The Graeme Ashley Award for the Best Club Person is the highest individual honour one can be bestowed at the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club, behind only that of Life Membership.
The recipients of this hugely prestigious award are listed below.
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The Best Club Person Award is presented at the end of the season to the individual deemed to have made the greatest contribution to the behind-the-scenes success of the Club.
The award itself is named after Leeming Spartan Club Legend Graeme Ashley, one of the most devoted individuals the Club has ever seen.
Graeme’s efforts have extended for four decades, and his work including that of record keeping, statistician, historian, cleaning and maintenance, registrar, secretary, and bar manager to name but only a few, are all examples of the countless volunteer hours and efforts it takes to receive the award.
Award Recipients:
Season Best Club Person Notes 1976/1977 W.L. Farmer 1977/1978 T.M. Morter 1978/1979 R.E. Gough 1979/1980 W. Gough 1980/1981 R.E. Gough 2nd Victory 1981/1982 P.E. Read 1982/1983 P.E. Read 2nd Victory
Consecutive Victories1983/1984 M.B. Johnson 1984/1985 M. Preedy Mrs. 1985/1986 P.E. Read 3rd Victory
Equal Most Victories1986/1987 W.L. Farmer 2nd Victory 1987/1988 M. Hales 1988/1989 F.L. Read Mrs. 1989/1990 N.R. Wood 1990/1991 J. James Mrs. 1991/1992 M.K. Smith 1992/1993 G.E. Ashley 1993/1994 O. Dama Mrs. 1994/1995 G.E. Ashley 2nd Victory 1995/1996 G. Pound 1996/1997 C.L. Forsyth 1997/1998 S. Boyes Mrs. 1998/1999 P.L. Hitch 1999/2000 G. Pound 2nd Victory 2000/2001 G.K. Boyes 2001/2002 M.J. Bennett 2002/2003 S.J. Davies 2003/2004 A.F. Walker 2004/2005 E. Flavell Dual Winners P. Flavell Dual Winners 2005/2006 N.J.E. Coppin 2006/2007 R.J. McDonald 2007/2008 S. Boyes Mrs.
2nd Victory2008/2009 A.B. Seaward 2009/2010 L. Seaward Mrs.
Née Gosatti2010/2011 J.H. Hewitt 2011/2012 G.K. Hack 2012/2013 C. Edwards 2013/2014 A.B. Seaward 2nd Victory 2014/2015 J.E. Tuthill 2015/2016 D.P. Coombs 2016/2017 D.P. Coombs 2nd Victory
Consecutive Victories
Dual WinnersG.A. Tysoe Dual Winners 2017/2018 D.P. Coombs 3rd Victory
Record 3rd Consecutive Victory
Equal Most Victories
Dual WinnersP.A. Kalleske Dual Winners 2018/2019 J.R.Ipsen 2019/2020 M.Gardiner 2020/2021 G.Burgess 2021/22 J.Rennie 2022/23 A.D'Angelo
Last Updated: March 2023
History Of The Award:
The Graeme Ashley Award was first presented in 1977, thereby making it the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club’s oldest award that has been continually presented since its introduction.
Peter Read (left) is one of only two Spartans to have won the award three times. Graeme Ashley (right), for whom the award is named. (Taken 2005)
The award now holds a special place in Leeming Spartan history, and it is known to be the highest individual achievement one can receive, behind only that of Life Membership.
Named in honour of one of the greatest stalwarts the Club has ever seen, Graeme Ashley, it takes a very special person to win the Best Club Person Award.
It is presented at the end of season windup to the individual who has made the single biggest contribution to the behind-the-scenes running of the Club.
There are no qualifications to win the Best Club Person, other than to be prepared to dedicate a years’ worth of time and effort to the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club.
One does not have to be a playing member of the Club nor a Committee Member to win the award, but must make a hugely significant contribution to helping the Club succeed.
Therefore, the efforts involved in order to win the award are extreme.
It requires that the recipient put their efforts into more than simply playing cricket, and dedicate a large amount of time into making sure things get done.
A perfect example is that after a hard day’s play, they come back to the Club time and again, fire up the kitchen to help make dinners for the players. The first to arrive, they are the last to leave, cleaning and closing up before moving on to the next task.
These people are often the unsung heroes of sporting clubs, and their support often goes unnoticed, but you can rest assured that regardless, these Spartans will be there time and again to keep the Club succeeding.
On field performances, a century, a five for, or a stunning catch are the most talked about aspects at cricket clubs, whereas the tasks completed by these stalwarts, the ‘dirty jobs’ that simply need to be done, are often overlooked.
At times, it requires you to forego times spent socialising with mates to help assist with running the bar, cooking dinners, cleaning, emptying bins and more.
From time spent coming in on off days to help clean the Club after a big event the night before (or just our regular season evenings post matches and training), to organising functions, honour boards, the website, maintenance, the bar, food and supplies, ground marking, signage, sponsors, clothing, and promoting the Club itself, are all examples of the ongoing efforts these great clubmen and clubwomen provide without fail.
These tasks certainly add up over the course of twelve months, and as such, to receive this award is a momentous achievement.
Criteria:
To receive the Graeme Ashley Award for the Best Club Person, the individual must have made not only the most significant contribution to the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club off the field of play, but must have done so for the entirety of the year.
The recipient must have gone above and beyond what is expected by a Club member, and therefore the Graeme Ashley Award is the greatest individual honour one can receive at the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club, behind only that of Life Membership.
The Best Club Person Award is presented every year at our end of season windup, and the recipient is decided upon by the Executive Committee.
Graeme Ashley:
As further explained here, the efforts of Spartan Graeme ‘H’ Ashley are unparalleled.
Graeme ‘Harry’ Ashley in 2016.
There is simply no other person for whom the award could be named, such is the extent of his involvement at the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club, something he has done for over forty years.
The epitome of Leeming Spartan, Graeme has certainly done it all.
Perhaps his greatest achievement is the in-depth record keeping he has done for a number of decades.
These statistics are a foundation of our success (and will be rolled out on our website in prime view), and are unparalleled by any local sporting Club. Even the WACA Clubs, the final port of call before state representation, do not have as an accurate and detailed set of records as to what the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club has thanks to Graeme’s efforts.
And, he has gone through countless hours, past scorecards, and records at the Battye Library to recover and compile statistics from the pre-War years.
In addition, he has served as registrar for 25 seasons, secretary, committee, and most recently bar manager until his retirement from the position in 2016.
As such, it could easily be argued that there are many seasons where he himself could have taken home the Best Club Person Award. In fact, Graeme has won it twice already.
Graeme Ashley’s efforts are incredible and quite frankly, unfathomable, and he is certainly an invaluable asset to the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club. Thus, the naming of our Best Club Person Award after Graeme is simply a formality.
Award Facts:
- The Graeme Ashley Award was first presented in 1977, awarded to Laurie Farmer.
- Roy Gough became the first person to win the award twice, having been inducted in 1979 and again in 1981.
- Former President Peter Read was the first Spartan to win the award consecutively, in 1981 and 1982.
- Read won the award once more in 1986 to claim his third victory, the equal most victories by any person in the Club’s history (alongside Daniel Coombs).
- Daniel Coombs is just the second and most recent person to win the Graeme Ashley Award consecutively, which he won in 2016 and 2017.
- Daniel Coombs became the first person in history to win the Best Club Person Award three seasons consecutively, winning in 2016, 2017, and 2018.
- This is also the equal most number of victories by an individual, alongside Peter Read.
- Graeme Ashley himself has won the award twice.
- Maureen Preedy, in 1985, was the first woman to win the award.
- In total, eight Spartans have won the award more than once, with Sandy Boyes in 1998 and 2008, the only woman to do so. This is also the record for the most time between a Spartan’s first and second victories.
- Daniel Coombs is the most recent recipient to win the award for the second time or more, last winning in 2018.
- Angelo D’Angelo is the current holder of the Graeme Ashley Award.
- In 2016/17, the Graeme Ashley Award turned 40 years old!
Pro Forma:
We encourage all Spartans to aspire to replicate the enormous efforts of those who have won the Graeme Ashley Award for the Best Club Person, because as those recipients would undoubtedly agree, above the personal honours and recognition, your efforts are vital in continuing the success of the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club.
We are all simply caretakers during our time at the Club, striving to make Leeming Spartan the best it can be until it comes time to hand over the keys to the next group of leaders.
We implore you to help us in this quest as we progress towards our one hundredth year.