Golf Young Volunteers speaking out

“I’ve been on the youth forum for about a year, I was asked to sit on it because I won the Golf Young Volunteer of the Year for 2008. Myself and Richard, another member of the youth forum, talked about what we do on the forum and what volunteering we have done in the last year.

 “I help out with the little kids, taking them out onto the course, helping with schools’ competitions and being on the junior committee of the club. I’m a golf ambassador in my area and try to get more kids involved in golf. It’s given me a chance to see what jobs are out there as well, which helps me decide what I might want to do in the future.

“The conference was held at the Xcel Leisure Centre in Coventry, in their big sports hall, which was a bit daunting at first. Kirstie Jennings (England Golf Partnership, compliance manager) decided to make our presentation like a chat show and it definitely made the audience laugh! We spoke about what we had learnt through the youth forum and the training we had. “I’ve learned how to get my point across in a group and how to make presentations. I’m more confident because of it, which has helped me at school.

“I also learned how the youth forum helps the England Golf Partnership in making their decisions by giving them a different perspective on golf and child protection. I really enjoyed the day, apart from being nervous! I also got to have my picture taken with former Commonwealth gold medallist, David Moorcroft, which is now pinned up in the ladies’ locker room at my club.”