‘Castle News

Number 55 March 2011

Champions!NSVC Ladies secure promotion to NVL1 for the first time

Historic achievement for young team

Welcome from the Chair

Contents

3-7 – ‘Castle News Updates

8 - LPV Festival

9 – ‘Castle prepare for Cup Finals

10– Sportset advert

11 – Schools Championships

12 – ‘Castle Shop

13 – National Cup Finals

14- Super 8s promotion play-off

15 – Castle online

Main sponsor www.marangoni.com

Main school-club link and training HQ:

Madeley High School

Official Equipment Supplier: www.sportset.com

Sponsors

CBL Welding Supplies Cornovii Investment Management www.cblsupplies.co.uk

www.cornovii.com

MATRIX

AGGREGATES

This edition of ‘Castle News reflects the key matches and events that are coming up for the club – with the national cup finals only days away and the men’s first team now facing a promotion play-off to get into the Super 8s next season all of teams are right at the top of their game right now!

We have the West Midlands Let’s Play Volleyball Festival to look forward to this summer at Madeley and I hope that many of you will read the news article on this and be inspired to put your names forward to volunteer and take on a role to help out at this event.

Colin RobertsNSVC Chair

News Updates from ‘Castle!

‘Castle players selected for West MidlandsThe following ‘Castle players have been selected to play at the Inter Regional Championships on May Day Bank Holiday weekend, representing the West Midlands:•U14 girls – Hannah Kettle, Chloe Morris•U16 girls – Harriet Roberts•U15 boys – Dan Arme, Richard James, Rob Bellamy, Will Richardson•U17 boys – Al Donaldson, Bart Wozniak, Cameron Rhodes, Jordan Adelburgh, Elliott Francis, Chris Ashton, James Chadwick, Kacper Stefanowicz

In addition, NSVC under 15 player Doug Ross has been selected to play for the North west u15 boys, taking the total ‘Castle contingent to an impressive 16 players.

Ladies Complete Championship SeasonFor the first time ever the ‘Castle ladies will play in NVL 1 in the 2011-12 season – this is the highest level of senior volleyball that a ladies team from the club has ever played in! The title was secured in a disappointing manner as opponents Brentwood cried off the trip to Keele on the 26th March and decided not to travel giving the team an automatic 3-0 25-0, 25-0, 25-0 win. This season has already featured a number of matches like this, particularly in the Shield, something that head coach Ant Viggars describes as a “massive frustration” that has made an amazing season less satisfactory.

When the girls got the chance to sew up the title on the court away at UEA Norwich they did so in style with a comprehensive 3-0 win that was then followed up with another straight sets win on home turf against Telford on the 9th March in front of a 50+ crowd at Keele. The only loss of the season for the ladies in the NVL came on the opening day at Sheffield when the team was missing coach Ant Viggars who was in Italy with the u18 boys plus two key players Meg Viggars and Paige Nelmes who were away with the England Women’s development squad.

This season has seen the team move to a new level of play with key players Charlotte James, Paige Nelmes and Meg Viggars easily the most potent attacking force through the wing in the lower divisions, and young players such as Lizzie Stuart really starting to emerge. The key now will be to prepare well for next season with some hard work on the training court, and to keep the squad together. But before that comes the Shield Final on the 16th April at Kettering, and for many of the players, the u18 final.

More on the league champions in the April edition of ‘Castle News

News Updates from ‘Castle!

2012 Olympic Tickets on sale to 26th April

Ticket applications for the 2012 Olympic Games are now open, don’t miss out! Once you have your tickets secured why not let ‘Castle News know what you have got so we can have a look at what events our members will be going to! Will we see ‘Castle t-shirts in the velodrome, by the athletics track, along the marathon route or in the stands at the Synchronised Swimming!?

Full volleyball ticket details can be found at: http://media.ticketmaster.com/en-gb/img/sys/tournament/london2012/oly-volleyball.pdf

Social membershipNSVC will soon be launching a social membership with sessions targeted specifically at over 16s who want to play some volleyball in a recreational environment and enjoy getting to be part of the club, It is hoped that through this route we can increase our membership base an provide opportunities for a new audience to enjoy the sport. Keep your eyes peeled for more information online at www.nsvc.co.uk

GB Women’s Volleyball: 2012 players clubAs part of their attempt to retain “Plan A” for their preparations for the London 2012 Olympic Games the GB Women’s programme have launched an opportunity for members of the volleyball public to support them directly and help raise the finances required to prepare to the best standard possible for the world’s greatest sporting event.If you want to be able to watch GB play in the Olympic Games and think “I helped them to get here” then go to the following website and look into it in more detail www.gbwomensvolleyball.co.uk

Successful Talent Morning at MadeleyOn Thursday 7th April ‘Castle coaches Colin Roberts and Ant Viggars ran a successful talent session for boys and girls in year groups 7-9 at MadeleyHigh School. This unearthed a number of potential new players and sparked a new interest in the sport for the 40 youngsters who attended.

News Updates from ‘Castle!

Ugandan linksNSVC’s links to Ugandan Volleyball continue through club chair Colin Roberts, who recently received the following update on the progress that our friends in Africa have been making:

“March was a good month for us as we defended the men's trophy in our own 5th edition of the NyeroRock Stone Age Volleyball tournament, we beat Uganda College of Commerce Soroti in the final 3:1.

the Eastern Volleyball League Resumes this month on the 25th Easter Monday in Kumi. We lifted last year’s trophy and qualified for the National Series B league but could not go for it as we can't sustain the team during the season.”

New banners for next seasonAt the February and April meeting of the ‘Castle management committee it was agreed that the club would invest in further banners for the new season to add to the sense of identity at our match and main training venues: Keele and Madeley. Images of these banners are shown (right) as follows:

TopProvided by Volleyball England (fingers crossed, we’ve been waiting for this for 18 months as part of the Volley 2 accreditation! (3m x 0.5m)

MiddleA mesh banner for use at Keele University, (3m x 3m) – will also be ideal to take to major events such as Cup Finals, Last 8s etc should our teams qualify, and possibly the 2012 Olympics!

BottomA really impressive banner to be placed behind the scorers table on match days, measuring 5m x 1.5m

News Updates from ‘Castle!

Help out at the LPV Tournament in JuneThe club needs as many pairs of hands to help with this tournament as possible, so please make sure that you let us know if you are able to lend a hand. The men’s first team will be running a fundraising car wash, but we need further support with... Putting the courts up.... Running the BBQ..... Running the shop.... Managing results..... Refereeing courts..... Court management..... Competition management....

Please get involved, the LPV has been a great club day for the last few years and with more hands helping out there is less work for everyone!

CEV European Youth Volleyball Working GroupOn March 19th and 20th Will Roberts was in Luxembourg to be part of the CEV’s European Youth Volleyball working group. This group featured delegates from Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Spain and Portugal, with the aim of providing web based information for all nations to help in the development of junior volleyball programmes to help encourage young people to get involved in the sport. “It was a really interesting and enjoyable experience, working alongside respected colleagues from across Europe .”

Goody is a Local Hero!‘Castle under 18s and Men’s 1st team player James Goodwin has recently been announced as a Lloyds TSB Local Hero as part of a programme that the Olympic sponsors have put together to support talented young athletes as they strive to become GB’s future Olympics stars. The funding will help Goody with the considerable living and training costs that he pays put for his volleyball career.

CJ awarded Colleges MVPWhilst the ‘Castle ladies were taking on Telford in the NVL, Charlotte James, Zoe Rogers, Lucy Preston and Amy Bradbury were helping the Stoke-on-Trent 6th form college team try to defend their British Colleges title in Bath. Whilst the team lost out in the semi-finals and ultimately finished 4th, CJ won the honour of being named MVP for the entire tournament! Well done CJ!

News Updates from ‘Castle!

City of Stoke-on-Trent 6th Form College: Volleyball Academy

For the past 4 years NSVC has developed a fantastic relationship with City of Stoke-on-Trent College in Fenton, seeing the growth of the Talented Athlete Programme (TAP) at the college to provide three training session per week for players. In 2010-11 we will continue to work closely with the college to further develop this programme which is unique in North Staffordshire, to provide daily opportunities to train through a partnership between club and college. Whilst many ‘Castle Juniors will always opt to attend other colleges, the 6th Form College in Fenton is the only one with this formal link to the club, and is the only place where players will get the chance to train on a daily basis locally.

Junior Boys Head Coach Will Roberts said, “The link with Fenton is fantastic for our young players. I did my ‘A’ Levels there back in 1998-2000 and only wish I’d had the chance to train for volleyball at college as often as they now offer through TAP. It wasn’t until I started my degree at Loughborough that I got anywhere near the quantity of training needed to play at a decent level so I hope that by strengthening the link to Fenton we are ableto help our young players progress and keep up to speed with their studies.”

Potters ‘Arf: Get InvolvedSunday 12th June is not only the day after ‘Castle hosts the West Midlands “Let’s Play Volleyball Festival at Madeley (sunshine please!!) – it is also the day of the Potter ‘Arf – the ½ marathon around the streets of Stoke-on-Trent.

The players of the men’s 1st and 2nd teams have decided to enter teams in the relay races that go on as part of the ½ marathon – at the moment it looks like three

teams – each of which will campaign to raise the most money for club funds – and of course be the winning team. Entries are being centrally coordinated so if you fancy signing up or getting a team together to add to the fundraising effort please let Will Roberts know on willroberts1981@hotmail.com

Relay Distances• Stage 1 3.3 Miles (Probably the easiest stage)• Stage 2 3.4 Miles (Involves climb up Anchor Rd)• Stage 3 4.7 Miles (Mainly flat, hilly finish)• Stage 4 1.7 Miles (Includes Milton Road)

In addition the men are planning to run a car/minibus wash at the LPV festival on the 11th June so why not get your car cleaned and raise some £’s for the club that day too?!

‘Castle Teams Prepare for

National Finals

The under 16 boys (right) have put in significant extra training for the finals and despite suffering injury scares to James Chadwick, Cameron Rhodes and Dan Arme should be at full strength for the final. Throughout the season this squad has trained 3 sessions per week and completed over 200 hours of training. After missing out in the semi-finals of the under 15s against Boswells last season the team is determined to get its revenge this time around!

Good luck lads!

On the weekend of the 16th and 17th April a large ‘Castle contingent will travel to the National Volleyball Training Centre in Kettering where the 2011 National Cup Finals will be hosted by Volleyball England. ‘Castle has four teams competing across the course of the weekend, with the ladies in the Shield, and the under 16 boys, and under 18 boys and girls all in big matchaction. ‘Castle have had sides at the National Finals every season now the 2005-06 (under 16 boys, featuring Sam Allen!) but this is the largest number we have ever had in our 30 year history.

The action starts with the ladies on Saturday lunchtime against non-NVL side Surrey Orcas – they ladies will start as favourites although their opponents did a fair bit of giant killing along their route to the final and ‘Castle will have to be wary of this. In this match ‘Castle will be cheered on by about 50-60 travelling supporters and if they win it will be the club’s 2nd

ever senior ladies honour after having won the league title only 3 weeks earlier!!

Sunday morning sees the under 16 boys play against Boswells (see feature below) in a match they will start as the underdogs. This will then be followed by the ‘Castle under 18 girls versus Redhill Stourbridge in a battle of the West Midlands. This must be the first time in many years that none of Wessex, Ashcombe or Tameside have had a side in the final of the under 18s girls event and there is guaranteed to be a new name on the trophy. The day will end with the u18 boys final between ‘Castle and Boswells with ‘Castle looking to defend their crown and secure a national boys title for the fourthsuccessive year! Good luck to all of the ‘Castle teams – there will be a full feature in the next edition of ‘Castle News.

For the second year running the Newcastle SSP held it’s 4v4 inter-schools tournament for year 10 pupils and below at Madeley High. The event was officiated by NSVC Young Leaders and many Castle members were in their respective school teams.

The tournament re-arranged from December, when it was cancelled due to snow, had 5 schools participating. Unfortunately 3 schools originally entered(Clough Hall, Wolstanton & Maryhill) could not make the new date, but competitive volleyball was still served up from Madeley, Clayton, St John Fisher, Chesterton and Thomas Boughey.

County Championships...Having won the Newcastle Sports Partnership Competition a few weeks earlier, both Madeley boys and girls sides returned from Painsley High with the County SSP titles. Schools representing other partnerships in the competition were Trentham (South Stoke) Holden Lane (North Stoke), Rawlett (Tamworth) and hosts and last years winners Painsley (Moorlands).

The boys competition was relatively straight forward with Madeley overcoming otherwise unbeaten Rawlett in the final with a fine display of attacking volleyball. The girls competition was a much closer affair overall with all teams recording at least one victory. Madeley though playing with more control than any opponent remained unbeaten with Rawlett again taking 2nd place.

Thanks to Painsley Young Leaders for officiating the event.The winning teams were:

Boys – Rob Bellamy, Rich James, Will Beacon and Will RichardsonGirls – Kate Valentine, Sophie Key, Claire Hemmingway and Hannah Kettle

Madeley triumph at the Newcastle and Staffordshire Schools Volleyball Championships

The boys event was hotly competed with a Dan Arme led Clayton, last years outdoor winners, hoping to upset the 2 Madeley teams. Clayton managed to narrowly beat Madeley ‘A’, but would fall short in a competitive final against a talented year 9 Madeley ‘B’ team.

The girls event was a much more straight forward event for Madeley with both A&B teams comfortably making the final which was won by the A team. Last years winners St John Fisher came 3rd with their very young team including Castle girls, Flossie Owen, Lucia Montinaro and Kirsty Hicks.Congratulations to all who competed and NSVC hope to see all the original entries back in May for the outdoor competition. The 2 winners then went through to the County Finals hosted by current champions Painsley High on January 26th.

‘Castle Shop

Training T-shirt: £15.00

High quality performance material NSVC club t-shirt, Navy Blue and now in White!

Classic Grey ‘Castle T-shirt ‘Castle Hoodie ‘Castle Polo Shirt ‘Castle Drawstring Bag

£10.00 £20.00 £10.00 £5.00

To purchase any club kit please contact your coach or a club official on match-day or at

training

PROMOTION PLAY-OFF

7TH/8TH May (tbc)

Whitechapel Sports Centre, London

London Lynx v Newcastle (Staffs)

In a one-off match ‘Castle travel to London for

a place in next season’s Men’s Super 8s

competiton

Go ‘Castle!

www.nsvc.co.uk The club website gives regular updates of information on both the home and news pages,, team and player profiles, plus carries all club match reports and an up to date club calendar

‘Castle: onlineThe club’s communications strategy (part of the four-year club development plan) is now very well advanced following the launch of our You Tube channel and Wikipedia page in the first few months of 2010, plus a Twitter feed. These additions to the existing ‘Castle News, www.nsvc.co.uk and Facebook group give us what is hopefully excellent connectivity to our members through whatever medium they prefer.

You TubeMatch videos can be posted online at our very own You Tube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/NSVC1Recent viewer numbers:- Men 1 vs Richmond (NVL1) highlights – 92 views- Men 1 vs Wessex (NVL1) highlights – 92 views- Ladies vs Northampton (NVL2N) highlights – 81 views- Men 1 vs Leicester (NVL1) highlights – 92 views

‘Castle News The club’s unique monthly e-newsletter is now available only as a download through the club website’s news pages at www.nsvc.co.uk/latest-newsReader numbers from recent editions:- January 2011 – 803- December 2010 – 701- November 2010 – 601- October 2010 - 364

FacebookSign up to ‘Castle at www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=12327566316

TwitterWe have an active Twitter account for those of you who want up to the minute information on the club. Go to Twitter and search for us

WikipediaThe NSVC Wikipedia page was launched in March 2010 and will provide a great historical record of the club and its’ achievements over the past 30 years and the years to comehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcastle_(Staffs)_Volleyball_Club