The Bradley Stoke Journal

Bradley Stoke Netball Club has been awarded the Bronze CAPS Clubmark Award.

The prestigious recognition from England Netball is given to clubs who can demonstrate that they offer a good quality netball provision within their community.

The Club Action Planning Scheme (CAPS) is part of the Sport England Clubmark accreditation system, the only national cross-sports acknowledgement for clubs with junior sections.

It is built around a set of core criteria which ensures accredited clubs operate to a set of consistent, accepted and adopted minimum operating standards.

Sophie Warner, Bradley Stoke’s Clubmark Officer, said:

“This is a great achievement for us as it’s an award the club has aspired to hold for a long time. To get the recognition from our national governing body for the hard work the volunteers at our club continue to put in is priceless.”

“We are proud to offer a great starting point for youngsters in the area to play netball, and it is fitting that Clubmark now recognise that our sessions are safe, fun, well structured and delivered by some of the best coaching staff in the region.”

Read more: Junior Club goes from strength to strength »

The relocation of Bradley Stoke’s youth clubs to the Brook Way Activity Centre has claimed another victim with the news that the Black and Blues Netball Club has “reluctantly” decided to move to a different venue.

The netballers first came into confrontation with youth workers just days after the youth club moved in on 5th October. Youth leaders “mindful of [child protection] legislation” are said to have been concerned over the large number of netballers using the building at the same time as “the youth”.

The incident is said to have led to acrimonious correspondence between youth workers and the netball club over the use of the centre’s toilets. Bradley Stoke Town Council later ruled that the netballers should be allowed to use the disabled toilets, leaving the others for the sole use of the youth club.

But the compromise appears to have failed to resolve the situation, with the netballers reportedly being unhappy about having to be “escorted to the loo”.

Town Clerk David Chandler told this month’s meeting of the Finance Committee that representatives of the Black and Blues had turned up at the [council's] office “in a tearful state”, saying they felt they couldn’t continue to use the venue.

It is understood that the club will now meet at Bradley Stoke Community School.

Other hirers to have left Brook Way include the popular Weight Watchers group, which now meets at the nearby Wheatfield Primary School.

Councillor Julian Barge expressed anger that “an excellent paying hirer had been put off”. He added that the youth club contributes nothing to the council’s coffers and bemoaned the damage caused to the premises since the club moved in.

He urged fellow councillors to be “mindful in future that we need people who are prepared to pay for facilities” and concluded by saying that “the presence of the youth club is proving a very big headache”.

The relocation of youth clubs to Brook Way was the brainchild of Cllr Brian Hopkinson, who did not attend the latest meeting.

Related links:

• Youth Clubs in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)
• Netball in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)
• Slimming Clubs in Bradley Stoke (THe Journal)

Junior members of Bradley Stoke’s TJ’s Netball Club staged a sponsored cycle ride earlier this week to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Club member Hayley Clements (27) was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer and is about to start a course of radiotheraphy following surgery. Throughout this difficult time, Hayley has received lots of advice, information and support from Macmillan.

The club wanted to say a big “Thank You” by raising money for the charity and about twenty senior members will be running in the Bristol 10k this Sunday (10th May).

Not to be outdone, junior members of the club too young to enter Sunday’s race took part in a sponsored bike ride along the traffic-free Bristol & Bath Railway Path.

The group started from the car park at Teewell Hill, Staple Hill, and cycled along the railway path towards Bath before turning back after about 10k.

Supporters of the club have set up a fundraising page on the Justgiving website, where donations can be made towards the target of raising £2,000 for the charity.

Following the Bristol 10k on Sunday, Bradley Stoke Town Council has given the club use of one of the rooms at the Baileys Court Activity Centre, where light refreshments will be served from 2pm onwards.

Read more about the club’s fundraising efforts and Macmillan Cancer Support in The Journal’s Charity Appeals section.

See more photos from the bike ride in The Journal’s PicasaWeb Gallery.