By Karen & Jo, marshal coordinators, Sole Sisters RC.

For the 13th consecutive year, Sole Sisters organised the Bradley Stoke 10k, which has now become an integral part of the festival weekend.

From 6am on Sunday, members of Sole Sisters were either getting the Jubilee Centre set up as Race HQ or were out on the course delivering water, putting up warning signs and generally getting ready for 8am when the runners started arriving to pick up their race numbers.

Six lead marshals gathered their own group of mile marshals, all equipped with goodie bags, and set off to their marshal stations covering the entire 10km (6-mile) route. Each year, we need between 80 and 100 marshals for the event, and that includes two water stations.

The Bradley Stoke 10k has become a key race in the running community calendar and 545 entrants turned up for the race in near perfect conditions (although it was still quite warm if you were running!) and we had a mixture of club and non-club runners.

Sole Sisters would like to say a huge thank you to all the marshals who gave up their Sunday morning to support both us as a club and the runners. They were fantastic as always and as always we received amazing feedback. We would also like to thank the Bradley Stoke community for their patience and support whilst the race was on.

More: Category winners and photo links »

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On Saturday 8th June, Bradley Stoke Youth FC continued the success of their Schools’ Football Festival at the Jubilee Centre, which attracted 130 Year 1 children representing 13 different local primary schools. The Festival is the finale of the club’s School Link Program where BSYFC’s FA Qualified coaches go into the 13 schools and provide football coaching to all Year 1 children over a three-week period. The program starts in February and finishes in May ready for the festival in June.

The Football Festival has been running since 2006 and over the years has developed into a major part of the town’s annual Community Festival, with over 1,900 children having now taken part. The School Link Programme started in 2007 and has grown over the years to become a major community activity with over 8,000 children having received football skills coaching in their school.

Each school receives a cup, which can be kept for a year, and is awarded on a points-scoring system based on things such as; attitude and approach of players and teachers, preparation and organisation, adhering to the guidelines and ensuring both boys and girls of all abilities are selected. The whole day is about participation and enjoyment to allow each child the opportunity to play football in a friendly environment.

Every child receives a medal and a gift bag full of football-related essentials like shin pads, football socks, water bottle, baseball cap, activity play pack and sweets. As well as the cup, each school receives a bag of size 3 footballs to continue the football coaching at their school. The winning school also receives a new kit for their team.

The Teacher Awards this year went to Baileys Court and St Peter’s.

More: Festival award winners and team photos »

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By Martin Lee, manager of BSLFC.

The 2018/19 football season is now finished for both teams of Bradley Stoke Ladies FC (BSLFC), who competed in Division 2 of the Gloucestershire County Women’s Football League.

The first team had a great season, finishing in third place and missing out on second place by just one point in the very last match. Their last game was a great battle against confirmed league winners Cheltenham Town, which ended in a 0-0 draw. They were also the first team this season to keep a clean sheet against the title winners, which is a great achievement for the girls. Promotion may be on the cards, depending on how the league structure is next season, so be on the lookout for that.

The development team have worked really hard all season to ensure more girls are able to play regular football. Although things have been difficult at times, they have managed to finish the season as a team and things are looking positive for the future. Their last game was played against Cotswolds Rangers and the girls gave it their all.

Bradley Stoke Ladies were also successful in applying for the Tesco Bags of Help grant scheme for May and June. You can support the club by putting your blue tokens in the BSLFC pot when you leave Tesco! It will go towards more funding for the club for next season, allowing girls and women throughout the area to keep playing football on a regular basis.

BSLFC will also have their usual stall at the Bradley Stoke Community Festival on Saturday 8th June. There will be various different games and fun for all, with lots of prizes to be won. Please come and visit the stall to support the club – it is really appreciated by everyone involved.

Bradley Stoke Ladies are looking for new players for the 2019/20 season. We are a friendly team with a mix of abilities and ages. You can find us training on Tuesdays, from 6.30pm, on the grass at Bradley Stoke Community School, with matches played on Sundays once the season is back up and running in September.

You just have to be at least 16 years of age – so why not come along to a free taster training session? Training runs throughout the summer, with tournaments and pre-season friendlies still to be confirmed.

More: Club boasts FA Level 2 qualified coaches »

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At the spring meeting of Bradley Stoke Bowls Club, a large crowd of members was treated to a brief account of the excellent work of the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC). The charity’s new air base is in Almondsbury, from which they provide pre-hospital critical care services within the community.

It was unanimously agreed to adopt this charity for the 2019 season. Joe Hughes (GWAAC community fundraising coordinator, seen in the photo) explained aspects of the work, the high level of skills of all concerned, and the need to raise £3 million each year.

The major fundraising effort by the club will be at the Charities Day in August and through on-going collections taken at every home game during the season.

Robert Bertram, club chairman, conducting the meeting in his usual affable style, took the business of the club through all the usual housekeeping matters with admirable speed, including welcoming new members, and thanking office bearers and sponsors.

A highlight of the summer programme is to be a visit to the Isle of Bohemia Club, situated on an island in the River Thames at Reading.

The home season is planned to begin on Monday 15th April.

For more information about the club and the charity, visit bsbc.webs.com and gwaac.com

This article originally appeared in the April 2019 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine (on page 14). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH (except August), to ALL 8,700 homes in Bradley Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.

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