Volunteers deserve to be acknowledged

EARLIER this week we kicked off our new Best of Sport series.

As The Chronicle sports editor, I’d been weighing up the idea for a while before a few recent experiences strengthened my belief in the concept.

Chief among those experiences is my regular dealings with Sports Darling Downs president Mick Smith.

SDD is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting our region’s athletes, teams, officials and volunteers at all levels of sport.

Mick and his extremely dedicated team of volunteers are always hard at work looking for new supporters.

Why? Because the Darling Downs is chock full of sporting talent – talent that sometimes needs that little bit of support to take their game to the next level.

The other experience is not so much one particular experience but rather an amalgamation of experiences.

I try to get to as many sporting events as I can – yes it’s naturally part of my job – but I do enjoy being on the sidelines.

I enjoy it because there on the sidelines among the fans, players, supporters and officials is where you get a real feel for sport.

You can enjoy, experience and contribute to the full gamut of emotions there on the sidelines.

The only problem is there’s always a lot going on and it’s hard to keep track of.

So that’s why we’ve started our new Best of Sport series.

It’s a great way for us to tap into other segments of our sporting community.

A great way for us to find out what you – the sporting public – are passionate about.

You’ll still see me and my sports team (Glen McCullough and Sean Teuma) on the sidelines, but this is a chance for us to do something different.

■ If you’ve an idea for a potential Best of Sport topic in the future email jason.gibbs@thechronicle.com.au or phone 46 909 484.