John has been a fencing and shooting coach for 4 years working with athletes of all ages and was instrumental in Pentathlon GB North being the first club of its kind in the country to achieve Clubmark.

He was introduced to Clubmark and its role in club management and junior sport development by County Durham Sport and with the help of Pentathlon GB Chairperson, Linda Richardson, helped Pentathlon GB North pave the way for other pentathlon clubs to obtain Clubmark.

Modern Pentathlon includes five disciplines: pistol shooting, fencing, swimming, horse riding and running. The Club runs each of its activities at different locations across County Durham enabling youngsters from all over the county an opportunity to try at least one of the five events.

Alongside his coaching duties at the Club, John updates and maintains the Clubmark portfolio and ensures members are aware of any recent progress made.

As well as his work at the Club, John is also a volunteer for Durham Harriers, Sedgefield 75 Swimming Club and Laszlo's Fencing Club and he is an official volunteer for Pentathlon GB at a national and international level.

John's comments about the impact of Clubmark:
"Clubmark has made a massive difference to how we think about the club and has concentrated the information we use and share into one area which makes it easier to manage and will hopefully also give us access to funding opportunities to expand the club and its goals in the near future."