Six basketball volunteers to be honoured at the Federation of Irish Sport Volunteers in Irish Sport Awards with EBS

The awards will take place virtually on December 7th, 8th and 9th and will see all of the above volunteers, along with volunteers from across the country, honoured for their amazing dedication to volunteering across a variety of different sports.

Amina Moustafa is one of the most dynamic volunteers in Irish sport today and her dedication to a host of sports including football, basketball and swimming, will see her honoured as the Outstanding Achievement Award winner at this year’s Federation of Irish Sport Volunteers in Sport Awards, proudly supported by EBS. Amina joined Sport Against Racism Ireland over 10 years ago, beginning her volunteer pathway by creating the ‘Hijabs and Hat Tricks’ programme that was designed to integrate young Muslim women into society through the medium of sport. The success of the programme ultimately led to the creation of the inter-faith football club, Diverse City FC. She has since volunteered her services to suppor many more programmes; including Hijabs and Hoops (basketball) and 'Swimmin Women', encouraging women of ethnic backgrounds to take up sport in Ireland. Amina continues to innovate new programmes, generated through her studies on the cultural integration and social inclusion of women from diverse ethnic backgrounds through the medium of sport. Amina is also a multi-sport coach, who leads by example and in her role as a Youth Worker, has advised numerous young people, particularly in the SARI 'Football versus Diversity' schools’ programme. Amina has also developed peer-to-peer capacity building programmes for others to follow the path of volunteering and has truly had a powerful impact in the development of sport and volunteering in this country.

Anne Scanlon was the founding member of St Joseph’s Basketball Club in Kerry over 39 years ago, in an area where there was no history or heritage of basketball. Initially, Anne set up the club to cater for female players as she felt there was very little opportunity for girls to participate in competitive sports activities in the area. With the hard work and dedication shown by Anne down through the years, St. Joseph’s Basketball Club has gone from strength to strength and is now thriving. St. Joseph’s has a proud tradition of producing countless county and international players down through the years and due to the increasing popularity of basketball in the area, Anne extended the club to cater for both boys and girls ranging in age from six years old to senior members, and now boasting a membership in excess of 300. Anne has held various roles down through the years, primarily acting as Secretary and Head Coach. She is always on hand to lend advice and has dedicated her time and experience to all members of her own club and indeed the wider basketball community of Kerry.

A Wicklow native, Ed Randolph founded Dublin Raiders Basketball Club in 1989 and has committed over 32 years to creating a safe, inclusive, fun and educational environment for all the club’s members. Under Ed’s outstanding coaching style and dedication, the club has grown to boast over 400 members and has produced some Irish internationals down through the years. Ed has dedicated his time to ensuring young players of the club have access to all opportunities to train and is also a keen advocate for Ireland’s fight against racism, promoting inclusion throughout the club so that race, religion or disability will never be a barrier to players looking to join Raiders. Over the last three decades, Ed has made a remarkable contribution to basketball, to Raiders and to countless players, a contribution he will continue to make as the club’s Chairman.

While in Transition Year at school, Evelyn Burke and Katie Coughlan recognised the need for greater opportunities in basketball for young people with Dyspraxia in Galway. With this in mind, they approached Titans Basketball Club, a decision which led to the creation of Titans DCD/Dyspraxia Basketball Team, the first ever such team in Ireland. Children with Dyspraxia often struggle with involvement in physical activity but Katie and Evelyn’s intervention and hard work has allowed for the creation of an open and welcoming team environment where emphasis is placed on team-building and personal improvement. A decade later, the team established by Evelyn and Katie is still going strong and continuing to help the vital development of gross motor skills and social skills for young people with Dyspraxia. Evelyn and Katie’s vision and dedication have played an instrumental part in developing an inclusive basketball family in Galway and positively impacting the lives of young children with Dyspraxia.

Meanwhile, the impact Vinnie Homan has had on basketball in Carlow cannot be underestimated. He is responsible for the introduction of basketball to Carlow town, growing the membership from 20 members to over 200 in just five years, creating a diverse, inclusive, joyful club that has a culture of fun and personal growth placed before the drive to win. Vinnie has given every free minute he has to the running and development of the club over the last five years and he does it all with a smile on his face. More recently, Vinnie has introduced initiatives to actively encourage parents to get involved in their children’s experience within the club, driving volunteers towards the club and laying foundations within the community so that the club can continue to thrive in the future.

(Clockwise from top left): Ed Randolph; Anne Scanlon; Vinnie Homan; Evelyn Burke & Katie Coughlan; Amina Moustafa

The Volunteers in Sport Awards celebrate the contributions of the band of volunteers across the country who give their time to Irish sport and physical activity every year. This equates to approximately 37.3 million hours of volunteering across Ireland’s 13,000 registered sports clubs and associations and, according to Sport Ireland's 2021 'Researching the Value of Sport in Ireland' report, is worth an estimated €1.5bn to the exchequer.

Throughout September and October members of the public, sports clubs and governing bodies were invited to nominate an individual whose contribution to sport and physical activity in Ireland has made a real difference to their community, club or county. The nominations and award recipients were selected by a judging panel consisting of 12 individuals drawn from sports administration, the volunteer community and media, and included former Director General of the GAA, Paraic Duffy, RTÉ broadcaster, Marie Crowe and CEO of Gaisce, Yvonne McKenna.

In addition to the 32 county-level award winners, Amina Moustafa, a volunteer across many different sports including football, basketball and swimming, received the overall Outstanding Achievement Award for her incredible service to the promotion of sport amongst women of diverse ethnic backgrounds, as well as her continued support of Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI).

Máire Allen and Jacqueline McCormack have also received a Special Recognition Award for their amazing work with Roscommon Special Olympics Club. They have dedicated their time tirelessly over the last number of years and more recently, in the face of the challenging circumstances caused by Covid-19, did everything to ensure the club’s members remained fit and active throughout the various lockdowns.

Pádraic Kearney (RIP) has been honoured with a Special Recognition Award for his commitment to Gaelic Games in Adare GAA Club (Limerick). Pádraic was incredibly committed to his community, with his volunteerism going far beyond sport. His untimely passing earlier this year has been felt by everyone in the club, especially the younger members, who Pádraic coached for many years. 

Commenting on the awards, Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht, Jack Chambers, TD, said:

“It is an honour for me to support this year’s Volunteers in Sport Awards and help recognise so many fantastic volunteers in our community. These awards have a special place in the sporting calendar as they recognise those who have given an incredible amount of time throughout the year who have ensured that sport can takes place in our communities, and they do so without the expectation of gratitude or reward. The amount of hard work and dedication that these volunteers give to sport in Ireland is quite truly astonishing and I am privileged to support both the volunteers and these awards.  I would also like to thank the Federation of Irish Sport and EBS, and all who will help make these virtual ceremonies a memorable occasion for all.”

Speaking about the awards, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, Mary O’Connor said:

“Despite another very challenging year for sport, we have once again seen how important volunteering has been to communities across Ireland. We have an enormous amount of gratitude for the army of volunteers who have ensured that sport could take place in a safe and controlled manner. Whether it be on pitches, courts, tracks, pools or even community halls across the country, the volunteers are always there to make sure sport and physical activity continues to take place around Ireland. It gives me immense pride to be able to recognise so many of these volunteers at next week’s virtual Volunteers in Sport Awards and I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to all of this year’s recipients. I would like to also thank EBS for their continued support in bringing wider recognition of volunteers in sport in Ireland to life. I would also like to express my gratitude to Minister Jack Chambers who will be taking the time out of his schedule to attend our virtual ceremonies next week and helping us to champion and celebrate the recipients.”

Managing Director of EBS, Paul Butler, commented:

"EBS is delighted to partner with the Federation of Irish Sport once more to honour and recognise the everyday heroes around Ireland who make sure sport happens every day. EBS has been involved in local communities around Ireland for over 80 years and we are delighted to showcase the tremendous work these volunteers do for sport throughout their communities.  These volunteers truly are the backbone of Irish sport, and we are proud to support them. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the recipients of the 2021 Volunteers in Sports Awards and thank them for all of the tireless work they do to ensure sport in Ireland continues to flourish.”

The awards will be streamed live each evening from 7pm on the Federation of Irish Sport’s Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/federationofirishsport/ with the awards schedule listed below:

• Tuesday, December 7th: Leinster and Special Recognition Award
• Wednesday, December 8th: Munster, Connacht and Special Recognition Award
• Thursday, December 9th: Ulster and Outstanding Achievement Award