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The British Judo Association’s
Young Volunteer of the Year prize has gone to Portland Judo Club’s
Dominique Palmer.
The 13-year-old will receive
the award at the National Governing Body’s Volunteer Awards Dinner
on Saturday 2 October at the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham.
Dominique was nominated
by the BJA’s East Midlands Development Officer and Portland Judo
Club coach Terri-Ann Elliot.
“Dominique has been with
us at Portland for more years then I can remember and she’s been
a pleasure to teach,” said the 2nd Dan.
As a volunteer the youngster
came to the fore when she proved to be a key member of the club’s
satellite sessions.
“In September 2009 our
club setup a satellite session which was based at a community
centre in St Anns. The children in these sessions were recruited
from the local primary school which happened to be the school
that Dominique had attended two years previous. When Dominique
heard about the sessions she volunteered to help our head coach,
acting as his uke and as a support coach.
“For the duration of the
programme Dominique caught the bus home from school, did her homework
and then made her way to the venue to help set up mats and run
the sessions.
“Dominique did an excellent
job supporting the coach and proved to be a valuable asset as
she could make up numbers, provide technical support and speak
to new players about topics adults know very little about. Over
the 10 weeks she worked hard to form positive relationships with
each member of the group and when the sessions came to an end
she convinced many of the less confident players to come to our
main venue and continue the sport.”
The much-admired volunteer
has maintained her active role as the club has negotiated a move
to a new venue.
“Our club recently moved
to a new venue and added additional sessions for younger players.
Whenever possible Dominique arrives in time to help these sessions
and support our coaches. In addition to this she takes care of
our younger, more vulnerable players who train at the same time
as her, always making people feel welcome and ensuring that everyone
has a friend.”
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