Kari Martin, a coach at Leighton Buzzard Canoe club for over 20 years, lead coach for the past decade, and a British Canoeing Regatta official for the past 12 years, is pictured receiving the Leighton Linslade Sports Council Ladies Service to Sport Award from Town Mayor Councillor David Bowater.
Coaching two or three times a week at the club, Kari and her husband Mike write the training programmes for all sessions, while Mrs Martin has been Sprint Team leader for many years.
Besides coaching hundreds of children and adults over the years, Kari has been a British Canoeing Regatta official since 2008, officiating at almost every National Regatta in Nottingham and at the 2012 London Olympics.
As previously reported, the Sports Council in February made Service to Sport awards to David Sweetnam, the Leighton-based secretary of the Bedfordshire Schools Golf Association and other organisations for over 40 years; to Arthur Giltrow, a significant figure in the Leighton Buzzard Hockey club with which he has been involved for over 40 years as player and administrator, and Ed Stephenson, reigning club and junior champion at Leighton Buzzard golf club, and a member of the Vandyke trio that beat 30 other counties to win the English Schools Golf Team championship.
The Leighton-Linslade Sports Council, a grass-roots organisation which for over 50 years has helped a wide variety of sporting activities in the community to grow and flourish, is funded by the Town Council.
As well as making grants for equipment, coaching and other sporting needs, the Sports Council is the “ears and eyes” of the town’s sporting community, helping influence the decision makers to ensure Leighton, Linslade and neighbouring villages and communities “have their voice heard” and get the support needed from advice given by people with hands-on experience.