South East Hockey - TWHC Flyerz Win Award

TW Flyerz are delighted to have been awarded the BBC Radio Kent Make a Difference Award for 2025 in the Active category

For those of us at the Club involved with our thriving Flyerz (our section for those with physical, learning or intellectual difficulties or disabilities) it is sometimes easy to forget amidst all the fun that everyone is having that there are some bigger things in play.

It’s nice to (be made to) reflect from time to time on quite how much of a difference our Flyerz makes to its participants. As we head towards our eighth anniversary in a week or so’s time, we are therefore both honoured and delighted to have been named the winner of the 2025 BBC Radio Kent Make a Difference Awards in the Active category, awarded to an individual or group of people who have used physical activity or sport as a way of improving the lives of those in their community. 

A small contingent from the Club attended the awards ceremony in Canterbury on Monday evening, where Kent CCC’s women’s captain, Megan Belt, handed over the award to Binky, on a night where we were one of the 32 finalists spread equally across 8 categories, celebrating the many people across our county who make a difference in our communities.

The final decision on the winner in our category was made by judges Shannon and Brad Galinson, owners of Gillingham FC. In outlining her reasons for us being selected ahead of the three other wonderful finalists, Shannon highlighted the importance of Flyerz giving normalised opportunities for our participants to be part of a team in a way that is so often denied to them; the breadth of opportunity we offer, whether just wanting to have some fun while being active, being a part of something bigger, or giving players a chance to gain regional and national representative honours. She also mentioned the significance of our being a mainstream provider of our sport who simply include this as an equal and normal part of our main offering and where it is those who are or have been involved in the other mainstream aspects of the Club who provide this.

Binky and I can’t thank enough all of you who help make our Flyerz a thriving section of our Club. Our Flyerz and their families are just incredible. I’ll repeat my regular observation/invitation to everyone involved in the Club who hasn’t already, at least to come along and see one of our sessions and what we are doing. This applies equally to our younger members - we have had a regular number of them helping out since we started (whether as part of DofE etc or just because they want to) and think it safe to say that they have all really enjoyed it and gained a lot from it.

We continue to promote Flyerz more widely and encourage and help other clubs to get Flyerz up and running. All hockey clubs ideally should be offering this, yet we remain amongst a very small number doing so in Kent and Sussex.

Looking internally, our Flyerz is reflective of the wider ethos of our Club - we want to give the best opportunities we can to all and in an environment where everyone has fun. Perhaps this is why we may on occasion “take for granted” (and not stop and think about) what we do, whether for Flyerz or more widely. We’re very lucky to have so many dedicated people around the Club who buy into that simple objective and help make it happen club-wide.

It’s fantastic to get recognition for what we do and, as above, we’re honoured to be able to add this most recent award to the Club’s record. But we don’t do what we do for awards - and as any of you who saw Binky’s clip on BBC South East will have seen, we don’t expect to win these things. Our Club ethos is the same across all our sections. Any win (on or off-field) for one is a win for all, something everyone should be proud of at the Club. 

One thing we can assure you is that our Flyerz going forward will simply continue to be as much fun for all involved as it has been since we started it back in 2017.