A huge congratulations to our very own Barbara Warburton who was awarded the England Netball Long Service Award at the National One awards at the The Belfry on Saturday. Having played and umpired for Drifters Netball club in the 1980s, she started volunteering on the GCNA committee in 1987, taking on various roles, including Tournament Secretary and Umpiring Secretary, and was instrumental in setting up formal mentoring programmes and assessment pathways for learners.
During this period she was also Team manager for the Senior County teams, arranging umpires for home and away matches, attending weekly training sessions, and travelling with teams to away matches
She is on the County Officiating Working Group and still actively involved in mentoring and supporting C and B umpires. Her no-nonsense approach and reputation is well known across the county leagues. When Barb enters the sports hall on a Saturday with her clipboard, there is a noticeable quickening of pace by the umpires!
She has supported Hucclecote's National Premier team as a Technical Official for home matches for some seasons, and has previously been a Technical official for both Team Bath and Severn Stars home matches.
What an achievement!