Hull & District Angling Club became the fourth angling club to gain Sport England’s Clubmark status last week. This coincides with the launch of a new Clubmark website (http://www.clubmark.org.uk/) by Sport England.

The website provides everyone involved in the scheme with a dedicated, all-inclusive bank of relevant, up to date information, to share best practice and to learn from other Governing Body’s of their successes.

Hull & District representative John Mitchell commented,

“Working towards Clubmark status encouraged the club to re-evaluate its internal organisation and procedures. The outcome was that the club adopted a more proactive stance towards recruitment of junior members. We allocated resources to help the club’s coaching team to develop a programme of events over the summer months, this has already begun to pay dividends.

Over the summer, the club hosted seven angling coaching events on behalf of East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s sports activities programme. We also ran events for the Authority’s Sports Development Positive Futures scheme and for Hull‘s Special Needs department.

The knock-on effect for the club is that we have recruited 30 new junior members and are being helped to identify funding streams that will allow the club to develop its coaching facilities and activities even further in future years.

Achieving Clubmark status has lifted the club to a new level and looks set to open up many more doors for both recruitment and funding than were previously available to us”.

The NFA’s Angling Development Officer, Julian Taylor believes that “Clubmark is an essential part of any Angling clubs desire to establish itself as a safe and successful club within the community. Hull and District have achieved Clubmark status and done exceptionally well, showing a high degree of dedication to gain their accreditation and deserve the success Clubmark will ultimately bring them.”

In order to become a Clubmark club you need to visit the NFA’s website which has a comprehensive breakdown on what’s involved and complete the online enquiry form which will go straight through to our Clubmark representative who will help you on the road to your accreditation.

What is Clubmark?

Clubmark is an accreditation scheme (a sports kite mark) run by Sport England that sets the standard for all quality sports clubs in this country. By achieving Clubmark accreditation, a club demonstrates that it is not only well run and managed but also that it takes seriously issues such as child protection, health and safety, quality coaching and equal opportunities.

Young people represent the future in all sections of society. Clubmark accreditation offers assurances to parents and guardians that their children belong to a safe club. Members will see that their club is well managed, offering good support to and facilities for all its members. By striving to achieve higher standards, Clubmark clubs are likely to attract more members and thus build a sustainable future. Increasingly, local authorities and funding agencies are taking the decision only to support accredited clubs.