Typically we set up a taster session where people – particularly children – can have a go with bat and ball. We also have a stall with equipment for sale and details of how to find local clubs, and this year, if our funding bid succeeds, we’ll have a bigger presence with banners, a bowling machine and batting cage.

These are the events we currently plan to attend. If you can help us at these or any other events you know of, please contact Kay Price on 01403 252419 or [sign in to see email address].

May

• 20 May – Winchester Sports Festival

June

• 1-17 June – Adur Festival, including events in Shoreham-by-Sea, Lancing, Southwick and Sompting.
• 2 June – Chichester Gala and Family Fan Day at Priory Park
• 2-3 June – Sompting Festival, Worthing
• 9 June – Durrington Festival, Worthing
• 9 June – Eastbourne Olympics at Hampden Park
• 10 June – Crawley Festival at K2
• 17 June – Eden Valley stoolball event with Sussex, Surrey and Kent at Edenbridge
• 23 June – TakePart Festival in Preston Park, Brighton

July

• 13-15 July – Guildford Festival in Stoke Park
• July – Sparks in the Park, Horsham
• 27-28 July – Bexhill Carnival at Polegrove

September

• 11 September – Get Active festival at Oaklands Park, Chichester

1. Present

• Shirley Reed (President)
• John Price (Chairman)
• Becky Hull (Vice-Chairman)
• Kay Price (Secretary)
• Trevor Parsons (Treasurer)
• Rick Mason (Website Administrator)
• Kevin Hilliard (Club Accreditation)
• Ruth Arthur (Coaching Development)

2. Apologies for absence

• Kelvin Speirs (Rules and Umpires)
• Michael Ledwich (Insurance)

3. Minutes of the last Management meeting

The minutes of the last meeting were approved and signed as a true record.

4. Matters arising from the last Management meeting and Stoolball England AGM

There were no matters arising from the Management meeting that would not be covered in items later in the meeting. As a result of the changes to the rules which were approved at the AGM, Rick Mason has already provided the Secretary with a draft copy to check.

5. Small Grants bid

• Strategy document: Amendments have been made to this document following recommendations from Active Sussex and other sports administration bodies.
• Equipment bid: It was agreed that the proposed purchase of a bowling machine, batting cage, banners, netting and posts should go ahead. These items will enhance our presence at the public and community sporting events.
• National team: It was agreed to proceed with the formation of an England national ladies stoolball team. Nominations to be requested from leagues, associations and friendly groups. It is planned to produce further England teams for ladies at under 21 level and at senior and under 21 level for mixed teams.
• Part-time development manager: It was agreed that funding was needed to support this important role.
• The meeting was informed that support for our bid had been requested from the Sport & Recreation Alliance and development partners from Active Sussex, Surrey, Kent and Hampshire. The Secretary reported that Kent had already responded positively.

6. Community Sports Events for 2012

The Secretary produced a list of events in Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire that Stoolball England personnel will be attending during 2012. The Chairman pointed out that help from clubs and their members local to the venues will be asked to lend their support.

7. Coaching in Schools 2012

Becky Hull and Ruth Arthur were asked to look at the feasibility of continuing the Horsham Primary Schools’ Festival and whether or not it will be possible to continue the coaching programme which has been carried out over the last three years.

8. Survey of stoolball clubs

The Chairman pointed out that our details on affiliated members’ clubs needed considerable improvement in our administration and he was pleased to advise the committee that Richard Emsley, a past Secretary of our governing body, had offered to carry out a survey on our behalf. It was unanimously agreed that he be asked to proceed. Additionally it was agreed that he should also examine the whole administration process in relation to membership.

9. Courses

1. Following the success of the umpires’ and scorers’ course held last year, another course is being organised at Plumpton Cricket Club on a Sunday in April to be confirmed. The cost per person will be £5.
2. A Level 2 coaching course will be held at Alfold Village Hall on 24/25 March at a cost to be announced. The possibility of a Level 1 course will be pursued.

10. Management reports

1. The Treasurer, Trevor Parsons, reported that there had been no change in the financial situation since the AGM in November.
2. Website: There was a request from Rick Mason that the details on the Stoolball England website should be used to contact individual clubs to avoid creating a new database.
3. Insurance: There will be an update from Michael Ledwich at the next meeting in February.

11. Any other business

• “Escape to the Country: We are still waiting for the episode involving stoolball at East Dean to be shown on BBC2.
• Response to Green Field’s letter: In August, we were asked to write to the Department for Communities and Local Government to make sure that the Green Belt, National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Sites of Special Scientific Interest continue to be protected and that any development is not at the expense of our natural and historic environment. We received an acknowledgement at the end of November which confirmed that due consideration would be given to the protection of our countryside.
• “Lighter Later” campaign: The third reading of this Bill is on 20 January and if passed, it is likely to gain Royal Assent. The Government will then be committed to researching the effect of aligning our waking hours to the hours of daylight by shifting the clocks forward by one hour throughout the year. This change would have clear potential benefits for sport and recreation and our support has been requested to make sure that our MPs attend the third reading and vote in favour of the Bill. The Committee was in total agreement that Stoolball England support this campaign and local MPs will be contacted accordingly.
• Stoolball DVD launch – plans for an official launch were discussed.
• Scorebooks – with stocks nearly exhausted, Kevin Hilliard asked the committee for feedback on the draft scorebooks so that they can be finalised and sent to the printers.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 10pm.

Next meeting: Monday 27 February at 7.45pm at 53 Kings Road Horsham.

John and Kay Price
17 January 2012

Present

Stoolball England Officers:

• Shirley Reed (President)
• John Price (Chairman)
• Becky Hull (Vice-Chairman)
• Kay Price (Hon Secretary)
• Trevor Parsons (Hon Treasurer)
• Michael Ledwich (Insurance and Governance)
• Ruth Arthur (Coaching Development)
• Kelvin Speirs (Umpires and Rules Co-ordination)

Honorary role:

• Anita Broad (Research and Education)

Vice-Presidents:

• Richard Emsley
• Gwyn Griffith
• Keith Younger

Leagues, associations and clubs represented:

• Eastbourne Red Triangle Stoolball League: (Nick Panteney and Rachael Panteney)
• Chanctonbury Ladies Stoolball League: (Vic Laker)
• Mid Sussex Mixed Stoolball League: (Richard Emsley)
• Surrey Ladies Stoolball Association (SLSA): (Michael Ledwich)
• Sussex County Stoolball Association (SCSA): (Daphne Hunt)
• Central Division (SCSA): (Elaine Berry)
• Mid Division (SCSA): (Karen Speirs)
• West Division (SCSA): (Rose Cumber, Fred Newland and Rosemary Newland)
• North Division (SCSA): (Doris Younger and John Fitzpatrick)
• Sussex County Umpires Association: (Kelvin Speirs)
• Wessex Friendly Group: (Shirley Reed)
• West Kent Ladies Stoolball League: (Richard Emsley)

1. Chairman’s Welcome

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the 32nd Annual General Meeting of Stoolball England but before the business of the meeting commenced, a period of silence was observed in memory of the following long serving members:

• Michael Smith, a Kent county umpire and member of Edenbridge Stoolball Club
• Eddie Mason, a West Division SCSA umpire and member of Graffham Stoolball Club
• Peggy Thorlby, SCSA Life Member, North Division official and member of Fairwarp Stoolball Club
• Lorna Horscroft, SCSA Vice President, Mid Division official and member of Chailey Stoolball Club
• Molly Burgess, Mid Division and member of Isfield Stoolball Club

2. Apologies for absence

• Melissa Mantle (Stoolball England Coaching Development and Chief Coaching Examiner)
• Rick Mason (Website Administrator)
• Toni Wheatley (East Sussex Friendly Teams Co-ordinator)
• Mr and Mrs Barry Bertin (Sussex County Stoolball Association)
• Jenny Keates (West Kent Ladies Stoolball League)
• Cindy Cavie (Eastbourne Red Triangle Stoolball League)
• Pat Wyatt (Coastal Ladies Stoolball League)
• Mandy McGachie (Surrey Ladies Stoolball Association)
• Sarah Rushin (West Division, SCSA)
• Barbara Parsons (Central Division, SCSA)
• Vice-President John Pritchett

3. Minutes of the 31st Annual General Meeting

The Chairman briefly went through the minutes of the 2010 Annual General Meeting. Acceptance of the minutes was proposed by Ruth Arthur, seconded by Kelvin Speirs and unanimously approved by the meeting.

4. Matters arising

It was agreed there were no matters arising from the minutes.

5. Chairman’s report

The Chairman’s report, together with a summary of Stoolball England activities during the past year, had previously been circulated with the meeting agenda to all the affiliated leagues and associations in membership and further copies were made available at the meeting.

The Chairman went through his report highlighting the most important events and emphasising the valuable contribution made by members of the Management Committee. He was particularly pleased with the publicity stoolball had received via TV, radio and ‘The Lady’ magazine and reminded the meeting that a further TV programme ‘Escape to the Country’ would be featuring a clip of mixed stoolball during 2012.

He spoke enthusiastically about:

• the coaching work in primary and junior schools carried out by Becky Hull, Ruth Arthur, Michael Ledwich and Toni Wheatley
• the junior festivals resulting from the coaching in Surrey and East and West Sussex and the Year 7-8 and Year 9-10 Girls County Stoolball Tournaments
• the courses carried out by Helen Murdock (Level 1), Kelvin Speirs and Kevin Hilliard (a combined umpire and scorers’ course)
• the website achievements of Rick Mason which have created so much interest to everyone in the stoolball world
• the services provided by Stoolball England through Michael Ledwich (Insurance) and the equipment agents Shirley Reed, Barbara Fitzpatrick, Toni Wheatley, Trina Perry, Julie Oliver and Jenny Keates.

And finally, the most satisfying piece of news has been left till last and that is about the new clubs that will be playing stoolball next season, 1 mixed club playing friendly games and 7 ladies clubs (l in the Kent Ladies Stoolball League, 2 in the Chanctonbury Ladies League and 4 other teams playing friendly games) with a further 4 mixed teams in the pipeline.

Acceptance of the Chairman’s report was proposed by Michael Ledwich, seconded by Shirley Reed and was unanimously approved.

6. Treasurer’s report

The Treasurer, Trevor Parsons, told the meeting that the Stoolball England accounts were in a very healthy state showing a surplus for the year of £3,932. He stressed to everyone that Stoolball England’s only significant source of income was through the sales of bats, balls, wickets, DVDs, the coaching manual, boundary flags, ice packs and scorebooks. He also paid tribute to the equipment agents who work diligently throughout the year to ensure that everyone’s stoolball equipment needs are met.

In answer to a question from the Chanctonbury Chairman, Vic Laker, the Treasurer also stated that the fees received from Stoolball England affiliated members did not cover the fees which are paid annually by Stoolball England to the Sport & Recreation Alliance and Active Sussex, the county body representing Sport England. He stressed it was vital that stoolball finds a sponsor and quoted an example that a minimum donation from a sponsor of £1,000 could then be “Sports Matched” by a government funding stream which would double the donation.

The Treasurer was given a vote of thanks by the meeting and acceptance of the accounts was proposed by Gwyn Griffith, seconded by Fred Newland and unanimously approved.

7. Presentation of President’s Award

First instigated in 2009, this annual award is made by our President, Shirley Reed, to the person who has contributed most to stoolball over a period of time. A number of worthy people were nominated this year, but the decision to recognise Rick Mason for his outstanding contribution to stoolball both on and off the field was unanimously applauded.

Rick took over the administration of the Stoolball England website from Richard Emsley and since that time has put in a tremendous amount of work to develop and update our website so that today it is something that everyone is proud of.

8. Proposal from Winterfold Stoolball Club, West Division, SCSA

Winterfold Stoolball Club proposed that the rules on protective clothing (shin pads, helmets and gloves) should be standardised bearing in mind the current laws on health and safety.

Club member Becky Hull spoke on behalf of the Winterfold Club and pointed out that currently in the rules shin pads and helmets could be worn by all players but that the rules specifically stated that no-one (including a wicketkeeper) was permitted to wear gloves. It was felt by the Winterfold club that this approach was unfair in that a player’s legs and head could be protected if desired by both fielders and batsmen, but the hands, used to bowl, bat and field, were not allowed the same protection. League and association representatives at the meeting spoke for and against this proposal and a final vote of 6 votes in favour, 7 votes against saw the proposal defeated.

9. Approval of the Rules of Stoolball

Changes to the Rules of stoolball were proposed following the rules review meeting held on 2 October 2011.

It was agreed after a general discussion that the majority of the proposed changes had been made to clarify existing rules but that one rule (Rule 5.2) should be voted on individually. Rule 5.2 was introduced at the rules review in 2008 and dictated that a batsman could not score runs using the back of the bat. At the recent rules review, it had been agreed to rescind this rule. A vote was taken and by 14 votes to 3, it was agreed to remove this rule.

A vote was then taken on the remainder of the rule changes proposed and these were unanimously approved. Following this meeting a reprint will be undertaken and the new rule book will be available at the beginning of the 2012 season. The next rules review will be undertaken in October 2014.

10. Election of Officers

President: Shirley Reed

Chairman: John Price (Proposed: Richard Emsley, Seconded: Keith Younger)

Vice-Chairman: Becky Hull

Hon Secretary: Kay Price

Hon Treasurer: Trevor Parsons

Officers:

• Melissa Mantle
• Toni Wheatley
• Michael Ledwich
• Rick Mason
• Kevin Hilliard
• Ruth Arthur
• Kelvin Speirs

Following the re-election of the Chairman, John Price, it was proposed by Richard Emsley, seconded by Keith Younger and unanimously approved that the remaining Officers of the Stoolball England Management Committee should be elected en bloc.

11. Election of new Vice-President

There were no new Vice-Presidents proposed.

12. Independent Examiner

Stoner, Cottingham of Horsham were proposed by Gwyn Griffith and seconded by Richard Emsley and were unanimously approved.

13. Presentation by Anita Broad

Anita Broad is a member of Newick Stoolball Club who holds an honorary role in Research and Education within Stoolball England. Anita was welcomed to the meeting to give a short presentation on the stoolball projects she has been working on.

Firstly, Anita has just successfully completed a masters degree and in so doing she has created an absorbing volume which documents the history and development of the traditional Sussex sport of stoolball and its importance to the women involved. To achieve this, she has looked into the origins of the game and then interviewed a number of stoolball players, young and old, about the modern game. They all have very interesting and amusing stories to tell. Anita’s volume is called ‘Stoolball through the seasons: It’s just not cricket!’ and now has pride of place in the Stoolball England archive.

Anita’s next objective is a cross curricular project in the form of an education package for primary schools. She started work on this while still working on her degree course but had to shelve it temporarily in order to complete her masters degree. Now this has been successfully completed, she is going to concentrate on the education package and we look forward to hearing about her progress during the coming months.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 1.15pm.

John and Kay Price
Stoolball England
5 January 2012

Having again produced and sent out a “summary of activities and achievements for the last year”, this report will be much briefer. Last year, I said that this was undoubtedly our busiest year ever, but by some margin the demands and pressures created by the Government’s Spending Review and the stripping out of so many important sports development jobs in both schools and local councils, has meant that we have had to use much initiative and many more hours to achieve the same results as previously.

It has been a tiring and demanding time for everybody on your Executive Committee and to those concerned I extend my sincere thanks for their continuing help, support and enthusiastic co-operation. We have a very sound team which brings a wide and varied range of skills and experience to the stoolball table but, having said that, I am very conscious of the need for good succession planning to ensure that the programmes and strategies being developed now are maintained and expanded in the future.

We are now “recognised” both as a sport and as a governing body but apart from a few small funding opportunities, our work is carried out totally by unpaid volunteers. There are many other “minor” sports in a similar position and we must not feel sorry for ourselves, but I do ask everybody reading this report to use every available opportunity to seek out possible sponsorship support.

This is an area where we can double our money under a scheme known as “Sportsmatch”. Sponsors can donate a minimum of £1,000 (the maximum is £100,000 from no more than 5 sponsors) and this money can be doubled via this exchequer funded programme – don’t all rush. However, I would ask everyone to work hard to open up or improve their stoolball contacts within schools and local government. Like us, they need our support, enthusiasm and encouragement, but this won’t happen unless you, your club or league take positive steps to make sure it does.

The number of new clubs who are looking to get started is testimony to the work and effort that many of you have put into the development of our game and to all of you I offer my sincere thanks. Please keep up the good work and remember that help is waiting at the end of a telephone call or an email if you need it. Kay and I send you our thanks and very best wishes for peace and happiness at Christmas and for success in 2012.

John Price – November 2011

Documentary

This year stoolball has attracted interest from i54newmedia who are a documentary film making company. They have filmed practically all aspects of the game from schools, ladies and mixed matches to bat manufacture, coaching courses, indoor stoolball and a visit to Sport England. Release of the finished article is expected early next year and a brief taster of the film has been featured on our website.

Television coverage

BBC One featured friendly stoolball at Northchapel in their Countryfile programme in May. This proved very popular and Stoolball England received a lot of good publicity following its showing. Still to be broadcast on BBC Two is an “Escape to the Country” programme featuring a couple from Surrey which was filmed at East Dean & Friston Cricket Club, close to Birling Gap and Beachy Head in Eastbourne. Stoolball was represented by the Trojans team from the Eastbourne Red Triangle League who provided players and umpires and were a credit to the game.

Press

Apart from numerous articles provided for local free advertising magazines and some Parish Magazines, our biggest slice of publicity came in an article in “The Lady” magazine which featured Winterfold ladies club who play in the West Division of the Sussex County Stoolball Association.

Radio

Our President, Shirley Reed, spoke about stoolball on Radio Solent in April and later in the summer on 10 June; Liz Peck who plays her stoolball in Sussex was featured on Simon Mayo’s Radio 2 Drivetime programme talking about the game.

Government funding cuts

The loss of virtually all the Competition Managers, Partnership Development Managers and School Sports Co-ordinator jobs as well as severe cut-backs with our contacts at county, district and town council sport development sections has meant that we must build new relationships.

One of our most successful has been with Horsham District Council where work is still in progress to submit a funding bid to the Small Grants scheme of Sport England. Much work is involved and great stress is put on evidence of development, forward planning and good governance, as well as the development of pathways for good performers to play at a national level.

Training courses

A Level One coaching course, with Helen Murdock at the helm, was held at Alfold in Surrey on 20 March with 13 members in attendance. This was a 6 hour certificated course which worked on the basic skills of batting, bowling and fielding, followed by simulated coaching sessions designed to increase each potential coach’s stoolball knowledge. At the end of the course, each candidate was given an evaluation sheet with comments from the tutor on their performance. The feedback from each candidate was very positive.

On 17 April at Plumpton Cricket Club, an umpires’ course was run by Kelvin Speirs in conjunction with a scorers’ course headed by Kevin Hilliard which was attended by a total of 17 people, 11 umpires and 6 scorers. It was a three hour course, with the first hour being run separately and dealing with items specific to umpiring and scoring. The second hour was spent on the field of play where a game was laid on for the umpires to “umpire” and the scorers to “score” and in the final hour there was a combined session dealing with “questions and answers”. It proved a great success.

Plans are in progress to produce further courses in 2012, together with our first ever Level Two coaching course. Let us know if you’d like to take part.

Stoolball interest outside the home counties

During the year we have had encouraging interest and reports of stoolball being played in Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, as well as in Anglesey, where the local cricket club want to start playing the mixed game. Our contact in the Isle of Man is planning to bring a party of young players to play stoolball in Sussex during next summer.

Perhaps our best news comes from Sydney, Australia where a young man who used to play stoolball in the Eastbourne Red Triangle League is planning to start playing the game. He tells us that there are currently no mixed games available in Australia and he wants to remedy that. He is having the wickets made locally and we have sent him some bats, balls and scorebooks to get things started. So watch this space for the first ever stoolball mixed stoolball version of an “Ashes” series.

Proposed abolition of cheques in 2018 – abandoned

After attending various meetings in London where the abolition of cheques was first announced by the Home Office two years ago and then discussed more recently at another meeting held by the Sports & Recreation Alliance at their London headquarters, we were pleased to hear the Government’s announcement that the use of cheques will continue for the foreseeable future.

Stoolball coaching at lunchtime and after-school clubs

Whilst much of Stoolball England’s coaching in schools was severely curtailed as a result of the government’s spending cuts, an abbreviated programme was carried out by Michael Ledwich in Surrey at Meath Green Junior School and Yattendon School in Horley and Salfords School in Redhill.

In the Horsham area, Ruth Arthur and Becky Hull conducted coaching sessions at Southwater School, St Mary’s School and All Saints’ School, both in Horsham, Shelley School, Broadbridge Heath and held taster sessions at Warnham and Slinfold. In East Sussex, coaches held a taster session at Harlands School in Uckfield and Toni Wheatley coached the youngsters from Punnetts Town Community Primary School and the Primary School at Burnt Oak. On completion of the coaching programme there was a game between the two schools which was greatly enjoyed.

Website developments

Our website administrator, Rick Mason, has done excellent work in taking the Stoolball England website to new levels with the production of maps showing the location of all clubs as well as tournament locations. The development of player and team statistics has also been impressive. There has also been a movement towards social networking via YouTube, Facebook and Twitter which has produced much useful additional exposure for stoolball. Currently work is also developing to produce a section on promoting sports clothing containing the Stoolball England logo.

Stoolball education package

Anita Broad from Newick Stoolball Club in Sussex has been working with the East Sussex Records Office to produce an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund and create a Stoolball Education Package using a combination of creative arts, history and heritage as a great cross-curricular opportunity to develop the interest in stoolball in schools.

Schools festivals and championships

Stoolball England ran their third Primary and Junior Schools Stoolball Festival at Horsham Cricket Club in July where 12 teams from local schools took part.

In co-operation with Sussex County Stoolball Association, Stoolball England again supported the Sussex County Schools’ Championships which were held at Plumpton in June for Year 9/10s and in July for Year 7/8s. In the Year 9/10 competition, Bishop Luffa from Chichester were the winners with Ringmer Community College the runners-up, and in the Year 7/8 event, Angmering School were the winners with Bishop Luffa in second place.

Public community events

Stoolball England personnel again carried out stoolball taster sessions in June at TakePart in Preston Park, Brighton. At Sparks in the Park in July in Horsham Park, members of local clubs Barns Green, Winterfold and Broadbridge Heath helped with the coaching.

Golden Challenge for stoolball in schools

The “Golden Challenge” is a series of sport specific, skill based challenges that primary school children can achieve at bronze, silver and gold level. Standards and activities at each level have been drawn up by the creator Mel Dunn during her previous role as Partnership Development Manager at Hailsham Community College and, in the case of stoolball skills, she received assistance from Connie Chapman from Angmering and The Regis School. The results of the tests are collated centrally on computer and used to compare other schools’ statistics, run inter-school competitions, establish a winner and identify talent.

Rules revision 2011

One of the requirements of “good governance” is that we carry out a review of our playing rules every three years. Such a review is currently in progress and the results of any amendments will be published in a new rule book covering the period 2012-1014.

Helping to promote the game

Stoolball England has attended county and club matches and tournaments in all counties playing the game to sell equipment and to offer help and guidance to all organisations in affiliation to our governing body. Stoolball England is greatly indebted for the work carried out by Keith Younger who continues to play a major role in the refurbishment of wickets and bats. In addition, Stoolball England personnel have continued to attend all meetings run by the Sport & Recreation Alliance, Active Sussex and The Payments Office (relating to the abolition – or not – of cheques).

Insurance

Insurance is an important aspect in the services supplied by Stoolball England to its affiliated members. You will all have noticed that this year we changed our insurers and these negotiations were carried out by our Insurance Officer, Michael Ledwich, to whom we are very much indebted. It has meant that clubs were not exposed to large increases in their Public Liability Insurance and he also achieved a small decrease in the Personal Accident premium.

Sports leadership volunteering

Stoolball England are planning to work with Sports Leaders UK who are about to form an association which will allow them to remain in contact with sports leaders who take their qualifications. By working with Stoolball England and other governing bodies, Sports Leaders UK will be able to provide a referral pathway into specific sports for volunteers and potential coaches and officials.

New scorebooks

Stoolball England’s Kevin Hilliard has produced in draft form two new scorebooks for possible future use. One is for limited over games, such as those played in August leagues and the other for county and league matches of longer duration. The current tournament book will remain unchanged.

Club accreditation

The criteria for the Club Accreditation Scheme which was set up in 2009 by Kevin Hilliard with the help of Active Sussex has now been updated and we are now required to fall into line with the national Club Mark scheme. Not surprisingly this is producing much new work as Kevin starts to produce new documents to bring our scheme into line. The first document covering our Playing Programme is currently under construction.

National planning policy framework

Stoolball England has written to the Minister for the Department for Communities and Local Government outlining our concern about the lack of protection for sport and recreation facilities in the draft document produced and issued by the Government.

New clubs and those working towards formation

It is most encouraging to give you news of a number of new clubs who will either be playing next season or looking to start playing in the near future.

West Kent Ladies Stoolball League

• Ashurst & Blackham Stoolball Club

Chanctonbury Ladies Stoolball League

• Broadbridge Heath Stoolball Club
• Southwater Ladies Stoolball Club

Ladies friendly teams initially

• Worthing Ladies Stoolball Club
• Warnham Ladies Stoolball Club
• Glynde Stoolball Club
• Firle Stoolball Club

Andrew Lusted has been an effective force behind the potential re-forming of Glynde Stoolball Club having just written a most intriguing history of the original club. Copies are available from Andrew himself or from Stoolball England priced £7.

Mixed stoolball teams

• Lower Beeding Lemurs Stoolball Club (friendly games initially)

Mixed teams (in the pipeline)

• East Dean & Friston Stoolball Club
• Selsey Stoolball Club

Social mixed teams (in the pipeline)

• Horsham Rugby Club
• Peper Harow Cricket Club
• Chipstead Cricket Club

There is also news of the potential arrival of mixed stoolball in Crawley. Amey, a business team currently playing in the Lewes League is moving to Crawley and work is already afoot to establish their team in that area and build up interest in stoolball.

In most cases, Stoolball England has been involved with these clubs in giving advice so that they are set up correctly with a constitution, insurance and equipment. All this interest is most encouraging and bodes well for the future. To all the teams mentioned we wish every success.

John and Kay Price, October 2011