This month Sport England awarded four more sporting agencies a licence to award Clubmark taking the total number of licensed organisations to an astounding 42!!

The British Crown Green Bowling Association (BCGBA) became the 31st national governing bodies to achieve a licence.

The sport which has a long standing reputation for appealing to the older generations is clearly demonstrating a commitment to junior development through Clubmark. Recognising that the future of the game is in youth, it is working hard to encourage more young people to take part. Development officers are working closely with sports partnerships to take bowling into schools.

Manor Park Bowling Club in Glossop holds the proud accolade of being the first club to receive Clubmark from the BCGBA.

David Collier, Development Officer at the Club, has been an inspiration to his club and others, taking the lead and making the path for other clubs looking to achieve Clubmark status much easier. "The reassurance that Clubmark brings has opened more doors for us. With the help of our local Sports Forum, we are now engaging with local schools to introduce young people to bowling. Not as physically demanding as other sports, we find that we can appeal to an audience not currently catered for by the likes of rugby or netball, helping to ensure all children have opportunities to be active."

Only clubs that are affiliated to a Sport England recognised NGB can gain Clubmark accreditation. Clubs are not disadvantaged simply because their NGB is not licensed to accredit. Licensed CSPs can accredit clubs in their area that do not belong to a licensed NGB, such as handball, ice hockey and korfball.

And this month, three more CSPs have become licensed, moving the total into double figures.

Nottinghamshire County Council is carrying the mantle for the clubs in the County, working through the licensing process in record time and providing high quality evidence along the way.

Clare MacLeod, National Clubmark Manager said, " Each organisation has to provide written evidence of the process that they will follow to support and assess clubs. These are commonly known as "Protocols". Those submitted by Nottinghamshire are as good as I have seen and we shall definitely be sharing these with others as an example of best practice."

Club Development Officer for Nottinghamshire, Anna Quick said "We are really pleased to have not only achieved our licence but also to have accredited our first Clubmark club in such a short space of time. It is a credit to the members of the Club and Volunteer Development Group, Sports Development Officers and, of course the clubs all working really hard to achieve our goal of getting more clubs with the standard in the county."

Sutton Sting Ice Hockey Club (Sutton in Ashfield) achieved all criteria required to become the first club in the Nottinghamshire to be awarded Clubmark under the new county licence.

Ian Johnson, Chairman of Sutton Sting said "we've been wanting to achieve Clubmark for over a year now. We realised this accreditation will open doorways for us to apply for funding and will also give organisations more confidence both to allocate funds and offer support to our club. If more ice hockey clubs get this award then the sport will start to get the recognition it deserves. I'm sure this will also apply to other sports receiving the award."

The continued strength of club development in the East has been further cemented by the award of a Clubmark Licence to Active Norfolk - the 4th out of 6 CSPs in the region to become licensed.

Its workforce development team of Ben Jones and Ian Grange has led the CSP through the licensing process, working closely with two pilot clubs, Acle Indoor Bowls Club and Strikers Ten Pin Bowling of Club, North Walsham to finalise the license award.

Acle became the first bowls club to be awarded the coveted Clubmark by Active Norfolk, demonstrating it is a high quality club, offering a welcoming and safe environment for young participants.

"We have been working hard over the summer period putting together our application for Clubmark and putting everything in place ready for the inspection," said manager Denis Goodley. "We have always encouraged youngsters into the club and have been rewarded with national championship appearances in junior events.

Another first in Norfolk saw Strikers Ten Pin Bowling Club of North Walsham achieving Clubmark accreditation. Club coach Suzanne Benton said "It has been a great experience taking the club through the process, and we're certainly a stronger organisation as a result. We're really proud to be the first ten pin bowling club in England to achieve Clubmark, and we hope now to inspire many more to follow in our footsteps".

Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport is also celebrating not only achieving the license to accredit but also the accolade of accrediting Clubmark to the first disability sports club.

Burleigh Inclusive Multi Sports Club in Loughborough offers young people with disabilities between the ages of 8 and 19 the opportunity to participate and receive quality coaching in a variety of multi-sport activities. It has been operating for the last 5 years during which it has increased membership and the variety of sports on offer.

The CSP has managed a rigorous and thorough process to ensure quality assurance at every stage. Natalia Marshall, Sports Development Officer supported the club to ensure that the necessary quality policies and procedures are in place.

The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) has supported the CSP team and the club throughout the process. Emma Gibson, EFDS Club Development Manager has been the driving force behind developing Clubmark for inclusive sports clubs, which were previously unable to benefit from Clubmark as they offered more than one sport.

She said, "I am delighted that Burleigh has successfully come through the process and been awarded Clubmark. We have a number of other clubs currently working through the criteria and I hope that they will now follow suit. There are many disability sports clubs operating effectively around the country and the EFDS will support anyone suitable who wishes to go through the Clubmark process."

Andy Reed MP, Chairman of Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport added "I am delighted that Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport can now accredit local sports clubs with a Clubmark award. Burleigh Inclusive Sports Club is the first disability club in the England to have attained Clubmark status, this is a testament to the club's hard work and innovation in providing high quality opportunities for people with a disability to take part in sport. Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport has been delighted to support the club throughout the accreditation process".

This recent surge in club accreditations and licence awards signifies that the quality base of the scheme is completely embedded with its NGB and CSP partners who recognise the sports development benefits that Clubmark brings.

Against the backdrop of policy change and economic uncertainty, the intention is to ensure that Clubmark continues to go from strength to strength. What better legacy could there be from 2012 than an extensive network of safe, accessible, accredited community clubs offering high quality sporting opportunities for young people?

Find out more about licensed NGBs

Find out more about licensed CSPs