This week saw the first of the 2024 Coaching and Umpiring Awards delivered to the respective winners with Sarah Craig, Patrick Campbell and Adam Louden receiving their awards.
The first recipient was Sarah Craig who received ‘Umpire of the Year’ having been nominated for her continued work umpiring at the highest levels.
As well as working in both the Ulster divisions and the EYHL, Sarah has gone on to umpire at International level and is currently in Turkey for the European Club Championships.
Furthermore, she was also selected as one of eight people across Europe to be part of EuroHockey’s Umpire Development Programme for 2023/24.
Secondly, Patrick Campbell was recognised as ”Young Umpire of the Year’ having umpired with Ards Ladies Hockey Club and at a series of Ulster Hockey junior events throughout 2023/24.
Patrick is also a member of the newly launched Umpire Academy and was delighted to recieve his award on Thursday evening;
“I am beyond pleased and it is an honour to receive this award. Thank you to Ards Ladies and Ulster Hockey for providing me with the opportunities to umpire and I can’t wait to see how far I can go in the years to come.”
Meanwhile, our third award to be handed out to date saw Adam Louden named ‘Club Performance Coach of the Year’ for his work with Ards Ladies who earned promotion to the EYHL following success in the EYHL2.
His side also finished second in the Legacy Ulster Women’s Premier League following an exciting title race with eventual winners Queen’s University.
Alongside his work with Ards, Louden is also involved with the Hockey Ireland set up as he coaches the U16 Boys.
Upon receiving his award he said;
“I am really honoured to receive this award, but it is really a reflection of the players and the wider coaching team that I had the pleasure of working with this season.
Our success this season was absolutely a team effort and I am extremely proud to have played a part in that!”
Ulster Hockey President Margaret McCormack was also in attendance to present two of the awards and was quick to recognise the winners for their achievements;
“I would like to congratulate the three award winners who have been recognised for their hard work and contribution to both coaching and umpiring over the past year and I wish them all good luck for the future as they continue their hard work in their fields.”
