National Volunteer Week: Our unsung heroes

LOYAL VOLUNTEER: Papamoa Swimming Club stalwart Sheryl Bicker. PHOTO: GEORGE NOVAK

This week is National Volunteer Week to celebrate the vital contribution of New Zealand's 1.2 million volunteers.

The volunteers are actively involved in sport but also in areas as diverse as social development, the economy and the environment. There is no doubt that volunteers make an invaluable contribution to all of our communities.

The theme this year for National Volunteer Week is 'live, laugh, share - volunteer'.

Someone who epitomises what that is all about is Sheryl Bicker.

For more than 20 years she has been one of Papamoa Swimming Club's longest serving volunteers but has finally decided it is time to spend more time with her ever growing family.

Bicker, 59, has played a key role in the Learn to Swim programme, helping train squad swimmers and been a committee member, secretary, stand-in president and recorder among many other roles.

Her four children have also been prominent at the club as competitors and helping out in voluntary roles.

Bicker, who is a teacher aid in the library at Papamoa School, says helping to teach the little ones to swim and seeing the bigger kids achieve really well at swim meets has given her the greatest pleasure.

"Just that they are enjoying their swimming is the main thing," she said.

In the time she has been involved Papamoa has grown as a club, although still relatively small compared to the biggest clubs in the Bay of Plenty of Greerton and Otumoetai.

"We have so many more children coming through Learning to Swim, kids doing swim training, going to swim meets and achieving really well. It has been really great."

Bicker knows all good things must come to an end but she also knows it will be hard not being involved when next summer's swim classes start.

"I will miss it a lot but will still be around from time to time to keep them on the straight and narrow," she said laughing.

Papamoa Swimming Club's head coach Mike Le Cocq said: "Sheryl has been everything to this club.

"It will be a huge, huge gap to fill. I personally will miss her because she has been my right-hand person for 12 years, as long as I have been at the club.

"When volunteers like that leave who have put in so much time to the club it is difficult. Volunteers are the most important part of any club, especially ours. We are only a very small club so they are so valuable. Every club has to have them.

"They are more important than the coaches. They keep the club running. You have got to have those committee members, volunteers and then you get a coach."

Le Cocq is pleased with the progress made in the pool by the growing group of competitive Papamoa swimmers competing at regional and national levels.

"Yes they are doing really well. We are starting to grow the numbers again. I have some top-end swimmers and a lot of young talent so watch this space."

National Volunteer Week runs from June 18 - 24.