2026 Macra Volunteer of the Year Awards - Additional Information
The Volunteer of the Year awards recognise and reward outstanding volunteers who contribute a huge amount of their time to the organisation. These awards focus on volunteering rather than leadership within the organisation. The 2026 awards will be judged on the period from August 2025 to July 2026 inclusive. There will be a volunteer of the year award for each Macra region: Leinster Volunteer of the Year, Munster Volunteer of the Year and the North West Volunteer of the Year.
Application form: https://form.jotform.com/260463977052361
Key Dates for the Volunteer of the Year Awards 2026
Ø Launch and Application Opening Date: Monday 11th May 2026
Ø Application Closing Date: Wednesday 1st July 2026
Ø Shortlisting Nominations by 15th July 2026
Ø Nominee Interviews: 4th -20th August 2026
Ø Online Voting: 3rd to 7th September 2026
Ø Awards Ceremony: 3rd October 2026 in Athlone Springs Hotel
Stage 1: Nomination Stage
Candidates for the Volunteer of the Year Awards can only be nominated by a Macra club through their club secretary. The nomination form lists three attributes that, through our consultation, we consider to be important for the volunteers within the organisation to have:
Ø Involvement – give examples of how the member was involved at club, county or national level.
Ø Positive Attitude – give examples of positive qualities this member holds.
Ø Club/County/Organisational Input – give examples of how this member has benefited the club/county/national organisation.
The nominator/club secretary must give examples of times the nominee demonstrated these three attributes within the Macra community from the period August 2025 to July 2026. The onus is entirely on the nominator to show that their chosen nominee is worthy of the award. The nomination form is worth 20% of the overall mark. Once the nomination is submitted, both the nominee and the club secretary will receive an email to verify the nomination and confirm the details are correct. Failure to confirm nominations will result in elimination from the award.
Stage 2: Shortlisting Stage
Nominees will be shortlisted to a maximum of 5 per Macra region. This process will be carried out by Training and Development Officers, and no TDO will be responsible for nominees from their own region. Shortlisting will not have a mark weighting; it will simply be the mechanism to move from one stage to the next. All successful and unsuccessful nominees will be notified at this stage. All nominators will also be notified.
Stage 3: Zoom Interview
Nominees will be invited to an interview on Zoom. This interview will be worth 60% of the overall mark. The top 3 volunteers from each Macra region will progress to the next stage. All successful and unsuccessful nominees will be notified on the same day. All nominators will also be notified on the same day.
Stage 4: Voting
Macra members will have an opportunity to vote for the Volunteer of the Year winners. The member vote is worth 20% of the overall mark. This not only allows member voices to be heard but also provides an opportunity to promote and recognise the best of Macra’s volunteers. Following the vote, all winners will be notified, and all unsuccessful nominees and nominators will be notified on the same day.
Stage 5: Awards Ceremony
There is one overall winner from each of the three Macra regions. Each of the regional winners will be invited to attend the Volunteer of the Year Awards Ceremony on 3rd October 2026, in the Athlone Springs Hotel, following the National Training Day.
Prizes
The three regional winners will receive a trophy and a cash prize of €300 each.
Eligibility
Previous Volunteer of the Year Awards Winners, Board Members, Presidents & Vice Presidents (past or present) are not eligible to apply.
Candidates may not enter more than one of the following competitions in any given year: Macra National Leadership Awards, Macra Volunteer of the Year Awards, Best New Member Competition.
Candidates who have entered either the Best New Member competition or the Macra Leadership Awards will automatically be removed from the Volunteer of the Year Award.
Disclaimer: The competition above is subject to change at any given time, of which candidates will be notified by email.