Annual Awards: Congratulations to our 2023 award winners!

Ahead of the 2023 Men's National Cup Final between Essex Rebels and Malory Eagles, the most dedicated players, officials, coaches and volunteers in our community were celebrated during the 2023 Volleyball England x Deep Dish Sixes Annual Awards ceremony.  

12 awards were presented to category winners in front of a packed Court 1 at the National Volleyball Centre, with each award recognising the hard work and contribution of our winners over the past year. 

This year’s winners are as follows: 

• Pro Volley Academy Young Coach of the Year: Harriett Philp-Edwards 
• Serena Morten Safeguarding: Tracy Newton 
• Coach of the Year: Lee Barnett 
• TheRulesR.com Young Referee of the Year: Ebony Faraday 
• Referee of the Year: Roberto Rigante 
• Young Volunteer of the Year: Aileen Barry 
• Volunteer of the Year: John House 
• HEVO of the Year: Abderrahman ‘Dudi’ Zairi  
• Long Service: Ade McGraa 
• Huck Nets Club of the Year: Worthing Volleyball Club 
• Special Community recognition award: SportSet 

A special mention goes to the late Ken Edwards, who was awarded the Peter Wardale Memorial Award for his distinguished service to the sport over his lifetime as a player, coach, administrator and volunteer. 

Over 150 nominations were submitted for this year’s awards, before a shortlist was determined by Vicki Price (Basketball England), Rosie Benson (Sport England), and the Bello Brothers. Those shortlisted were invited to a VIP reception held at the Cup Finals, alongside members of the board and key figures from the Volleyball community. 

The Annual Awards are a celebration of the unsung heroes in our community, recognising those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure Volleyball in England is the best it can be. 

Charlie Ford, Chief Executive of Volleyball England said: 

“It was an honour to meet all of those that were shortlisted for our 2023 Annual Awards. 

“I’d like to extend a huge congratulations to all of our award winners. Your outstanding contribution across the last year is inspiring and you are a huge credit to our sport.” 

Volleyball England would like to place on record a big thank you to our partners for their support of the annual awards, including Deep Dish Sixes, the headline sponsor of our 2023 Annual Awards, as well as Pro Volley Academy, TheRulesR.com and Huck Nets who sponsored individual accolades. 

You can watch back the 2023 Annual Awards ceremony here.