50th Clubmark Award

 

 

Trailblazers were the 50th basketball club to receive the Sportengland award.  The certificate recognises the club having met high standards in its Playing Programme, Child Protection, Sports Equity and Ethics and Club Management. This reflects the hard work and commitment from everyone in the club.

 WHEELS IN MOTION FOR NEW CITY CLUB

Derby is to have a wheelchair basketball club following the success of a special exhibition to launch the sport in the city.

Players from national league sides Sheffield Steelers and Mansfield Maulers showed their skills in the session at the DerbyCollege in Mackworth and organisers were encouraged sufficiently by support from disabled sportsmen in the city that it is planned to set up new senior and junior teams in the near future. Talks have already opened with the Derby Trailblazers club about forging a link that may include making use of Trailblazers' new training facility at Noel-BakerSchool.

Derby City Sports Development and Derbyshire Sport have given their backing to the project, which was sparked by Ken Fradley, a wheelchair-bound sportsman who had asked about the possibility of setting up a team. After a couple of taster sessions at Mackworth and aided by a £1,000 grant from the GB Wheelchair Basketball Association, this week's official launch saw the next stage in establishing the club. The next is to decide on a new name, which is planned to be settled at the next training day on February 18.

"There is no other wheelchair basketball club in the county and we found out that there were players in Derby but they were having to go to Sheffield and Mansfield for a game," said Colin Davies, who has worked as a volunteer for disabled sport since leaving his job as facility development manager of the Gateway Centre. "A lot of people have put in a lot of hard work to get to this stage and if all goes to plan, this is only the beginning for developing other disabled sports in the city."

Anyone interested in learning more about the new club can contact Becky Corden, disability development officer for Derby City Sports Development, on Derby 716221, or Colin Davies on 07772 167807.