A new era for Charlbury Town Football sports and social club
A new era for the Charlbury Town Football Sports and Social Club
This is to let Charlbury residents know that, although the Sports and Social Club has had to leave its former premises on the Spendlove site to make way for the forthcoming construction of the new Community Centre, the Club as a local organisation is by no means in abeyance.
Club members are now focussing on efforts to achieve a purpose-built extension on the side of the new Centre and to raise funds to cover the costs. Thanks to the Gifford Trust, provision for such an extension has been included in the planning permission for the new Centre but the Trust's charitable purposes do not allow them to provide it for us. It is now up to Sports and Social Club members to take this on.
In case you are not aware, the Club's aim is through Club membership to provide Charlbury residents and their families with access to facilities for informal indoor and outdoor sports and social activities in an affordable and friendly setting. We seek to do this through the following activities:
• Providing and maintaining club premises including facilities for providing drinks and refreshments and for viewing televised sports events and results.
• Running a club membership scheme open to all Charlbury residents with the membership fee kept to the minimum in the interests of accessibility.
• Providing users of the sports facilities on the Nine Acres Recreation Ground with after-match social facilities.
• Organising opportunities to take part in informal indoor and outdoor sports for adults and children and young people such as darts, Aunt Sally, card- and board-games, pool, Jenga, Connect 4, floor snakes and ladders.
• Organising social events and seasonal celebrations such as Christmas and Halloween parties, Easter Egg hunts, BBQs, quiz nights.
This is what we want to achieve through having Club premises within the new Community Centre complex. We are already planning to dedicate one evening for use by young people, as our facilities have been used by a number of youngsters as a friendly place to meet and play pool or darts. In the meantime we have looked for temporary accommodation in various places in the town but so far have not found a satisfactory solution.
Since May 2015 the Club has been "under new management". The current committee includes the following members: Cyril Kerry (Chairman), Simon Bridgeman (Vice-Chairman), Mandy Cooper (Secretary), Nicola Pearson (Treasurer), Darren Oliver, Martin Prew, Ann Cleaver, Steve Sullivan, Rob Casey, Adele Mortimer and Gary Jones. Many of us have long-standing Charlbury connections and involvement in community activities, especially football.
The Club started as part of the Charlbury Town Football Club but in recent years has operated separately. We are now working closely with the Men's Football Club, with whom we are combining again, and are having similar discussions with the Boys Football Club. Together we are exploring the best constitutional form to adopt for the future.
But that does not change the fact that we welcome membership from anyone in Charlbury who wants to take part in our activities.
If you would like to help us move forward with our plans, we would be pleased to hear from you. Have you experience of fund-raising including applying for grants? Do you know something about different legal formats for sports clubs and associated organisations? Would you be willing to supply building or other materials? Could you help with the construction of the extension? If so, please email: manda.28@outlook.com or phone 810264 or 07534 097715.
We have also set up a crowd-funding site:in order to receive donations from well-wishers.