National Volunteer Award Profile - Renata Iannetta
The latest winner of the Bowls Scotland National Volunteer Awards is Renata Iannetta from Broughty Bowling Club in Dundee. Renata was chosen as a winner due to her excellent leadership, committed long service to volunteering and outstanding contribution to the local community.
Renata first joined Broughty Bowling Club in 2020, taking on her first volunteer role the very next year. We asked Renata about the voluntary roles she has at the club and the rewards she gets from dedicating her time to both her club and the sport…
“I joined the club in 2020 and became ladies match secretary the following year. I then took on the role of club secretary this year. I'm an organiser and I love being part of a team. At Broughty we have a great committee and countless other members who take on volunteering roles and who all help to make our club as good as it is.”
Renata has been heavily involved in seeking external funding for the club to make improvements to the facilities, such as accessible ramps and toilets. We asked about the funding process and any advice she would offer to other bowling clubs, she also explained why improving the club, and sport, is so important to her…
“We have been fortunate to secure two tranches of £10,000 from the National Lottery’s Communities Fund. This was to help with installing an accessible toilet and access ramp. And to help with our current project of installing a lift.
“My advice to other clubs would be to do your homework and search for funders and organisations whose criteria for making awards matches yours and ensure you frame your application so that it fits with their requirements. Get as many applications made as you can as most will not be successful.
“Our aim at Broughty is to make the club an important part of our local area and not just for bowlers. We want the clubhouse to be utilised by the community; e.g. over the winter in particular when various clubs use the facilities for a number of activities. We want the clubhouse to be accessible to everyone, hence the desire to install a lift to our upstairs lounge, bar and kitchen.”
Renata is involved in the schools coaching programme that Broughty BC run having completed both her Intro to Bowls Coaching Award and Level 1 qualifications at the beginning of 2024. We asked her how the relationships were established and about the benefits the club gets from hosting these sessions for juniors, she explained:
“The club made contact with the local Active Schools Co-Ordinator who liaised with the schools. We also work with a local scouts group - we were contacted by the scout leader who was looking for an activity for the group.
“We had P5 and P6 children from two local schools along. We also had a local scouts group attend recently. We set up activities and games on the green with cones, coloured discs, etc. The children (and teachers) all loved it.
“Hosting these groups helps us towards our goal of getting more junior members at the club but also helps raise the club's profile within the community."
The time and dedication that Renata has dedicated to the club hasn’t gone unnoticed by her peers in the bowling community. Stuart Bell, Bowls Scotland’s National Development Officer for the East of Scotland recognised Renata’s efforts with a nomination for this award. When asked what led to nominating Renata for a National Volunteer Award and why volunteers like Renata are so important to our sport, Stuart explained:
“Renata has been at the forefront of driving her club forward. She has attended various forum meetings, managed to obtain funding for an accessible ramp and an accessible toilet for the club as she strives to make the club fully inclusive. She also coaches and has been delivering school sessions to the local schools at the club. As someone with a can-do attitude for the club, Renata doesn’t just accept things at face value, I find at times clubs are just grateful for support, Renata was, but she was also challenging, pushing and asking how to improve, what were we doing, how do we work together… She’s not just someone who sits back and stops…
“We are the key holders of our clubs. Previous generations have passed the sport on to us, and every club needs the right volunteers, to challenge themselves, the club, local authority and the governing body. We can’t just accept that ‘that’s the way it’s always been’. Volunteers like Renata are key for the survival and growth of our sport, without them we can’t function.”
Renata was presented with her National Volunteer Award by Alan McDonald, National Development Officer for the North of Scotland at the club this summer, when asked what it meant to be presented her award, she told us:
“It was a total surprise, but very pleasing!"
Congratulations to Renata on behalf of everyone at Bowls Scotland for receiving her thoroughly deserved National Volunteer Award!
Applications for our next round of nominations close on Friday 31st October. For more information or to nominate someone, please click here.