October Volunteer of the Month

Our October Volunteer of the Month is Anya Jones, who has helped hundreds of young girls continue their sporting ambitions by accepting them into her Club with open arms, in addition to her many other volunteer obligations. She is an excellent advocate for netball participation in North West Wales.

Sadly, in the summer of 2024, Brynrefail Junior Netball Club had no choice but to fold. Over 100 junior girls across age groups were left without a club to train at and compete for, until Anya Jones of Thundercats Netball Club welcomed every single player with open arms into their club. This was a massive task that Anya worked tirelessly to achieve, devoting enormous effort behind the scenes to transfer every single player across whilst ensuring the club runs smoothly. This kind gesture aided such a large number of young netballers to continue to play and develop in the sport they love.

“Anya has put so much work into taking over several junior teams to Thundercats – she is passionate about giving players opportunities to thrive in netball” – Elin Jones.

“Her hard work has allowed girls to continue playing the sport they love. I honestly can’t thank the club enough for giving my daughter this opportunity. We are a really lucky team to have Anya.” – Sara Williams.

Whilst taking on that task, Anya perfectly maintained her other commitments as the Umpire Secretary for both Thundercats Netball Club and Arfon Celts Netball Club. Anya undertakes a variety of tasks behind the scenes for Thundercats, having previously also been Club Chair, including social media management, coaching, umpiring, coordinating club kit and fees, obtaining sponsorship, organising matches, planning fundraisers, and ensuring teams are entered into leagues, among other things.

“An absolute super woman and a lovely person. Players and parents are very, very lucky.” – Clare Wallis.

Anya’s contributions to netball in her area extends beyond club-level, being a valued member of the North West Wales League committee for a number of years. Before this, Anya was already helping the league by organising games and umpiring for the league for over 10 years. Within the last 5 years, Anya has worn several different hats, including being the umpiring secretary, results secretary and main content and social media developer. Doing these roles without hesitation and going above and beyond to do them to the best of her abilities, earned Anya their ‘League Hero’ award in 2022 for her dedication. Throughout the years, she has also organised several charity tournaments on behalf of the league, raising thousands of pounds for different charities.

“Anya has played a vital role in the league in successfully helping others through their umpiring tests, increasing our social media presence and does this all in her own time whilst also raising her family – and she does this without hesitation or complaint, she really is a true hero in the area for netball.” – Jade Grayson, North West Wales Netball League Chair.

Thank you from Wales Netball for all your generous contributions and hard work to keep netball thriving and well in North West Wales Anya! Your selfless support is recognised by all of those you have helped and continue to help around you. 

Wales Netball’s Volunteers of the Month will be announced at the beginning of every month, with an article going on our website and posts going out across all social media channels.

If you would like to nominate your coach, an umpire, or someone who helps your netball club and the wider community, complete the nomination form using this link – https://forms.gle/fREqFRkPFyHnoPRn6