The Academy Beach Sports has become the first Beach Volleyball Club to achieve Clubmark/Volley 1 Accreditation. The Club now has over 140 members including 13 qualified coaches and 8 qualified referees.
Denise Austin, who has been working as a part time community sports coach and Chairperson of the Academy of Beach Sports coach has been at the forefront of this great achievement.
Denise said: "As a club we really wanted to maximise the benefits of going through the clubmark process to help aid us in running the club. We were able to successfully implement all that clubmark offers you in terms of managing yourselves as a club and how to improve."
 
"Our new club website www.academyofbeachsports.org.uk  is proof that our communication is working better than ever and all our 140 members are now able to source more information more easily than ever before. "

"Our Academy dig in this year, (when we put the beach nets back in place, they are only there from May to Oct) promises to be the best yet and hopefully all our nets will be up in record time with more helpers and volunteers wanting to be part of the club set up and be the first to be playing on the beach again in 2009."

Over the last year the Club has gone from strength to strength. They took part in the South West Junior Grand Prix for the first time; with teams entered in the Under 15's and U17's Championships. Jack Walker and Ashley Yeo won the U18 South West Junior Beach Volleyball Championships in Exeter. The U13/U14 Boys competed on the South West Junior Grand Prix and took the top spot on more than one occasion.

The Club has also run successful small sided games league for Under 14's and Over 14's with over 30 members in each league. They have also started the North Devon Super Series which is a 6v6 series that takes place once a month.

Stuart Johnson, Volleyball England's National Club Development Officer was delighted to see a Beach Volleyball Club gain Volley 1 status. Stuart commented,

"It is great to have our first accredited beach Volleyball Club, the Club has worked hard over the last twelve months to gain this status and I am confident that the club will continue to develop and attract more members. I hope that more beach and sitting clubs see the benefits of accreditation and take up the challenge to reach this status. Volleyball England will soon be looking at the criteria for Volley 123 and developing individual criteria for indoor, beach and sitting volleyball clubs."