Schools Inverclyde, never standing still but looking to continue to develop the opportunities she has already given to the young people. The amount of hours Sandra has given up this year with the new and exciting opportunities she has given means she is more than deserving of the award of Adult Volunteer of the Year.
Sandra Malcom from Port Glasgow Bowling Club has engaged with Active Schools Inverclyde for the past 7-8 years now having previously been a schoolteacher. She had a vision of getting more juniors playing bowls with the sport suffering from the stigma that it is only for older people. This year alone Sandra and the club have targeted all P4 pupils in the Port Glasgow/Kilmacolm area which is around 200 pupils. This is a huge commitment from the bowlers who love seeing the pupils get these opportunities but even more so from Sandra who is organising and leading on all these activities. For the past number of years, Sandra and the club have had the idea of a P4 bowls competition which we finally managed to get off the ground. This competition was organised by Sandra, with 4 pupils from all 6 local schools (including Craigmarloch) coming along to take part in the event at Port Glasgow Community Campus. This was as huge success and allowed 24 pupils the chance to compete, these were mainly pupils who wouldn’t attend these sorts of competitions but felt more comfortable with bowls opposed to a team sport event. The club also has plans to invite P4 pupils to the green over the next few weeks which will give another 10-25 pupils the chance to play bowls outdoors. Finally Sandra plans to deliver summer camps giving the young people the chance to continue bowls out with school hours.
Sandra is one of those people who will say yes to anything she can support with, whether that be sports days, health weeks or holiday camps. Any spare time she has to organise activities, herself and the rest of the bowlers are available and willing to help out! She has been a huge asset to the young people of Port Glasgow and beyond providing new and exciting opportunities to take up a new sport in the local community.
ANDREW WINTON
Badminton
Andrew has been supporting myself and Rachel at the Junior Badminton Club at Port Glasgow Community Campus. He was and is a delight to work alongside.
He has travelled from Stirling, where he attends university studying PE teaching, most weeks and is more than committed to the success of the club. He is a keen learner in managing and coaching children, as well as an excellent badminton coach, and he also worked placements while actively supporting our club.
In fact, Andrew himself has mentioned how much he enjoys working with the kids in the club.
The club would have functioned but his hard work and advice has made it a much better club, particularly with attendance which I feel has been influenced by his coaching skills.
Also, without his skills, the kids in the club would not have progressed to where they are today.
He has given up his free time to support the club since January to the summer break.
I have learned new skills from him personally, and he has supplied training advice for the adult volunteers as well as the kids, which has undoubtedly improved the junior club.
I am delighted with his participation which he has contributed voluntarily to the club.
The impact Andrew has made to the club reveals itself in the kids progression in badminton since January to end of June, 2026.
He has taken a group of children who were complete novices in the sport since the beginning of the club, and are now more than excellent players for their age range and above.
The club is designed and aimed at children aged 9/10 - 11/12, primary 5-7. We were unsure in the beginning how the kids would not only enjoy the sport but how and whether they would enhance their play.
We have had steady participation, averaging 15 children a week, and this has been helped by Andrew's coaching.
When Andrew is absent due to placements, the kids (particularly the boys) will always ask when he will be back. This shows how much the kids have taken a shine to him which is fabulous, and the alpha influence he has provided to the boys in the club has had a positive effect.
There are a fair number of boys in the club that Andrew has helped to train. They can play shots and techniques that are most likely more advanced than High School casual players. They can hit clears, drop shots and smashes. This is clearly Andrew's coaching that they are now so good at badminton.
In fact, when we play around the world for fun in the club, the boys are not only more than capable of giving me a hard time, but also Andrew due to their brilliant progression and enjoyment in badminton. The progression and enjoyment in the sport I wholeheartedly appreciate is down to Andrew's commitment to our club.
I expect great things from the kids in future and they will absolutely rock the High School badminton sessions, all thanks to Andrew's guidance. Well done Andrew! I wish him all the best in the future.