The Accordions Worldwide news for the week ending May 18th 2001 included a report about the 2001 NAO UK Championships, then held annually in Scarborough. Later that year the solo winner Robert Cherry and previous year’s champion Lyndsey Ann Allan represented the UK in the CIACoupe Mondiale in London.

The UK Championships saw Jack Emblow (picture left), one of the country’s senior professional accordionists, appointed President of the NAO. This appointment was recognition of Emblow’s great lifetime contribution to the accordion, a position he still holds today.