The "heart and soul"of the Giants Softball Club is one of three finalists in the Volunteer of the Year category for the 2008 Wellington sports awards, the winners of which will be announced on May 29. Alan Clarke was a foundation member of the Giants club when it was formed 41years ago and has served them in every administrative role except secretary. He is currently president, a position he has held "on and off "for 17 years. Giants premier men's coach Tony Nixon said Clarke's contribution to Giants had been immense. "He is the heart and soul of the club, you can't really measure the value of what he has done," Nixon said. There was no-one more surprised than Clarke himself when the finalists for the Volunteer of the Year category were named. "Obviously it's a great honour but, no, I didn't expect it, not at all," he said. Clarke said his long association with Giants could be attributed to an everlasting passion for softball. "I suppose you could say I'm married to the sport&&. I know the wife (Ngaire) would," he said. Remarkably Clarke can recall 38 different softball clubs operating in the Wairarapa (although not all at the one time), a far cry from today when Giants is the sole survivor. "It's been sad to see so many clubs go under, that's probably the biggest disappointment for me," he said. Clarke is confident, however, that Giants will continue to fly the Wairarapa flag for the foreseeable future, both as a powerful force in major competitions such as Hutt Valley premier men's league and as a tool for youngsters to learn the fundamentals of the sport. "The intent is always to grow the game, to provide as many opportunities as possible for people of all ages to participate in it," he said .
