The Get Kids Going! team were very sorry and upset to hear of the passing of Matt Berry, Will Arnott and Stephen Andrew Emmerson. Matt and Will were two of the charity’s amazing boccia players and part of the UK and GB Boccia Teams. Stephen, was a wonderful volunteer and supporter of Get Kids Going!
Matt Berry
Matt, age 28, was a member of the UK Boccia team and talented, athlete who sadly passed away in December 2024. Matt was undoubtedly one of the most superb BC3 competitors and a great teammate who was working towards qualifying for the 2028 LA Paralympic Games. He had the Games fixed in his sights!
Liz Fisher, Head of Performance Pathway, at Boccia UK said: “Matt was a dominant player on the domestic scene before Boccia UK set up the Talent Transition Squad to help develop athletes that demonstrated potential. When he applied to be part of that squad, we were thrilled, and he was really open to the new opportunities and challenges that it brought.” “We saw Matt develop as an athlete, consistently medalling at a domestic level such as the UK Championships and Super league but also at international challengers at which he did so well in.” “Matt first represented Boccia UK at the 2023 Poznan Challenger where he reached the final, setting the standard for athletes within the Talent Transition Squad.” “In June 2024, he won gold in the BC3 Pairs event with Robyn McBride at the Poznan Challenger and, in October, he won individual gold at the Olbia Challenger in Italy.”
“Matt was a seriously determined and ambitious athlete, and he was meticulous and hard-working in his approach. His Mum, Sue, was equally as ambitious and they had a wonderfully close bond,” “Matt was also a sociable athlete, always making friends all over the world and kept in touch with many international competitors. Matt will, fondly, be remembered for always wearing one red and one blue shoe at tournaments which attracted a lot of attention internationally!”
“But we will also remember Matt’s passion and enthusiasm for the sport – he even set up his own club, Southern Elite Boccia, which drew athletes from across the southeast to train there. I was invited to that and was lucky enough to be able to see it in action. It really was testament to Matt’s commitment to the sport.” Louis Saunders, age 23, Matt’s Boccia UK team-mate said: “Matt was a tremendous friend and training partner. Until recently, we lived near each other and would train together once a week. But actually, our friendship went right back to our days at Angmering School” Get Kids Going Trustees’ report for the year ended 30 June 2024 (incorporating the Directors’ report) 4 “When I arrived there, he was the school’s sports and boccia captain and I really looked up to him, as I was just getting into the sport, and he was already on the England squad. We always had a good-natured rivalry, and we pushed each other as much as possible.”
“I’m really proud of what Matt achieved – he climbed to 18th in the world rankings and won gold in his last competition. He was always so strategic on court and I’ll always remember his signature look of one red trainer, one blue. Not only did Matt work hard to achieve his own ambitions in boccia, but he also nurtured the talent of others by founding his own club and coaching others. He was a legend. I will miss him a great deal both as a friend and team-mate”
Will Arnott
Will, age 25, was also a member of the UK Boccia team and passed away in December 2024 only days after his teammate Matt Berry. Will was a first-class athlete and great team-mate who will, like Matt, be sadly missed by all the Boccia community.
Glynn Tromans, Boccia UK, Team Performance Coach and Will’s coach said; “Our thoughts are with his dad Ian, and of course Connor, who has spent the last decade alongside Will, forming a strong friendship and sporting partnership.” “Will was a formidable BC3 boccia player who represented Paralympics GB at the Paris Paralympic Games only last summer. His steely determination saw him rise in the world rankings to the number seven spot by the close of the 2024 season.”
“Will was loved all around the world and had a positive impact on people wherever he went. I started working with him in 2018, alongside his former coach Barry Bowden. It was clear from the beginning that Will was a special human being and was going to be a great player. He represented Great Britain for the first time in 2019, making the final of the Zagreb Challenger in his first international event.”
“Because of the Covid years, Will had to wait until 2022 to get his next international opportunity but his capacity for hard work alongside his amazing ramp operator Connor Welfare; and the drive they both had to improve every day, saw a meteoric rise through the rankings. He became a Paralympian this year in Paris, as well as a regular on the podium at World Boccia Challengers, World Cups and at the Para European Championships in 2023. He moved into the world’s top ten, and his ambitions knew no bounds.”
“My memories are of Will playing cards; chatting away after everybody else has gone to bed; winning the Christmas quiz; making friends around the world; as well as being a tough sportsman and a fierce competitor. So many people will be so sad at this news because fundamentally he was not just a great player, he was a great guy. He will be truly missed.”
Jane Emmerson, Chief Executive, Get Kids Going! said; “It was a great pleasure and honour for the charity to support both Matt and Will in their sporting careers, over a number of years, within which they both achieved remarkable success. It was also a pleasure to award Boccia UK a further sports grant of £10,000 in Matt and Will’s memory. We are sure their teammates will put this to very good use. Matt and Will are greatly missed by us all but they will always be remembered. The charity sent is sincere condolences to all the UK Boccia team, athletes and Matt and Will’s families on this very sad occasion.
Stephen Andrew Emmerson
The charity was also very sad to hear of the death of one of our wonderful volunteers, Stephen Andrew Emmerson.
Steve, age 65, was a volunteer on the Flamborough Fire Festival team who, sadly, passed away on Wednesday, 22nd January 2025. Steve was one of the most enthusiastic, hardworking, and bravest volunteers on the festival team. In 2015, Jane, the charity’s Chief Executive, set up the festival with the idea of celebrating Flamborough’s Viking heritage and raise funds for many local charities and, of course, Get Kids Going! With a great deal of hard work and determination given by all the festival team, including Steve and our most wonderful Pam, the event became an outstanding success – far beyond everyone’s wildest dreams! Steve joined the festival team immediately and grew to become one of the team’s most important and influential members heading up many decisions on the ground following Pam’s death in November 2017.
The festival went on to become one of the UK’s biggest and most popular Viking Festivals held on New Year’s Eve, with visitors from around the world including: Europe, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, USA and right across the UK. Up to 5,000 visitors attended each year. In 2022 the festival received some of its biggest TV and media coverage from both local, national, and international press with the event being voted the fourth most popular place to visit on New Year’s Eve after, Madrid, Paris, Istanbul and then Flamborough! The BBC rated the Flamborough Fire Festival as their second most popular New Year’s Eve event after Edinburgh and it was often featured on BBC Look North, ITV and in many national newspapers!
The festival included the burning of a Viking Longship, fireballs, torchlight procession, Viking parade and an amazing fireworks display. The 2022 Festival raised over £30,000 for charity and was, again, an enormous success. The festival was given the recognition as one of East Yorkshire’s most unique tourist attractions. There is no doubt that the Flamborough Fire Festival would not have been such a success without Steve’s support.
The charity is also proud to say that Steve gave almost all of his life to his local community joining the Flamborough Lifeboat crew in 1977, at the age of 17, and in May 1984 was awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal for Bravery, due to Flamborough’s Mayday fishing boat tragedy, when he swam out from the cliffs to rescue passengers from a sinking coble with the support of his cousin Richard – both saving lives. In 2018 Steve became Coxswain of the Bridlington Lifeboat leading his dedicated crew in many rescues and held the post until he died.
Jane Emmerson, Chief Executive said
“Steve was my amazing cousin and my hero. I will miss him every day of my life, but I cannot thank him enough for the unwavering support he gave to me through the many challenges of the Fire Festival, the support he gave to Get Kids Going! and for everything he did for the Flamborough Fire Festival to make it such a success. The donations raised from the festival were truly amazing.”
“There is no doubt Steve will be greatly missed by the family, local community and everyone that ever knew him. He was a true Viking and a true hero!” The charity sent their heartfelt thanks and sincere condolences to Mrs Gill Emmerson and to all of Steve’s family.