With the total of accredited clubs now standing at an impressive 10,900 we take a look at the contributions made by some of the National Governing Bodies.

As of July 2011, there are over 10,900 Clubmark clubs and a further 4,200 currently working towards accreditation.

As well as Clubmark reaching its own target of accrediting 10,000 accredited clubs by 2012, some of the NGBs are about to reach milestones of their own.

In the last newsletter we profiled British Gymnastics accrediting its 500th club (read the article here) and there are three other NGBs who have recently, or are just about to, reach landmark numbers.

Volleyball England has just accredited its 50th Clubmark club - congratulations to Bexley Volleyball Club based in South London.

A relatively new club started just over eighteen months ago, it quickly developed from outdoor sessions in the park to a thriving community volleyball club with over forty members. Sessions led by qualified Volleyball England coaches allowed young people the opportunity to learn how to play volleyball in a relaxed and friendly environment.

The committee of Bexley Volleyball Club will be presented with their certificate next month by Volleyball England CEO Lisa Wainwright at the upcoming FIVB Beach Volleyball International.
Hosted at the site of the 2012 Olympic Beach Volleyball Competition, the event is an important part of London 2012 preparations and will feature twenty four of the world's best female Beach Volleyball teams. This will be a fantastic opportunity for the club to see top volleyball players in action and each club member will also receive an Olympic 50p volleyball coin to celebrate their status as the 50th accredited club.

Kate Rothery National Club and Membership Development Officer at Volleyball England stated:

"This is fantastic news for Volleyball England and a true testament to the hard work and hours put in by all the volunteers at our clubs. It is an important milestone as Volleyball England continues to work towards our headline target of 100 accredited clubs offering a modern network of quality sports clubs to our current and potential new players."

Bexley Volleyball Club founder Jody Specht commented on the value the Clubmark process had brought to the club: "By working through the accreditation process our committee made sure we were aware of our members and looking after their needs. We can now demonstrate to everyone how the club is a safe place for young people and new members to start their volleyball careers."

The Angling Development Board has also just accredited its 50th club, congratulations to Gloucestershire based South Cerney Angling Club, accredited 28th June.

On 3rd July Craig Hunt of South Cerney Angling Club was presented with the certificate by Dean Sandford of the ADB and Martin Bowler, star of star of the Channel 4 series "Catching the Impossible" who commented on the forward thinking and professionalism that the club had shown in gaining the accreditation.

Canoe England is on the verge of reaching a milestone of 100 accredited clubs (there are 99 at present) and they plan to celebrate this achievement by recognising all of the 100 clubs reaching and exceeding the standards set by Clubmark.

It's important to mention, that whilst some national governing bodies of sport are licensed to accredit clubs there are a number of NGBs recognised by Sport England which do not offer an accreditation system.

As such, we rely on the work undertaken by county sports partnerships to support these clubs through the Clubmark accreditation process. This is a means to assess applications from those clubs which are unable to apply through their own NGB. This covers over 20 sports, including bowls, ice-hockey, ten pin bowling, water skiing, weight lifting and many more.

For more information about which NGBs and CSPs are licensed organisations please visit the Clubmark web pages:

http://www.clubmark.org.uk/about/about-licensing-organisations

http://www.clubmark.org.uk/about/about-country-sports-partnerships