The 2021 Federation of Irish Sport Volunteers in Sport Awards supported by EBS

November 30, 2021

Two swimming volunteers, Amina Moustafa (Swimmin Women) and Frank Stevens (Leander Amateur Swimming Club) will receive nationwide recognition next week for their dedication to sport at the Federation of Irish Sport Volunteers in Sport Awards.

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

Frank Stevens - 2021 Antrim Volunteer Award Winner

Frank Stevens has been a constant figure in Irish swimming since the late 1980s. He has been a superb ambassador for his local swimming club, Leander ASC, tirelessly volunteering at galas and sharing his ever-growing expertise with others freely.

Frank has fulfilled the roles of race referee, announcer, stroke judge, turn judge, starter, timekeeper and marshal. He volunteers as an official not only at club meets, but as a LEN official and FINA official at regional, national and international level, and can count officiating at the Commonwealth Games and Special Olympics among his achievements.

Frank’s involvement in swimming has spanned a 35-year period and his legacy will out-live him as he continues to pass on his expertise to others, training Swim Ireland officials as a Swim Ireland Tutor.

Amina Moustafa - 2021 Outstanding Achievement Award Winner

Amina Moustafa is set to be honoured as the Outstanding Achievement Award winner for her extensive work across the past 10 years, which began when she joined Sport Against Racism and created the ‘Hijabs and Hat Tricks’ programme.

This was designed to integrate young Muslim women into society through the medium of sport, and it's success led to the creation of the inter-faith football club, Diverse City FC.

She has since volunteered her services to support many more programmes; including Hijabs and Hoops (basketball) and 'Swimmin Women', encouraging women of ethnic backgrounds to take up sport in Ireland.

Truly 'the backbone of Irish sport'

The Volunteers in Sport Awards celebrate the contributions of the band of volunteers across Ireland 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.

Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht, Jack Chambers, TD, said: "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 take 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.”

Mary O'Connor, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, added: “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.

"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, and 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 help us to champion and celebrate the recipients.”

Paul Butler, Managing Director of EBS, said: “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.”