South Staffordshire Sailing Club named Britain’s top community sports club by the Sport and Recreational Alliance 

South Staffordshire Sailing Club, RYA Club of the Year 2011 winners, had a Royal appointment at St James’s Palace recently

Representatives from the Gailey Reservoir-based club, in the West Midlands travelled to London on 19 July to collect their prestigious Community Sport and Recreation Premier Award, sponsored by the SRA, from HRH the Earl of Wessex.

South Staffordshire Sailing Club

The club has some 400 members and its annual Try Sailing Open Day attracts nearly 100 newcomers every year. Its development of junior members and under-privileged and disabled children in the Wolverhampton and Midlands area is unrivalled and it scored highly across all areas of volunteer management, school links, innovative projects and green thinking.

Mark Nichols, South Staffs SC club commodore, said: “South Staffs SC is very inclusive club that is run by our members for our members. We continually strive to better ourselves and over the past year we have continued to develop the programme of activities we offer to our members and the local community.

“We invest in our members by providing a range of courses, some of which are free or subsidised, with the investment being made in the interests of the club's long-term sustainability. The more active and involved someone feels, the more likely they are to develop a strong affinity with the club and the other members and stay involved. We are delighted to have been recognised for this work by the Sport and Recreation Alliance.”

Staunton Harold Sailing Club

Staunton Harold Sailing Club also received a prestigious National Environment Award at the event from HRH the Earl of Wessex. The club, one of the five finalists in the RYA Club of the Year 2012, has also won RYA Volvo Eco Challenge Awards for two years running. These awards recognise juniors who design and present a programme to address some of the environmental challenges the club faces.

RYA Volvo Eco Challenge Award

In 2010, young member Hannah Jones won a £1,000 RYA Volvo Eco Challenge Award after identifying the need to install a plumbed in water cooler, provide reusable water bottles to all members and plant wildflowers on the nearby river banks to combat soil erosion. Last year, fellow club junior, Cora Kenmiur-Hogg, helped the club to secure another £1,000 to install cavity wall insulation in the clubhouse and changing rooms to conserve energy.

Nick Waters, Staunton Harold SC club commodore, said: “Sailing, by definition, is a ‘green’ sport, using just the wind and the water. Sailing on a reservoir helps us all understand the effect of the weather on human activities, especially the precious nature of water.

“Since 2009, the club has embarked on a programme of modernization and improvement to our main facilities to become more eco-friendly. For more efficient energy usage the heating and ventilation systems have been upgraded, and this, together with the improved building insulation, especially in the roof, has significantly reduced wastage and costs to the club. We are delighted are work has been recognised by winning this Green Thinking award.”

The BBC’s Eleanor Oldroyd, who chaired the judging panel, said: “With London 2012, it’s a fitting time for grassroots clubs, schemes and projects to be recognised for the tremendous work they carry out in local communities up and down the country. The Olympics and Paralympics are all about celebrating the diversity of sport and this mirrors the essence of what the Community Sport and Recreation Awards are all about.”

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