SSA Chair Lee Cousins Awarded GB Medal of Honour

PUBLISHED: Aug 18, 2014
CATEGORY: SSA Publications & Policies SSA Governance Documents 

Congratulation to our very own Chair, Lee Cousins, former President and Board Member of Scottish Hockey, on receiving this presitigous Medal of Honour.

The Great Britain Hockey recognition awards are made to volunteers, staff, players and organisations that have provided outstanding service, and the Medal of Honour Award is bestowed on individuals who have given exceptional service to the organisation over a sustained period.

Lee Cousins was the Scottish representative on the Great Britain Hockey Board from 2005 – 2013. He was key in the instigation of the Great Britain Framework Agreement for Hockey signed in 2006 that brought together the three Home Nations of England, Scotland and Wales in a binding agreement to provide primacy for Great Britain athletes over other Home Nation activities. This enabled the provision of infrastructure which is crucial to athletes aspiring to realise their potential and achieve Olympic success. As a direct result of Great Britain primacy brought about by the Framework Agreement, Great Britain achieved their first medal at an Olympic Games in 20 years in 2012 when the Women’s team won the Bronze medal.

As a former member of the Scottish Hockey Board Lee represented Scotland on the GB Hockey Board for seven years. Nominated by England Hockey for his outstanding contribution to GB, the GB Board approved Lee’s nomination at the end of 2013 and his award was made at the recent 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Richard Leman, President of Great Britain Hockey said “Lee’s contribution to the GB Board has been exceptional, his attention to detail and pragmatic approach have been invaluable to the continued delivery of GB Primacy. The instrumental part he played in creating the Framework Agreement and the ongoing robustness of that document has had a direct impact on the athletes and the performance of our National squads. His contributions will be missed and we wish him every success with his future plans.”

On receiving the Medal of Honour Award, Lee Cousins said “I am deeply honoured to receive this award and very appreciative of the accolade it implies from great colleagues with whom I was fortunate to work alongside, as together we reshaped GB Hockey to such good effect, resulting in athlete and team success at the London 2012 Games. I look forward to, and will follow with great interest, Great Britain hockey continuing to achieve success at future Olympic Games, for the joy of all hockey players and supporters across the three Home Nations."