CHELMSFORD PARTNERS VOLLEYBALL CLUB
This page tells you some of the history of Chelmsfofdd Partners
Volleyball Club
Players from the club formed Chelmsford Volleyball Club in September 2005-6 based at the
new Rivermead campus of Anglia Polytechnic University.
Where We Played
Anglia Polytechnic University, Park Road, Chelmsford, Essex. CM1 1LL.
Training Night was Thursday 20:00-22:00 evening. Anglia Polytechnic
University usually have a session from 18.30 beforehand. Training ran most Thursdays
from September up to May.
History
Formed for the 1984/85 season by a few enthusiasts (Paul Bohannan,
Gordon Day and Jenny Rolf) to offer players in the area the chance to compete in National
League Volleyball, the club has run mens and womens teams for most of the intervening
period. Whilst not a primary objective, the club has won a number of honours during this
time including:
2000/2001 Women’s Division 3 champions and Women EVA Cup winners
1995/6 Mens Division 4 winners and Women Division 3 runners up
1989/90 Men Division 4 runners up
1987 and 1988 Women Kestours Cup winners
Throughout its life, it has attracted players not just from local clubs,
but throughout Essex and beyond with the squad including players living in St
Albans, Sittingbourne, Crawley, Cambridge. The approach is to offer a friendly environment
where the enjoyment of playing takes precedence over winning at all costs. The philosophy
has always been that we would rather play well and loose than play badly and win. This
enthusiasm is reflected in our good conduct record with the award of a card of any colour
a very rare event.
The name Partners stemmed from a sponsorship deal with a local hostelry
‘The Partners’, long since finished, but we kept the name as it reflects our
approach.
The club is happy to act as a staging post for players who want to move
on to more performance orientated clubs and we have over the years passed on a number of
players to National League clubs elsewhere. Up until 2003, our women were usually the
county’s premier side, but this ended in that year when we did not re-enter the
league having finished 9th of 12 teams in Division 2. The men finished their
National league stint in 2004 after finishing 5th in Division 3 East mainly due to a
conflict between playing and collecting their pensions.
Club training as a mixed group takes place on Thursdays between
September and May. Open sessions are run in rotation by qualified coaches within the club
who do two or three week stints. This gives a mixture of styles and skills. Coaches within
the club have coached at county and regional levels, both senior and junior as well as
having England contacts. As a result the latest thinking and ideas are available to
players.
The club has an associated junior section in Chelmsford Bears VC.
This was formed in 1987 as part of the Chelmsford Borough Council’s School of Sport
Scheme using qualified coaches from within the club. This was supplemented by an annual
weekend training camp using national level coaches. Training on Saturdays at Anglia
Polytechnic was an open club for girls and boys aged 11-18 that developed into a squad
that competed successfully with a mixed gender team in Essex Leagues and cups for many
years. This group, supplemented by the occasional senior player, won a number of titles
and competed in both girls and boys national championships.
As with many junior clubs, especially non school based, the challenge of losing players to
further education meant that numbers dwindled. Despite initiatives such as ‘Bears on
the Road’ where the club moved from venue to venue in Essex offering coaching to
local schools, its format proved unsustainable. Bears still operate, but now in a
different form where coaches run sessions at local schools. Several players have moved
through from Bears to the senior sides, with many others still playing for clubs
throughout the country. The coaches now run sessions at New Hall School in
Chelmsford, with both Sandon and Boswells having benefited from past sessions .
The club has a long record of media coverage with press cuttings
back many years (you should see some of the haircuts!). In addition to the occasional
radio interview and picture for major presentations, all matches are the subject of a
press report that goes to local and regional press as well as local radio stations. The
club has won awards from both EVAs (England and Essex) for its promotional material in the
past. The joke within the club is that the players don’t always recognize the match
from the report, and that there is drawing of lots as to who will be mentioned as having
played best. There was also one memorable occasion when one of the men’s players
mother discovered he was to become a dad through the press report! The press officer (who
even attends the games on some occasions) pleads freedom of the press. The club also
operates a website carrying information about the club and past press reports. Club
secretary, Paul Bohannan, has won the ’Essex Sports Awards – behind the
scenes’ award last year and one of its long standing coaches Gordon Day an
‘Essex Coaches Lifetime Achievement’ award’. Both were well deserved and
kept volleyball in the sporting limelight.
The finances of the club, which is self financed, are sound . We
have built up strong links with Anglia Polytechnic University sports hall and had a very
good relationship with the now retired manager, Ken Pearce, who has been a good friend of
Essex volleyball for many years. We aim to have thre same with his successor Steve
Dupree. Because there have always been long term plans to close the site and
centralize the University campus, one of the financial objectives has been to have at
least one years expenditure in hand so that we could survive such an event. Club fees were
£120 in 2003/4 season, with concessions where appropriate. These are payable in full by 1st
October or two equal installments. The club maintains an open training policy that
continues to attract players even from other local National League teams. The first
session for any players is free as an opportunity to see what we are like. From then we
charge £2 a session (before concessions for juniors) if they do not become full members.
This fee covers all training and playing costs for the season other than personal travel
costs. For away matches we agree who will drive on the day and by sharing this around the
driver usually pays for that trip. This has always worked for us and ensured that the
younger or less well off members are not called upon. Overall, we are told that this is
cheaper than many other clubs.
Club administration is through a committee of volunteers elected
at an AGM. There has seldom been a real problem with club personnel with a hard core of
some four or five making sure everything runs smoothly. Almost everyone in the club is
asked to take on some role even if it is just making sure food is brought by players to
matches or that linespeople are available We have found that by involving everyone in at
least some task the load is spread and people stay involved. We pride ourselves on good
administration and hospitality to visiting teams always ensuring they are fed, putting
promotional material around and often having a match programme or nominal momento of the
visit. Rumour has it we are also nice to referees, preferring to concentrate on playing
the game rather than debate.
We seem in the last two years to have stablished an annual
social gathering of all past and present players, and famili4s and friends and
indeed anyone who can spell partners. This is held at The White Hart public house in
Margatretting Tye where we meet outsoide on a July Sunday aftrenoon and have a knock
around, eat, drink and general cathc up oin what people have been doing.
Our web site was set up in November 1998 by James Murphy a part time
executive with BP and full time volleyball fanatic.
After both men and womens sides stopped playing NVL we ran a season just
playing on a Thursday evenings, several players also playing for other local clubs in NVL,
Regional or local leagues. During the year these players agreed that there was a
need for an open club in Chelmsford and agreed to set up Cheslmford Volleyball Club and
play in the Essex league for 2005-6
So that is Chelmsford Partners Volleyball Club, nothing special, just a
friendly and open club that enjoyed playing the sport.
Ken Edwards
Club Chairman
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ESSEX
VOLLEYBALL ASSOCIATION