We are delighted to announce the winners of the inaugural BAFA Community Heroes Awards, recognising and celebrating the people, clubs and organisations who bring to life the values at the heart of our Together to Inspire strategy and help make Britball a better place for everyone.
An incredible 164 nominations were received from across the game, recognising volunteers, coaches, clubs, content creators and others who give their time, energy and enthusiasm to help our sport and its communities thrive.
Following shortlisting, our judging panel reviewed and scored the nominations to select our first Community Heroes across seven categories.
BAFA Chief Operating Officer Amanda McDonald said:
“We received an incredible 164 nominations from right across the game, with some amazing stories shared and some heartfelt nominations that showed just how much these individuals, clubs and organisations mean to their communities.
“Feedback from across our judging panel was consistent – picking the final winners was really difficult. In truth, everyone nominated for an award is a Community Hero, as is everyone who took the time to recognise somebody else and tell us their story.
“We’ve only been able to share a small part of those stories here, so we hope to shine a light on more of our winners and finalists over the coming months. There are so many brilliant people doing great things across our game, and we want to celebrate as many of them as we can.”
The Winners
Unsung Hero – Mike Jeatt
Known to many simply as ‘Chain Crew Mike’, Mike Jeatt has been a familiar face on the sidelines of the south coast since 2011 and has supported more than 500 games for a wide range of clubs. His multiple nominations recognised years of quietly giving his time to help teams and officials make game days happen.
Finalists:
Birmingham Lions Women’s Contact Team, Charlotte Griffith – South Coast Spitfires, David Green – Kent Phoenix, Eddie McSorley – East Kilbride Pirates, Natalie Whiteston – Northants Ducks, Selina Hart – Solent Seahawks, Chloe Collier – Lancashire Buccaneers (7)
Welcoming Hero – Molly Bryson
Through Girls of Gridiron, Molly has worked to make Britball more visible, accessible and welcoming, particularly by giving women and others across the game greater visibility and a voice.
Finalists:
Dean Holmes – Leicester Panthers, Doug Finlayson – Hinchingbrooke Hunters, Gee Griffiths – BAFA Wheelchair Football Lead, Ian Nicolson – Lancashire Buccaneers, Jackie Smart – Wembley Stallions, Sam Stoddart-Durning, Edinburgh Napier Knights.
Young Person’s Hero – Jay Taylor
London Fruitbats Head Coach Jay Taylor received an incredible 16 nominations. They consistently highlighted his calm and positive leadership and the welcoming environment he’s helped to create as the Fruitbats have grown from a handful of children into multiple teams and more than 150 young players.
Finalists:
Ian Barnsby – Leicester Panthers Academy, Dave Myring – Salford Scorpions, David Green – Kent Phoenix, Matt Lloyd – Blaenau Gwent Mustangs, Roger Smithies – Studley Bearcats, Shay Frederick – BK Pulse, Tracy Adams – Birmingham Lions Academy
Ambition Hero – Ben Newham
Ben’s nomination recognised his work in creating and developing Flagapalooza, establishing a major standalone flag football tournament in the UK and creating new opportunities for domestic teams. It highlighted the scale of what he has built in a short period of time and described Ben as a ‘force amplifier for the game in the UK’.
Finalists:
Nick Coe – Solent Redstorm, Lee Parsons – Kent Phoenix, Nick Weston – Border City Centurions
Collaboration Hero – Matthew Berry
Matthew was recognised for the work he has done to connect people across the flag football community, in addition to his contribution through The Way We HNC It. His nomination highlighted everything from domestic and international coverage, to rallying flag football votes in the BAFA Hall of Fame, sharing scores and standings, and working with others across the game to make sure the community stays informed and involved.
Finalists:
Cammy Wilson – The Way We HNC It, Alan Chambers – Lincolnshire Bombers (2)
Celebration Hero – The Way We HNC It
The Way We HNC It, run by Matthew ‘Bez’ Berry, Cammy Wilson and Matt Bourke, received multiple nominations recognising its contribution to celebrating and championing flag football across the UK. The platform was described as a go-to source for scores, updates, stories and opinions, while continually celebrating achievements from the domestic game through to our GB teams.
Finalists:
Jonathan Griffiths – South Wales Warriors, Barry Hall – Chester Romans, Chris Coope (posthumous) – photographer, Chris Tebbutt – Depth Chart Sports, Jason Bowdler – Birmingham Bulls, Stuart Andrew – Inside Britball and BAFRA.
Club of the Year – Manchester Titans
Our final award is Club of the Year, a category nominated via BAFA Competition Management. Manchester Titans have been named our inaugural winners, recognising the breadth of their club, with teams competing across almost every level of BAFA competition. Their nomination also highlighted their contribution to the wider game, strong performances across contact and flag, and the game day experience they have developed at every level, including commentary, livestreams and opportunities for supporters to engage with the club.
Finalists:
Kent Exiles, Border City Centurions, London Blitz
Celebrating our finalists
Our winners have been invited to receive their Community Heroes trophies at Britbowl or during our flag finals weekend in Coventry this September.
Our congratulations also go to everyone named as a finalist. Each finalist will receive a commemorative medal, which will be sent out over the coming weeks. We’ll be in touch with finalists directly to arrange this.
A huge thank you goes to our judging panel – Jon Wyse, Rahman Ladak, Joe Walker, Tonye Dokubo, Molly Fluet and Rory Macnair – for giving their time to review and score the shortlisted nominations.
Some categories attracted significantly more nominations than others, with particularly strong interest in our Unsung Hero award. With so many potential Community Heroes to consider, qualifying nominations were shortlisted against the criteria for each award, with those providing clear examples of the values and impact being recognised progressing to the judging panel.
As part of this process, nominations may have been assigned to a different award category where they more closely matched the relevant criteria. Multiple qualifying nominations for the same person, club or organisation may also have been combined where appropriate.
Finally, thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a nomination and tell us about the people making a difference in their corner of our sport. With so many brilliant nominations received, we recognise that some nominators may be disappointed not to see their nominee among our winners or finalists. Every nomination was read and considered, and every contribution highlighted was valued and appreciated by BAFA.
Congratulations to all our inaugural BAFA Community Heroes!