A proud week for Saints Netball in the Virtual Sports Awards 2020
Each year the Sports Awards are something everyone in Saints Netball look forward to. Even with the change of circumstances not allowing us to celebrate together in person, the virtual awards gave us an amazing chance to feel part of the Saints Netball and wider Saints Sport community. Saints Netball had great success at the Sports Awards this year winning 4 awards!!
Lauren Coull and Ellie Fitzgerald, both members of Saints Netball’s Performance Squad, were awarded Half Blues this season for their selection for the Strathclyde Sirens U21 Team; a huge achievement for them both. They have both worked so hard this year and we are excited to see where the future takes them!
The incredible duo of Caitlin Evans and Sally Sandison were both awarded the Continued Achievement Award, a testament to their 4 years dedication as Saints Netballers, which has seen them excel both on the court and off. Graduating this year as the outgoing Club President and Club Captain, their awards are truly well deserved. Watch these respective videos here to see more about them and their amazing contributions to Saints Netball:
Caitlin Evans: Continued Achievement Award
Sally Sandison: Continued Achievement Award
That wasn’t the only award picked up by Sally Sandison. Testament to her work with Saints Netball over the last 4 years, Sally was also the winner of the Archie Strachan Award for Outstanding Sporting Experience. 
Since joining the Netball Club, Sally has had a massive impact on Saints Netball. She has helped the Netball Club achieve success both on and off the court. This award is well-deserved, and we are extremely grateful for everything Sally has done for Saints Netball over the past four years. You can hear more about Sallys achievements here.
Our new President for the 2020/2021 season, the formidable Charlotte Corbett, was the winner of the Martin Barkla Volunteer of the year Award; a tremendous achievement and deserving recognition for her work both within the Saints Netball Community, leading a bigger than ever social netball programme, as well as volunteering internationally. Check out this video to find out more about her passion for volunteering.
As a club, we were proud finalists in the Director of Sport Volunteering Award. This is an outstanding achievement for the club as a whole and highlights the work we do in both the local, as well as international, community. Within the University community the social netball programme has grown to have its largest membership ever with over 77 turning out each week to play. Through its community engagement programme, the Netball Club sent qualified coaches to two local Primary Schools to deliver netball sessions with their young players. The club also organised the Primary Skills Festival which was hosted by Saints Sport. Eight Saints Netballers were due to take part in the International Volunteering programme in Africa this summer. See this video to find out more.
We are very proud to say that our coaching team of Heather, Lois and Ross were all nominated for the Saints Staff Member of the Year Award. 
Ross was the overall winner of the award. His commitment to the triathlon club, Saints Netball and the countless other clubs he helps is incredible. As much as we may occasionally dread his spin classes and preseason sessions, we are incredibly grateful for his work and his positive attitude to sport and fitness.
Heather and Lois’s recognition in this category is something everyone at Saints Netball sees as extremely well-deserved. It is a testament to the endless amount of effort they both put into our programme. Not only do they make sure we are all performing on court, they both extend that care off the court.
A huge congratulations to everyone who has nominated, selected as a finalist, and a winner of the awards! We hope this recognises the commitment and dedication you all put into Saints Netball. Also, a massive thank you to all the people who put endless hours of work into the Sports Awards. It was amazing to have something to bring the Saints Sport community back together. We can’t wait to see what next year brings for Saints Netball, and hopefully we’ll continue to have the same success next year!