18/10/2026
Congratulations to London's very own Matt Smith and Sam Smith who have received this years BTBA Volunteer of the Year Award!
AWARD - VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
sponsored by The UK Tenpin Bowling Operators
2026 BTBA Volunteer of the Year
Sam and Matt Smith
Geoff Brown writes...
“ It was my pleasure to attend the SLAT league finals at Romford. The league was organised and run by Matt and Sam Smith over the past 2 years. I had a very enjoyable day watching the climax to the league with the winners being decided on the very last game, Hampshire holding off a late charge from Bedfordshire “
While there, I took the opportunity to present a much deserved “ Volunteer of the year award “ jointly to Matt and Sam Smith.
This award is sponsored by the UKTBO for which both were nominated but could not be split.
The following letters of recommendation accompanied the nominations and better capture the reason behind this award.
In my opinion, this person is a champion of the sport in every metric, From supporting local YBCs, running the SLAT multi-county league events, serving as committee member on the London BTBA section countless fundraising and charity initiatives within and beyond these events, coaching youth bowlers, and even running our own localbowling league. Sam embodies what it is to love and support the sport of bowling. I am personally indebted to her for her efforts helping me grow and succeed as a bowler. and believe her efforts detailed above should be recognised with this award
If we had more Sam Smiths we would be the biggest sport in the world!
Whilst still recovering from a serious illness, Matt has continued to support and assist all the counties within the Southern Region. With the help of his wife, he established the Southern Local Association Tour, which is now successfully into its second year.
Matt consistently goes above and beyond, contributing to wider National Council activity and offering support wherever it's needed. He brings fresh ideas to every meeting and engages enthusiastically with BTBA initiatives, always adding value to the work we do.
