Sport England awards Clubmark licences to the PRO-ACTIVE London Sports Partnerships.

Taking the total number of licensed organisations to 52, another five county sports partnerships are now licensed to accredit Clubmark.

Only clubs that are part of a Sport England recognised NGB can gain Clubmark accreditation. However, those that affiliate to an NGB that is not licensed are not disadvantaged as many CSPs are now also licensed to accredit clubs located in their ‘patch' that are affiliated to a Sport England recognised sport.

In line with its other current working practices, the five PRO-ACTIVE Partnerships have worked closely together for the past six months to develop a consistent Clubmark process for the London region.

Each has delivered training with the London boroughs in its sub-region (33 in total) to not only ensure there is sufficient pan-London capacity to support clubs working towards Clubmark accreditation but also to raise awareness of Clubmark at a local level. This work should support both NGBs that are licensed to award Clubmark and those NGBs that are not.

In addition, a representative from each Partnership now forms part of a London Clubmark Group; acting primarily as an assessment panel with an overarching aim to ensure consistency on a pan-London basis supporting and assessing clubs aiming for the Clubmark standard.

The first club to achieve accreditation by the London Clubmark Group is London Blitz American Football club. Since the club formed back in the mid 1980's, development of youth football has been high on its agenda. Two players from the first youth team are still with the Club; one of them is one of its most productive senior team players ever and the other is one of its most experienced youth coaches. Many former youth players or "Alumni" as they like to call them still play an important role in both the Youth and Senior Programmes.

The Blitz pride themselves on welcoming anyone regardless of experience and so Clubmark accreditation was a key goal. A spokesman for the Club said,

"The process was made easier by good communication. Regular face to face meetings made it easier to explain and show why our club had the right stuff. Email and telephone conversations helped progress our application."

Hannah Bladen, Sport England's Regional Lead for London, is encouraged by the pro-active and collaborative approach taken by the London partnerships.

She said:

"It's great to see community sports clubs across London getting the support they need to flourish. These latest awards demonstrate the important role Clubmark plays in ensuring high quality sporting opportunities for young people."

For more information about London Blitz - visit the Club's website http://www.londonblitz.com/