We were delighted to present the inaugural Mike Barnato Award 2023 yesterday to afterschool sports participant Ameila (10), on behalf of herself and her sister and cousins Izzy (11), Kyann (12) and Laila (12) - collectively known as ‘The Dream Team’.

The Mike Barnato Award

This award has been created in memory of a former trustee of Bankside Open Spaces Trust, who sadly passed away in March 2022. Mike was an inspiring business coach, martial arts enthusiast and supportive colleague and friend.

Our Mike Barnato Award seeks to capture his positive approach to life and characteristics Mike valued so highly in his personal and professional life and through his volunteer work.

The Dream Team received the inaugural award, and their friendly nickname, from Marlborough Sports Garden staff because together they consistently show these characteristics:

• Encouraging and inspiring others

• Being self-motivated

• Having a passion for sport

Mike’s daughter Katy Barnato presented the award to Amelia and talked about Mike’s passion for sport and expressed how wonderful it was to present the first award to a family team, and one that looks set to inspire others to participate in sport too.

The Award-Winning Dream Team

The Dream Team have taken part in every sport on offer during our afterschool activity programme and have attended each of our holiday and half-term multi-sport programmes over the past three years. This summer, they expressed an interest in becoming coaches and they all successfully completed Bankside Open Spaces Trust’s Young Coach Award. All four girls then volunteered as 'peer coaches' during the summer sports camp, helping our paid coaches to deliver the programme.

Their Grandmother Ann is a huge champion of the sports garden and attended the award presentation with Amelia and her younger brother Leo. Ann has spoken of the difference Marlborough Sports Garden (MSG) has made to the family before, saying ”Before [MSG] there was simply nothing to do for children in Southwark. Activities like this, anywhere else, would cost too much for most parents. The free activities mean that all children have equal access to these incredible opportunities.”

Speaking at the presentation yesterday, Ann said “The sports have meant an awful lot to us as a family, because when the children were attending their Grandad, my husband, was in hospital suffering with covid, and I would say that the sports really helped us as a family to stay together and connected… He would have been so proud of them. The sports have given them so much confidence, they were such quiet little people before!”