Charity number: 1166178
## **NEWCASTLE STAFFS. VOLLEYBALL CLUB**
(A Charitable Incorporated Organisation)
## Accounts and Trustees’ Annual Report
for the year ended 31[st] May 2025
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## **NEWCASTLE STAFFS. VOLLEYBALL CLUB**
## **Contents**
|Trustees|3|
|---|---|
|Trustees reports, and charitable objects|4|
|Chair’s report|5|
|Annual Awards Winners|7|
|Safeguarding|8|
|Junior Volleyball|9|
|Social Volleyball|13|
|Women’s 1stTeam|14|
|Men’s 1stTeam|15|
|Women’s 2ndTeam|16|
|Men’s 2ndTeam|17|
|Women’s 3rdTeam|18|
|Men’s 3rdTeam|19|
|Financial statement|20|
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## **TRUSTEES**
- Hannah Donaldson (Secretary)
- Matt Smith (Treasurer)
- Els Drijfhout
- Diane Gentle
- Richard Guest (Vice Chair)
- Geoff Keen
- Will Roberts (Chair)
- Rod Stockwell
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## **TRUSTEES REPORTS**
The trustees present the annual report together with the financial statement for the charity for the year ended 31[st] May 2025.
## **OBJECTS**
The objects of the CIO are:
The promotion of the amateur sport of volleyball, beach volleyball and sitting volleyball for the public benefit and the promotion of community participation in healthy recreation, by the provision of facilities for playing volleyball, beach volleyball sitting volleyball in Newcastle, North Staffordshire and South Cheshire.
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## **CHAIR’S REPORT**
The 2024/25 season has seen further strength in depth added to the club courtesy of the commitment of our wonderful team of volunteers and in particular a group of coaches prepared to go above and beyond in support of their players.
The end of this season also marks the mid-point of our ‘Ambition 2030’ strategy launched in the midst of the covid lockdowns of 2020 as we missed out on celebrating our 40[th] Anniversary and sought to map a decade of change for the club with three ambitions to achieve by our 50[th] anniversary as a club in 2030.
1. Double our Membership
2. Create a home for the club
3. To ensure our players and teams are at the top table of English Volleyball
This time last year in my report I reflected that we would drop ambition 2, having pursued options with our closest partners at Madeley School, and with the local authority – and drawn a blank. Without larger institutional support or a significant benefactor such ambitions are not possible.
Tremendous progress has been made with our remaining ambitions.
## **2030 Ambition: Double our Membership**
The ‘doubling’ was achieved during the 22/23 season from our 2020 baseline of 135 members, when we hit 276. Since then our membership database has been above 350 noting that we have around 300 regularly active members in the club across all our groups.
Our challenge has been on sustaining excellence in provision and having the space to host everyone! This really has been a challenge and during the 24/25 season there is no doubt that coaches and players may have felt this. As a result our end of season activity has been focussed on securing even more court time in more places – and the 25/26 season promises even better experiences for our members as a result!
Coupled with this, an end of season meeting of coaches brought a fantastic discussion about shared values and how we want our coaches and teams to represent the club. There was a feeling that with such rapid growth, aspects of our identity had been challenged and it was time for a re-set for consistency across all the teams pulling on the famous navy blue shirt of the club!
**2030 Ambition: To ensure our players and teams are at the top table of English Volleyball** Our achievements in the 24/25 season:
- Men’s 1[st] team – finished in the top half of NVL1 in a transitional season
- Women’s 1[st] team – sustained their presence in NVL 2 following promotion in 2024
- Men’s 2[nd] team – sustained their presence in NVL 2 following promotion in 2024
- U18 Boys A team – National Ranking #2, National Cup Bronze, Cornacchia Cup 2025
- U18 Girls A team – National Gold Cup Winners (second year in a row!)
- U16 Boys A team – Last 8s, National Ranking #7
- U16 Girls A team – National Gold Cup Silver medal
- U16 Girls B team – National Gold Cup 7[th] place
- U15 Girls A team – Last 8s and National Ranking #6
- U15 Boys A team – Last 8s and National Ranking #6
- Four players capped by England Men at the Novotel Cup
- One player played for England Women u22 in the CEV qualifiers
- Four players played for England Men u22 in the CEV qualifiers
- Five players played for England u19 men at NEVZA
- 1 player played for England u17 men at NEVZA
- Two girls trained at England Junior Talent Pathway Camps
- Seven boys trained at England Junior Talent Pathway Camps
- Seven players played at the girls Inter Regionals
- 10 players played at the boys Inter Regionals
- Two coaches in the England National Team programmes
We could not achieve this without the support of our sponsors and partners. This year many local companies supported the u18 boys trip to Italy to compete in the Cornacchia Cup where they plated wonderfully well – thank you so much to all those partners. Local businesses Parogon Pub Group, one of Staffordshire’s premier employers and brands, and Firmus Financial services were valued supporters of the club and their financial support is greatly appreciated
The importance of two further partners can never be underestimated – Madeley School, now entering its 22[nd] year as an active partner of the club, and the University of Staffordshire. Both partners accommodate our frequent requests for court time and are open to suggestions of how they might help the club progress further. We calculated the market-equivalent value of their support in court time as being around £12,000 this season – their partnership and support therefore keeping costs down significantly for the club.
To all the club’s volunteers, coaches and trustees – and all our members as the club… THANK YOU! NSVC is in such wonderful health thanks to the culture and environment that we have together… let’s keep building it.
Will Roberts Chair of Trustees July 2025
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## **ANNUAL AWARDS WINNERS 2024-25 SEASON**
|Chair’s Award - Senior|Sakura Althuge Don||Chair’s Award – Junior|Alayna Hirschi|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|Women 1 – Coaches Player|Jenny Jung||U18 Girls - MVP|Alex Viggars|
|Women 1 – Players’ Player|Bee Yusuf||U18 Girls – Most Improved|Emma Vaughan|
|Women 1 – Most Improved|Bee Yusuf||U18 Girls – Special Award|Niamh Barrow|
|Women 2 – Coaches Player|Alayna Hirshi||U18 Boys - MVP|Josh Sturland|
|Women 2 – Players’ Player|Sakura Althuge Don||U18 Boys – Most Improved|Albert Biryukov-Wang|
|Women 2 – Most Improved|Dasha Vitsynska||U18 Boys – Special Award|Finn Chalkley-Beales|
|Women 3 – Coaches Player|Lucy Pountain||U16 Girls - MVP|Emma Vaughan|
|Women 3 – Players’ Player|Sakura Althuge Don||U16 Girls – Most Improved|Sarika Krishnadas|
|Women 3 – Most Improved|Wiktoria Jablonska||U16 Girls – Special Award|Eve Swindells|
|Men 1 – Coaches Player|Stefan Cowley||U16 Boys - MVP|Seb Wood|
|Men 1 – Players’ Player|Cameron Rhodes||U16 Boys – Most Improved|Max Butterworth|
|Men 1 – Most Improved|Komari Burey||U16 Boys – Special Award|Tom Satchithananda|
|Men 2 – Coaches Player|Jim Cox||U15 Girls - MVP|Michal Karas|
|Men 2 – Players’ Player|Charlie Kobylarz||U15 Girls – Most Improved|Ollie Groom|
|Men 2 – Most Improved|Seb Karas||U15 Girls – Special Award|Dylan Jones|
|Men 3 – Coaches Player|Ollie Panther||U15 Boys - MVP|Panayiota Kalli|
|Men 3 – Players’ Player|Elliott Wilde||U15 Boys – Most Improved|Viv Burke|
|Men 3 – Most Improved|Tyler Allin-Jones||U15 Boys – Special Award|Jess Simpson|
|Social – Most Social|Peter Lambe||U14 Girls - MVP|Izzy Roberts|
|VolleyStars – u7 to u12s:
Thomas Dodd, Jacob Roberts, Edward Goodwin,
Annie Goodwin, Georgi Parakasov, Abigail Wood,
Clara Jackson, Elliott Deaville, Sophie Deaville,
Lily Satchithananda, Roo Lang, Addie Lang|||U14 Girls – Most Improved|Sofia Vitsynska|
||||U14 Girls – Special Award|Daisy Dalgarno|
||||U14 Boys - MVP|Harry Knowles|
||||U14 Boys – Most Imp.|Oscar Woods|
|Team of the Year – u18 Boys, finished season #2
ranked in England for the second successive year.|||U14 Boys – Special Award|Will Edwards|
||||U14 Boys – One to Watch|Toby Parkinson|
||||U13 Girls – One to Watch|Evelyn Chadwick-Brown|
||||U13 Girls – One to Watch|Lily Talbot|
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## **SAFEGUARDING**
At the AGM in 2024 we were delighted to welcome the highly experience and knowledgeable Gemma Bradshaw as our new Safeguarding Officer. Unfortunately, Gemma was unable to continue in the role beyond January 2025 and we were fortunate that Michelle Williams provided safeguarding support for an interim period before Vice-Chair Richard Guest took on oversight for the remainder of the season as we sought a permanent solution.
During the season we received a safeguarding disclosure which was managed with support from Volleyball England as appropriate. In the debrief from this disclosure, changes were made to the club’s processes to ensure that we are better equipped in future.
With Volleyball England’s changes to safeguarding training – through a more accessible online course which also covers adult safeguarding, the trustees feel greater confidence regarding the accessibility of appropriate training for our coaches and volunteers.
Will Roberts Chair of Trustees, June 2025
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## **JUNIOR VOLLEYBALL**
Our club was founded through junior volleyball and it remains the heart of the club. Huge thanks go to Ant Viggars, Karl Wood, Rich James, Sam Stevenson, Jess Keen and Will Roberts for leading the coaching of our junior players, and to Geoff Keen, Stefan Cowley, Sakura Althuge Don and the u14/15 players who helped with VolleyStars as part of their Duke of Edinburgh award volunteering.
## **VolleyStars**
Throughout the season a consistent group of 8-10 youngsters have been learning to play volleyball with the support of lead coaches and a crew of young coaching assistants … Maggie, Pani, Will, Izzy, Jess and Laicie have been fantastic especially for the younger VolleyStars who have had a personal coach! The skills of the 9-11 years old have come on leaps and bounds and they enjoyed a tournament at Wolverhampton. 5-6 of the group will now graduate into the club’s training groups.
## **U13/14s**
The focus in our coaching of these age groups is to first get the players to fall in love with the game, then learn how to play and then to compete. We have a large number of committed girls in this age and a smaller number of boys at present. The club’s teams excelled in the Volleyball England u14 and u15 4v4 competitions throughout the season – many of which we hosted at Madeley, some at University of Staffordshire.
## **U15 Girls**
With the girls training twice per week and being part of a consistent environment with the u16s, building on the last 8s experience from last season we entered this season with high hopes. In the first 6v6 Grand Prix despite missing a key player the girls were dominant in their opening two matches before dropping to a 2-1 defeat vs hosts Ashfield.
This meant that at the second Grand Prix they had to win all of their games and win the group to make it to the last 8s which they did in emphatic style, taking ‘Castle to a second consecutive last 8s at this age group.
With a squad of 3x u15s and 9x u14s the girls did us proud at the Last 8s, beating South Bucks 2-0 in the opener. In match 2 vs Urmston a mid-match fire alarm disrupted the girls flow and unfortunately they fell 2-0 despite being in a strong position in the second set. Wapping, who ended up reaching the final beat the girls 2-0 in the last match leaving ‘Castle joint 5[th] in the tournament and ranked #6 in England!
_Charlotte Keen, Panayiota Kalli, Kornelia Chudyk, Jessica Simpson and Isabelle Roberts all represented West Midlands u15s in the Inter Regionals, and Laicie Williams played for Wales! Bella Bradshaw and Isabelle Roberts have both attended 2x England u17 camps as u14s this season._
## **U15 Boys**
The season started with many of the players having to learn how to play 6v6 Volleyball. Grand Prix 1 was organised in regions, and we got drawn against Urmston A (Eventual Winners) and
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Urmston C, for which we ended up finishing 2nd in a very cold sports hall. This result placed the team in the Silver Pool against, Urmston B and Urmston C for which we won easily not dropping a set and securing our place in the last 8’s.
The last 8’s saw us play Richmond A, Wessex and Team Sideout in our draw for which we could only manage 3rd place, but a massive improvement from the start of the season, with some very good performances especially in defence.
## _Michal Karas trained with England Cadets_
_Tom Satchithananda, Michal Karas, Rex To, and Oliver Groom all represented West Midlands u15s. Dylan Jones also got selected but sadly picked up an injury prior to the competition._
## **U16 Girls**
Having reached the u15 last 8s last season the girls were aiming to match it as u16s. Unfortunately, their aims were scuppered in Grand Prix 1 when playing in a 5-team pool meaning 2-set matches not best of 3. The girls won their opening 3x matches 2-0 to set-up a clash vs highly fancied Urmston. Castle played out of their skin to win set 1, before losing a close second set meaning the match finished 1-1 and on points difference Castle came 2[nd] in the group and were placed in the silver pool for Grand Prix 2.
That competition proved a nightmare for the team with a late injury withdrawal from a key starter meaning a player with a sickness bug that week need to play. The girls won 2/3 matches but knew at that point the last 8s was all but out of reach.
In Grand Prix 3, ‘Castle were in a great pool of strong teams all on the edge of being last 8s quality, and ended up winning 2 matches and losing 1… so they went to the Gold Cup ranked #10 in England, so as 2[nd] seeds.
Meanwhile the B team had also been excelling and finished with a ranking of #19 expecting to go to the Silver Cup… but a couple of withdrawals meant they joined the A team down in Ashcombe for the Gold Cup where they defeated west midlands rivals Black Country to take 7[th] !
At the Gold Cup, the A team beat London based teams in their quarter final and semi final before meeting Ashfield in the final. In a very tight match Castle lost 2-1, 15-12 in the decider!
_Sarika Krishnadas and Eve Swindells both represented West Midlands at the Inter Regional Championships, and alongside Emma Vaughan they also played NVL for W2!_
## **U16 Boys**
This year we saw player numbers increase and felt the season would go well, but we are still reliant on some of the more junior players.
The season started very well with convincing wins in the Preliminary Round again Urmston, Nottingham and Black Country, topping the group without losing a set. This year with no Platinum Pool, we were placed in pools for northern and southern regions. For Grand Prix 1 we got placed in a group with Urmston A (last year’s winner), Leeds (last year’s 3rd place) and Urmston B, despite some close games we finished 3rd, But securing our place in the Gold Pool.
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Grand Prix 2 was very similar being placed in a northern Pool with Urmston A, Leeds and Mk City, but doing enough to secure our place in the last 8’s.
The team unfortunately picked up injuries to key players just before the last 8’s and went into the competition with a much-weakened team. Despite some strong individual performances, the team just did not have the depth and sadly was ranked 7th overall.
_Seb Wood, Max Butterworth, Lewis Ord and Sam Michell all trained at England Junior U18 Camp._
_Seb Wood Captained and Max Butterworth and Lewis Ord all represented West Midlands U17_
We entered this U16 group of players as a B team in the U18 Tier 1 competition which initially went very well but many of the players got called up to play for the A team as the competition progressed.
## **U18 Girls**
We entered three teams this season – with the ‘C’ team being the u15 girls… and they reached the final of the Bronze Cup!... and the ‘B’ team being a real mix of girls getting valuable competitive experience, many being ‘promoted’ to the ‘A’ team during the season.
The u18 ‘A’ team began the season in a transitional phase, having lost 2 key players from the previous seasons Gold Cup winning team. With not enough strength in depth amongst our year 12s, u16s Eve Swindells and Emma Vaughan were initially brought into boost numbers. Sarika Krishnadas (libero) and Bella Williams soon followed
As to be expected, we spent the first few GPs (1-3) trying to develop a system of play with the younger girls also having to adapt to the challenge of playing against bigger, stronger opponents. During this period, our serve and defence always kept us competitive, but it was evident that we would need to be more effective offensively to progress.
By GP4, relationships and understanding on court were beginning to form as we began to develop attacks from all areas of court and finally won 2 of our 3 games for the first time in the series. The team clearly now felt more optimistic heading into the last GP and the Gold Cup tournament
In the quarter finals we overcame Ashfield (lost to in both GPs 1 &2), with relative ease and then followed this up with a hard-fought semi – final victory over Black Country. Due to venue problems, the final, against a strong, tall Wessex team was not actually played until early May and was best of 5 sets. From the start rallies were long and it was clear that the game would be close. Thanks to our improved attack we managed to match Wessex at the net and had a belief that our serve and strong defence would eventually wear them down. With the sets tied at 2-2, Castle went into the 5th appearing to be more positive, especially on serve. After a strong start to the set, Wessex were unable to fight their way back and Castle emerged 3-2 (15-9) winners, taking home the Gold Cup for a second season.
## **U18 Boys**
Castle U18 Boys Season Highlights & Performance
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The U18 boys squad delivered an impressive campaign in the Volleyball England u18 Super Series, first of its kind this season, finishing 2[nd] in the league rankings after 5 events and 15 matches winning the last 3 events. They also came 3[rd] in the national cup competition after a very close (both sides had the same overall points scored at the end of the game) match against Leeds Gorse who were the eventual cup winners. This was the only defeat on the day
Their consistent national-level performances underscored the club's impressive junior development system, built over decades.
As part of Newcastle Staffs’ role in Volleyball England’s Beach Volleyball Development Centres, U16/U18s enjoyed additional beach sessions each week enhancing their agility, court awareness, and all-round skills on sand which translated to indoor courts.
Newcastle Staffs has a well-established reputation for nurturing juniors claiming multiple national titles across categories over the years
The system has produced international-level talent, with several of the current U18 boys players have moved into higher-level competitions and senior squads at the club and with England.
The final games most of the players played in this season where in Italy at the Cornacchia world cup where we placed 12[th] in the competition of 24 teams , a wonderful experience for the club and the boys.
Summary
The 2024/25 season saw Newcastle (Staffs) U18 boys establish themselves as one of England’s top youth squads sitting at the top table of English Junior Volleyball. The run in the Super Series reflected both high-calibre coaching and a robust development path from beach training to national-level indoor competition. Supported by the club’s elite junior framework and legacy of success, the U18 boys not only performed strongly this season but also strengthened Newcastle Staffs’ position as a leading producer of young volleyball talent.
_Julian Kobylarz July 2025_
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## **SOCIAL VOLLEYBALL**
We have had a very busy year!
Just about every Wednesday we have played on 3 courts in Madeley, with a maximum of 42 players, capped via spond. We have a great uptake from Keele university students. But with so many people in the hall, it is a bit hard to give complete novices an introduction into volleyball.
We did put a temporary stop to admit new members, as we reached the 42 several weeks in a row with people on the waitinglist. The plan for next season is to empty the whole list end of August, for a great cleanup, and start anew in September.
Most pay on the evening via sumup. Some pay annually, some pay via West Mids. We have now a men's and a women's team playing in the West Midlands league.
Els Drijfhout, June 2025
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## **WOMEN’S 1[st] TEAM REPORT**
Following promotion in the previous season, the main aim for the 2024/25 season was to consolidate its position in the NVL Division 2 as well as continuing to embed and further improve the style of play.
The squad was bolstered by the arrival of Shannon McCue, Jenni Lee Johnson, Shadi Kim and Izzy Murphy but did lose Vika Kroll as she returned to Switzerland following her exchange year in the country.
We had a good pre-season with the quality of training exceeding the previous year and therefore hopes and expectations were high going into the season.
Whilst the team had an increased obvious technical ability from the previous season the improved quality of the opposition did cause some confidence challenges in the early games.
The team lost the first 3 games albeit two of these were winnable games and one was a 3-2 defeat away to Everton. The team won its 4th game with an extremely strong performance beating the league leaders at the time, Doncaster 3-0.
The remainder of the season saw a real mix of results with a great example seeing us beat Sheffield 3-2 one week and then lose 3-0 to the same team the following week.
We finished the season having won 5 and lost 9 games being placed in 6th position overall which meant that, essentially, the season aim of consolidation was achieved.
The season was disrupted by a number of injuries and absences across the squad. This meant that generally the squad was very different from week to week which did not allow us to build the momentum needed.
It is essential that the squad builds up its physical capabilities ahead of the next pre-season to ensure that we have greater resilience to the demands of the game.
Richard Guest, 17th June 2025
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## **MEN’S 1[ST] TEAM REPORT**
After the team’s relegation from the Super League via a play-off in Surrey vs London Giants (who incidentally went on to reach the 24/25 season Super League Final 4s) we suffered some departures and retirements and therefore entered the 24/25 season knowing it required a rebuild and would be a transitional season.
We utilised a blend of youth and experience, anchoring in the experience of Cam Rhodes, Stefan Cowley and Rich James (and drawing on a couple of experienced middles with a combined age of 80, when required!) alongside the very talented u18s from the club, and the growing crop of young players attracted to the area to study at University of Staffordshire alongside pursuing their volleyball.
Due to the strength of the u18 boys A Team and the increased frequency of their Grand Prix events, there was a significant negative impact on the Men’s 1[st] team across five matchday weekends of the season. Whilst we accept that the club is committed to and celebrates junior success, in a season like this with the squad we had it was difficult to manage, and we slipped to three defeats that we otherwise should not have done. Other clubs and Volleyball England were not helpful in trying to navigate the issue when setting up fixtures at the start of the season and so we had to deal with it.
With this in mind, we should be pleased with 5[th] in the league, an effective national ranking of 15[th] … however it is hard to look at the league table and particularly the D1-Super League playoff without feeling we might have made it back into the Super League. In our final league match of the season we travelled with a sub-par squad to Black Country, losing 19-17 in the final set vs the same starting team for BC who a few weeks later pushed Richmond Docklands all the way in the play-off!
Big thanks in particular to Stefan, Rich and Cam, and to all the team, supporters and volunteers.
Sam Stevenson, Coach July 2025
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## **WOMEN’S 2[nd] TEAM REPORT**
For the first time in the clubs history, NSVC this season fielded a women’s 2nd team in the NVL. The object of the team being to primarily give more game experience, at a reasonably challenging level, for our growing number of younger female members.
During the course of the season 15 players were used, training attendance was high and we usually had the full allocation of 14 players at fixtures. Whilst the team did struggle to secure victories, they did from the start push pretty much all teams hard. Probably our best performances were against the leagues two strongest teams, Manchester Moss Side and Leeds 2. Twice we took league winners Manchester to 4 sets and even had a set point in one game to go to a 5th. Against promoted Leeds we played a mammoth 2hr 15mins match, where our defence was at its best and actually had 2 match points in the 5th set before agonisingly losing out 3-2.
Whilst defence was clearly our strength, the team did struggle at times to find attacking winners. This though did clearly improve towards the end of the season after much hard work on this topic in training. It was very fitting that the team won their last game 3 – 0 against Hull, probably playing their best game offensively of the season.
As coach, I would like to thank the girls for their enthusiasm, hard work and commitment through the season – the group really did have an outstanding team ethic and were a pleasure to coach. I would say that the goals/objective of the group were clearly met and the team were a credit to our developing female section.
Anthony Viggars, Coach 20[th] June 2024
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## **MEN’S 2[ND] TEAM REPORT**
National League Involvement
Newcastle Staffs Men’s 2 were newly admitted into NVL Division 2 North for the 2024–25 season after a championship winning season the season before.
This season was always going to be tough as the squad mainly consisted of U18s boys and Staff University scholars who lacked a background in NVL and well as a lot of the U18s also playing for Men’s 1 meaning they were training 3 times a week plus 2 games at the weekend.
We set ourselves the goal of staying in NVL Division 2 which we achieved with a game to go so an exciting season. The squad gelled well however lacked composure in close games, we were competitive all through the season and the team worked hard for each other with some notable games with 7 players especially one against league winner Manchester marvels that we eventually went down 3-1 however their coach said it was the hardest game they had all season.
‑ One other standout match included a tightly contested 3 0 loss to Boston Kings of Court who ‑ ‑ ‑ had a seasoned squad (each set scored tight: 24 26, 23 25, 21 25) reflecting a competitive performance despite the result.
The team acted as a key stepping stone for transitioning players beyond University-level volleyball into the national league structure.
With strong competitive exposure at both BUCS and NVL tiers, players gained valuable experience in high-stakes environments, often acting as feeders to the club’s first team.
With structured coaching in place, the Men’s 2 squad showed excellent cohesion and growth through the season evident in consistent results (if not winning games) across multiple games. A special mention for the help with coaching from Phil Smith.
The team benefited from shared resources with the first team, thanks to Sam Stevenson for the coaching, strengthening club-wide development.
Final Conclusion
The 2024–25 season was a transitional season for Newcastle Staffs Men’s 2. Stepping confidently into NVL Division 2 North, the team demonstrated both talent and ambition. The progress beyond player development to credible competitive results will set strong foundations for future seasons positioning them well for potential promotion pushes and deeper cup runs.
_Julian Kobylarz_ July 2025
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## **WOMEN’S 3[RD] TEAM REPORT**
This season has been a positive one for our Women’s 3rd team. Although we only managed a few wins, the team showed great commitment and enthusiasm throughout. We faced tough opposition, often coming up against teams with much more experience, but our players rose to the challenge with determination and a positive attitude.
One of the highlights of the season has been the dedication shown by everyone, both for home and away matches, often travelling long distances and still giving 100% on court. Despite results not always going our way, the team spirit remained high, and players consistently supported one another to keep improving.
This year has laid solid foundations for the future, and with continued hard work and the experience gained this season, we are confident that the Women’s 3rd team will keep progressing next year.
Sakura Althuge Don, July 2025
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## **MEN’S 3[RD] TEAM REPORT**
This was another successful year for the Men’s 3 team. Being promoted to Division 2 in the West-Midlands Volleyball association, set our expectation that we will face tougher opposition this year.
The team started the season very well with winning 6 out of the first 7 games, just losing 2-3 to Birmingham City, who ended up being champions. Unfortunately, due to injuries, we had to recruit new players, which meant it took some time to get to play as a team, and our winning streak ended. The new recruited players were mostly students, and this meant that we had to forfeit a game, as the original date was clashing with the student competition, and although we tried, we couldn’t reschedule the game.
During the final part of the season, we played better, with Tyler Allin-Jones playing well through middle, and Adam Lam connecting more with the hitters. We hoped to celebrate our final game with the return of Falko Drijfhout, coming back from his injury during the previous season, but the game was cancelled on the day! The third team finished fourth in Division two, which is a great achievement.
Falko Drijfhout, 28[th] June 2025
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## **TREASURER'S REPORT**
Dear Members
We started the 2024/25 year with an opening balance of £ 23,755.56. As at the 2024/25 Year end on 31/05/2024 the Total Expenditure for the year was £42,120.05, our Total Income was £37,377.96 which left us with a Closing Balance of £18,973.47.
A decrease in Last Year’s Balance of £4,782.09. The club’s balance has again decreased since the previous years. This time of a more significant amount.
In April 2024, last financial year, we received £2,000 of sponsorship grants from VE to create a Beach Volleyball Development Centre. This year the club took on that initiative, used these funds and employed some Beach Circuit players to coach some beach volleyball sessions to our junior players. This, in addition to the court hire was funded by the sponsorship money we received from Volleyball England. The income being received in 2023/2024 and the cost being incurred in 2024/2025 largely explains the decrease in our balance that you can see above.
As well as Beach court hire, Indoor court hire has also contributed largely to the overall expenditure of the club. Our initiative to provide every member with a new club t-shirt continued. Referee expenses also remained consistent with the previous year at around £3,000 too.
A different initiative that took place this year was the U18 boys deciding to enter an international competition – Cornacchia World Cup. They raised funds by putting on Skills camps, hosting “Spot the ball” competitions as well taking on the responsibility of other fundraising activities. All money was funded through and expensed by the club. However, the club incurred no overall cost.
A note to add to this year, the Gift Aid for 2024 and 2025 has not yet been claimed. We will be claiming these in the 25/26 financial year.
All of this being considered, despite the decrease in balance in comparison to the previous years. The club is still in a good stable condition and looking to be in a positive position to increase the overall balance next year.
The year-end accounts of 2024/25 will be sent to Sefton’s Accountants for auditing.
As we are over the £25,000 threshold of income, we require an independent examination.
Once audited the accounts and information will be sent to the Charities Commission for publication on the website (last year accounts can already be viewed online)
Matthew Smith NSVC Treasurer 31/05/25
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lNDEPF.NDW.r F.XAMINER'S RF.IY)RT TO THE TRIIVF.FSOF
NF.WCA5TLF. STAFFS VOLLEVBALL CLUB-('IhtCIO"I
I rewi io the elwity ¢rus¢ce5 on my ex1rni• of th¢ of Il% CIO fw the yw axled 31*
May 2025.
Rttptsniibllttkn ••d bkn of r¢prt
As ihe I5¢CC vr1 chwity. you resporniblr for ihe 0fth¢*Umsin 1¢¢4Md•Th with
th¢ i¢quirthients of Chariiity 2011 ('Ihe 2011 Act"
I rep in of my exAniiiwlion of ihe ctnied t1 undu Scal 145 of th 2011 xyl
in earryin8 (Mrt m). ¢xllmination l ¥¢ followed all the applic4bie DYedi(mS BI ty tr* Clw
COMM51n under section 145151 (bl of the Act.
I h•v¢ wmplthed m), ¢xJminaii(m. I no mM¢riul hve come io my thrtXXb .
Connecti wilh the examination 8iviTr8 mc 5¢ lo 1*¢.¢ ih31 in any matffial resped:
¢¢ounlin¥ records were not keN in ofthe charily •5 rewired by yeaion 130of the A¢t
2. the OUnts do accord wilh ihose rreont5:
3. th¢ ac¢ounis Ik) noi ¢4xnpty wilh applic*ble r¢wtr¢meMs c4>rnyrnl the forni tyl
of accounis 4ei in the Lhariiies {Accn aThl Re5) Regu$ 28
requiremLml that Ihe accwnts 8iwe o and fair whith is i mat¢¢r vyuidered u Iwi
of•n iwni exwniTWtion.
I Ve no c(xKern5 and hawe come a¢ross Do other rnaners i• with the eXwnlnAti W T*1
attenlion SIKld be drawn in this rel in ord¢f io enthle * rAopx of tlx t¢
D R Seno*
FFA
13&143 UDloo %1ri¢t,
Oldh#m.
[jn¢bIre1
OLI ITE
D*ie: 27th November 2025
21
F¢r S•o¥fm 2024125
INCOME
2024125
ExPE1lIURE
2021125
O rA B•l•K•
fr¢ffi 11W2024
£23 755.56
INCO
£37,337.96
£61 093.52
Snr CortlrLxAl+)n
£7.061.70
£14.068.73
£5.71&37
£6.10
£750.00
£101.50
£0.00
£3,020.43
£2.953.$6
£114.54
Jnr
ExPETie
£42.120.05
£18,973.47
£7 332.90
£11632.24
£0.00
0.985.14
£8.33
£8.33
£0.00
CILkn Ajfillatit
Co•h In hnd
£756.7S
£3 OOB.82
£910.00
É10.674.00
£7,130.45
£885.00
8alarK• at 1
3110512$
BalarK• at Barth 2 31105125
Ca•h In
R•ferw F•
Dawn Rot*rt• 1041 Dor*ti
Spwtshall Fllre
B•a¢h Ct Idr•
Glft ald rocelvod
Awards Eve
£1,901.43
£1.376.19
£1.406.49
£171.42
tMff•r•tte
Chrlstmal yrty l •vart
cnlItIn l Town•m•nt
Comr4Trtitlon l Ttytsnam•nt trav•1
B•aeh C*mp
R•1WR•Imrl*m•rrt
U18 Ccfrncchla furKkalJlry
Sum
cPDtitl HMtlr4 le•ts
Tourr¥m•rrt tr•¥•l l Kc<•nod•ll
Cash In
£270.00
8al4rK•
£4,172.70
£215.32
£482.50
CILkn E91%•nt
R• Ir• & Flxtw
Awards Eve
cl •v6rt 1 IrIStmaS
Quallll¢atl¢4VVE R•
r•lmtA
Coa¢N Fo•$
Tt4*l Bank 11• Ilttl. Ctthl
£18,973.47
£170.32
£3.311.20
£0.00
Éo.00
£258.30
£557.71
£0.00
£1.950.29
£723.00
£892.85
£958.79
£159.50
£3,311.30
£12.75
Dawn Rob•rt• m•morlal Dcrnts
FMal81
CornattNa U1B t¢oJrnamort
IAie•llan•o
TOTAL
£37 337.96
TOTAL
£42 120.05
22