National Volunteer Award Profile - Zoe Kane
The final winner from our latest round of Bowls Scotland National Volunteer Awards is Zoe Kane from Peterhead Bowling Club.
Zoe was chosen as a National Volunteer Award winner for being a positive role model to others, providing excellent leadership, delivering high quality coaching on a regular basis and achieving great success through adversity.
Despite her learning disabilities, Zoe has been an integral member of Peterhead Bowling Club since 2018. Zoe recently became a member of the club’s committee but has already been helping out behind the scenes for a number of years. After completing her Bowls Scotland Introduction to Bowls Coaching Award in 2022, Zoe has helped promote Peterhead Bowling Club’s annual Try Bowls membership recruitment events and provides coaching to first-time players that attend the club.
Speaking on the joy that volunteering gives her, Zoe said: “Over the years I have carried out a lot of different tasks from hoovering, cleaning toilets and setting up the green for play.
“Volunteering helps me to understand bowls better. I love to help, and it makes me a better person with the pride I get from watching others enjoy themselves. It also helps people understand my disability and enables me to promote the club as welcoming and inclusive to all.
“I am currently coaching a fellow member that also has a learning disability. When you help a new member, it encourages them to love, be passionate and understand the game as well as build new friendships. No matter how they feel about themselves, they can achieve in bowls no matter their age, disability or sex and build confidence within themselves.”
Although she spends a lot of time helping out around the club, Zoe is also a talented bowler when she steps onto the green. Zoe has won various Scottish Disability Sport National Championships titles and is also a three-time Ladies Championship singles winner at Peterhead Bowling Club.
The countless hours that Zoe dedicates to carry out her various tasks don’t go unnoticed or underappreciated by her fellow members at Peterhead Bowling Club. Since taking up the sport, bowls has really helped Zoe build friendships and connect with the local community. Fellow club member, Ian Hepworth, has built up an excellent friendship with Zoe and noticed how much her confidence has grown since joining the club.
When asked what led to nominating Zoe for a National Volunteer Award, Ian said: “She is one of the first people to volunteer, willing to give anything a go, and her baking is second to none, always receiving high praise from members and visitors alike.
“In 2024, at the AGM, she joined the committee of Peterhead Bowling Club which would have been a big step for her, but it shows how passionate she is about the club and bowls. Zoe is everything and more that you would want from the volunteer and is an example of what a volunteer should be. Zoe also has such a positive attitude and is always willing to learn and if there is a setback she has a mindset of, I just haven't mastered it yet.
“Also, when I’m out and about, I’m always asked about Zoe, and she has managed to get a few people from other clubs with learning disabilities along to the Grampian Disabilities Sport Lawn Bowls events and even to the Learning Disabilities Indoor Bowls International Series Scotland Trials.”
To Zoe’s surprise, she was recently presented with her National Volunteer Award at Peterhead Bowling Club’s annual Burns Night. When asked what it meant to be presented with her award, Zoe commented: “This gives me positivity and pride and will help me promote both Peterhead Bowling Club and disability sport, both of which are the love of my life.”
Congratulations to Zoe on behalf of everyone at Bowls Scotland for receiving her thoroughly deserved National Volunteer Award!
Applications for our next round of nominations close on Monday 14th April. For more information or to nominate someone, please visit: https://www.bowlsscotland.com/club-development/volunteering
