The Dyson Award is for individuals who have made a sustained and significant contribution to the development of coaching and individual coaches in the United Kingdom.
Geoffrey Dyson OBE was a man who did so much for sport, especially in track and field. During his 14 years as Britain's chief national coach for track and field (1947-1961), he established a high quality coaching scheme which included sports science information and supplementary training activities in the form of weight and circuit training. This pioneering work was typical of Dyson. He was always eager to learn, always willing to improve his programmes.
A significant part of his work for Britain during this period involved personal coaching of high calibre athletes, in what he identified as Cinderella events. The Dyson team, assembled from a select group of young athletes and coached with Olympic performance as the prime target, was extremely successful. The five selected athletes all became British record holders; three won Olympic medals. Maureen Gardner (who later became Dyson's wife) won a silver medal in the 80m hurdles in the 1948 Olympic Games. Shirley Cawley and John Disley won bronze medals in the long jump and 3000m steeplechase respectively. John Savidge became the first man to throw over 50 feet in the shot and was placed sixth in the Helsinki Olympics. Geoff Elliott specialized in the pole vault and was twice Commonwealth Games champion. Much of the success of this group can be credited to Dyson's skills as a coach.
But Dyson was just as important as an influence on other coaches, writing the definitive work on the mechanics of athletics and always fighting for the status of the professional in an amateur sport.
Dyson made a major contribution to Canadian sport during his stint as director of the Royal Canadian Legion's Sports Training Plan. From 1962-70, over 1300 student coaches from across Canada received high quality instruction in track and field at the University of Guelph. Many of these students are coaching today; several have become coaches of our international athletes. Also, during this time, more than 1200 young athletes received intensive coaching at winter and summer camps in Edmonton and Hamilton. A large percentage of these athletes became internationals.
Dyson returned to England to accept the challenge of becoming the first director of physical education at Winchester College, one of the most prestigious public schools in the world. In a six year period - his first experience of teaching in a school - he introduced a wide variety of physical education programmes and vastly increased the physical activity experiences of the boys.
He also travelled widely throughout his career, presenting papers on many aspects of sport to groups ranging from the International Olympic Academy to the British Mathematical Association.
Dyson was a self-confessed difficult man. By this he really meant that he was a man of forceful personality, strong-willed, outspoken and honest. He demanded the highest standards of himself and of those with whom he worked. Anything less was unacceptable. But he was also quick and generous to recognise full commitment and high performance. His exemplary performance in whatever he attempted and his totally professional approach to his work brought out the very best in others.
