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Sports UK played host to The UK Coaching Awards at The Dorchester Hotel in London on Wednesday 17th December. The awards is all about recognising the hard work that coaches put in across the various sports in the UK. You will therefore not find it surprising then when I tell you that Darren was in the final 3 for the category of Participation Coach of the Year at this prestigious event. What an outstanding achievement to have even been nominated let alone be in the final 3 and how exciting it all was!!
So I was lucky enough to have been invited to attend this event with Darren. It was a black tie and long dress evening so we were both out of our comfort zone as we headed up to the front revolving doors of The Dorchester.
We headed to the ballroom where we were greeted by a lady named Heather Crouch, the Chair of Sports Coach UK. She asked us to follow her colleague where Darren was given a yellow rose to wear because he was a finalist. After a lot of persuasion Darren finally agreed to wear it. Phew!!!
One of the ladies who worked for the ARA told us we could get a drink from the V.I.P lounge. A waiter came to us with a glass of champagne. It was here where we saw Jurgen Grobler, Rebecca Addlington, Duncan Goodhew and also special guest Princess Anne. We were so overwhelmed by the whole atmosphere and stood in awe at all the sporting celebrities and watched as Princess Anne made her way around the room greeting people.
Everyone seemed to know Darren’s name and they all greeted him with respect and integrity. One gentleman we spoke to said that Darren had been nominated six times for this award by individual organisations! Darren was so shocked, he asked if he had got the right person. When he recited the things Darren had been doing we thought it perhaps wasn’t a mistake after all, wow!! When Princess Anne had made her way around the VIP lounge we were asked to make our way into the Ballroom where we would sit and eat a 4 course dinner before watching the awards ceremony. There were roughly 60 round tables each sitting ten people filling the glorious room which was dimly lit and with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. There was a stage and 2 huge screens either side of it. Our table was in front of one of those screens. We were sat on the next table to Jurgen Grobler (Chief GB Coach to the men’s squad) and on the table in front of Rebecca Addlington. Also on our table were people from the A.R.A (Amateur Rowing Association) including David Tanner, GB Rowing’s Performance Director, who has also recently been made an OBE. Unbelievable! We were served by waiters who needed an award themselves for timing and etiquette. Sitting on a 10 seated round table, 5 waiters stood around the outside of us waiting for the head waiter to give the nod for the others to serve us, genius!!
Even though we had settled into the evening quite well, I could tell Darren was getting more nervous as the evening progressed. Celia, Darren’s boss who sat next to me kept telling Darren that this was a huge event and he must feel proud of himself. During dinner, Jurgen Grobler came across to Darren and shook his hand and they spoke about their mutual love for the sport of rowing. David Tanner, who began his coaching career in the 1970s came and spoke to Darren on numerous occasions throughout the evening. It was all very overwhelming.
As dinner was now finished, the ceremony started with a video of images from the coaches and their participants in action. We couldn’t believe it when we saw our juniors up there on the big screen praising Darren. It was fantastic!
My nerves, let alone Darren’s were running high as the awards were given out and the different categories were passing us by. So this was it, no turning back, as commentator Steve Rider introduced Participation Coach of the Year. For all the previous categories, as the winner was announced, the video was shown on the screens. The names of the finalists were read out with a brief synopsis of what they do. It was then that the host presenting the award said Darren’s name and the video was shown. Neither of us could believe it, to be nominated for the category and to get in to the final 3 is an achievement in itself but to actually win was something else entirely. Darren was up against Craig Martin, disability golf and Kerry Pulvirenti, judo. It was amazing to see all of Darren’s juniors on video praising him and saying inspiring things. I think it actually made him realise the amount of good work he does. Darren was then called up to the stage to collect his award and have his photo taken.
It wasn’t until after the ceremony that a lady came up and said “I don’t know if you’ve noticed but all the winners are wearing yellow roses”. We hadn’t realised this, no wonder she was so keen for Darren to wear it and also to visit the V.I.P lounge. It certainly was a night to remember and one that Darren is still in shock from but one that he truly deserves. Congratulations!!
Gerry Sutcliffe MP, Minister for Sport said this:
Coaches are often the unsung heroes of sport, working tirelessly to help sportsmen and women achieve their best and win medals or trophies. The UK Coaching Awards recognises the achievements of coaches across the sports spectrum, from grass roots to elite level and is an opportunity to pat themselves on the back.
Darren’s synopsis in the coaching awards programme read as follows:
Four years ago, Darren had a dream to develop rowing in his home city of Stoke on Trent, wanting to provide access for both adults and young people. Darren started out as a part-time volunteer coach: he then made a complete career change to become a full-time A.R.A community sports coach. In 2008, over 1000 young people in Stoke participated in rowing on land and in water, and 40 adults participated in ‘learn to row’. Darren has also developed the Stoke Schools Indoor Rowing Championships.