Sport England has recently awarded Clubmark licences to another four CSPs - taking the total number of licensed bodies to 47!

Oxfordshire Sports Partnership can now accredit clubs in its area. In May 2009, Windrush Valley became the 1st boxing club in Oxfordshire to be officially recognised by Sport England for its provision of quality opportunity to junior boxers under the Clubmark scheme.

Steve Kemp, Oxfordshire Sports Partnership stated "When you mention boxing clubs, assumptions tend be made of male dominated, intimidating environments. This could not be farther from the truth; this club is massively welcoming to all, has a great diversity in its membership, committed volunteers and great leadership in Ann Setch. It has plans for a mobile boxing unit to reach out to the rural communities in West Oxfordshire and I look forward to seeing its future successes."

"As a partnership, helping clubs to develop is a key process whether we focus on coaches, volunteers or officers behind the scene. In Oxfordshire, we use the Clubmark framework as toolkit to support clubs with their development; part of that process is the recognition for being a quality club. This licence will allow the Partnership to spread that process further afield."

Team BEDS&LUTON, has also become licensed and it accredited the first DanceSport club in the country along the way. Bedfordshire DanceSport club was accredited by the CSP because its Sport England recognised governing body (English Amateur DanceSport Association) does not hold a licence.

Given its already close links with the local school sport partnership and local authority sports development unit, Clubmark accreditation was viewed by the Club as positive and necessary forward step in its development.

It took approximately seven months to achieve and, in the process, the Club reviewed and updated its policies and practices to ensure that its work represents best practice. Club Principal, Reg Challinor said "We are delighted to be awarded Clubmark. Our application required us to look at every aspect of our sport and particularly the way our club operates. Now that we know that our operational standards are acceptable at the highest level, we can move forward into the future with confidence. Having achieved this goal we can work to encourage and help other DanceSport clubs looking to follow our example."

Joby Hobbs, Sports Development Delivery Officer at team BEDS&LUTON said "Bedfordshire DanceSport club has demonstrated a real commitment and desire. It has been a pleasure to support and work with the Club through the process. We look forward to working with other clubs across Bedfordshire and Luton and supporting them to achieve Clubmark accreditation."

Wiltshire and Swindon Activity and Sports Partnership (Wasp) becomes the first CSP in the South West, accrediting Goatacre Cricket Club as part of its licensing process.

Goatacre cricket club were one of many working on a unique club training and support programme established by Wasp. The programme ran monthly over a 12 month period taking clubs through resources, case studies, with additional modules on popular club related topics (e.g. funding, volunteering, coach education, how to make clubs more inclusive) as well as individual support and guidance from the sports development teams in the County.

Joanna Lane, Wasp Governing Bodies Development Manager, said: "Achieving this accreditation has taken a tremendous team effort from many members of the club. We recognise the important role that volunteers play in the delivery of sport and these clubs have demonstrated their commitment to this They fully deserved this pat on the back."

It is becoming increasingly important for clubs to demonstrate a commitment to operating safely and effectively, with the interests of the community at their core - and Clubmark accreditation shows they are succeeding in this.

Wasp is looking to extend these club development work programmes and look forward to working with more clubs in the future

Clare MacLeod, National Clubmark Manager said, "We have worked closely with the region's CSPs; we expect this first licence award to act a catalyst for the region to demonstrate its continued support for club development."

Completing the set is a licence award for the Cheshire and Warrington Sports Partnership; this means that all CSPs in the North West are now licensed to accredit Clubmark clubs. The CSP has now accredited 2 clubs in Cheshire & Warrington, one of which is Northwich Multi Sports Club. This Inclusive Sports club caters for Disabled and Non Disabled people and was assessed using the EFDS Clubmark criteria developed for multi sport and single sport disability clubs. Northwich Multi Sports Club is only the second such club nationally to successfully achieve this award and the first in the North West.

There are around 800 Clubmark accredited clubs across the region, of which more than 130 are located in, or around, Cheshire and Warrington. These high quality clubs cover a range of sports from angling and athletics to tennis and volleyball.

These latest awards signify the continued commitment from CSPs to Clubmark and its underpinning core values ... active... accessible... accredited.