Kerry’s Anne Scanlon will receive nationwide recognition for her years of dedicated volunteer work with St. Joseph’s Basketball Club at next week’s virtual Federation of Irish Sport Volunteers in Sport Awards ceremony, proudly supported by EBS.
Anne Scanlon was the founding member of St Joseph’s Basketball Club in Kerry over 39 years ago, in an area where there was no history or heritage of basketball. Initially, Anne set up the club to cater for female players as she felt there was very little opportunity for girls to participate in competitive sports activities in the area. With the hard work and dedication shown by Anne down through the years, St. Joseph’s Basketball Club has gone from strength to strength and is now thriving. St. Joseph’s has a proud tradition of producing countless county and international players down through the years and due to the increasing popularity of basketball in the area, Anne extended the club to cater for both boys and girls ranging in age from six years old to senior members, and now boasting a membership in excess of 300. Anne has held various roles down through the years, primarily acting as Secretary and Head Coach. She is always on hand to lend advice and has dedicated her time and experience to all members of her own club and indeed the wider basketball community of Kerry.
The Volunteers in Sport Awards celebrate the contributions of the band of volunteers across the country 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.
