Wesport gains Club Mark License
The West of England Sport Trust (Wesport) has been granted a license to assess and award sport clubs with Club Mark.
Introduced in 2002 by Sport England, Clubmark is the only cross sport quality accreditation scheme for clubs with junior sections. The safety of children is at the heart of the accreditation. Clubmark accreditation is awarded to clubs that comply with minimum operating standards in four areas; Playing programme, Duty of care, Knowing your club and Club Management. Clubs that achieve Clubmark see a range of benefits that include increase in membership, retaining members, better access to facilities and better links with their local schools to name a few.
Only clubs that are affiliated to a Sport England recognised NGB can gain Clubmark accreditation. County Sport Partnerships that are licensed are able to award Clubmark to those clubs who do not have a licensed NGB. Wesport were awarded their license last month, April 2012, having successfully completed their Clubmark protocols and taking a local club through the system.
South West Scorpions were Wesport’s first club to go through the process and are now accredited with Clubmark. The South West Scorpions provide opportunities for children with and without disabilities from Bristol and the surrounding area to play the exciting sport of wheelchair basketball. They train at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, Wise Campus each Sunday morning and have two teams that play in leagues.
Jen Browning, South West Scorpions said:
"We are delighted to achieve Clubmark and be the first club that Wesport have accredited in the West of England. We have worked hard to ensure that our club is of a high standard and great club to be a part of. We hope that Clubmark will support our vision to continue to grow and develop, and continue to provide opportunities for young people in the area."
Wesport aims to use their new license to help support more clubs to achieve Clubmark accreditation, through the club development programs such as Club Supporter programme and their Education programme.
Sarah Casselden, Wesport’s Workforce Development Officer said:
"We are really pleased to have gained our license to accredit local clubs with Clubmark and look forward to supporting more clubs gain this important quality standard."
If you would like more information about Clubmark and how Wesport can help your club, please contact Sarah Casselden; email sarah.casselden@uwe.ac.uk or telephone 01173286250.
