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2025-06-30-accounts

BOCCIA SHEFFIELD

Annual Report and Accounts for the Year 1[st] July 2024 to 30[th] June 2025

Boccia Sheffield is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) Registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales No 1179188

Chairman’s Report

It always gives me a great sense of pride when I am writing the Chairman’s report as I remember another wonderful season. This season has been exceptional for many reasons but there is one stand out reason which I will talk about later in the report. The club seems to be in the strongest position we have been in for a long time, in respect to both coaches and athletes. We are busy every Monday at training sessions and we regularly have 11-12 athletes training weekly, sometimes even up to 13-14! The club has gone from strength to strength and it is amazing how every year we seem to progress forwards. The dedication and hard work from such a family orientated club is fabulous, well done everyone!

Update On Coaches

It is so refreshing to say that we are in the same position as last season in terms of coaches present at the club. One of the hardest aspects of running a boccia club is keeping hold of coaches for more than 1-2 seasons. We now have a really strong field of 5 coaches who are regular attendees at the club. Leah has completed two seasons with us and has also supported and helped the Super League team, a valuable asset. We are going to look into further development for Leah, including the level one coaching qualification. Al, as ever is a regular every week and has led sessions when I have been unavailable. Richard has been a more consistent coach this year, ensuring that we have enough coaches each week. And of course, Jenna has been there as a coach less frequently but has been working hard behind the scenes to make sure the club is running smoothly in other avenues. A huge thank you to all of the coaches for making this club so wonderful, I genuinely couldn’t do any of it without all of you.

Update On The Committee

The club has been running for over 10 years and the committee has been very strong over this period; this season has continued the same trend. We are in a fortunate position that we have great people working in the background of our boccia club. We all want to say a huge thanks to Ian who told us that he would be stepping down at the end of this season. The club certainly wouldn’t be in the position it is today if it wasn’t for Ian. As part of the committee Jenna has also played a more behind the scenes role this season, ensuring that all the athletes are kitted out in the Boccia kit. She has also continued the role as club welfare officer, ensuring that athletes and coaches are kept safe at the club. We are embracing change soon, although realistically we know it will be tough to continue at the high level which has been set.

We mentioned the role that Sam Hindley played last season and it is only fair that he gets a special mention again this season. Sam has always been a valuable member of the club both on and off the field. What Sam offers off the field is invaluable, not only does he organise everyone he is a great friend to all the athletes at the club. Sam helps athletes organise how to get to a venue, what time they need to be there, booking leisure centres for training etc. As the player representative, Sam takes this role seriously and helps and supports everyone at the club. A role which we couldn’t do without.

Competition Round Up

The competition round up is the highlight of the report. I have no idea how, but every season seems to be better each time! This one has been a particularly special season.

As ever, our athletes represent our wonderful club up and down the country in many different competitions in both singles and team formats. I have to start with arguably the biggest achievement in our 11 years of operating as a club, I will start with the Super League team.

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The Super League sees the top 8 PAN disability boccia teams come together from across the country. The team plays over four fixture days and at the end of the fixtures only one winner will be crowned the Super League Champions! I never in a million years thought that I would be sat here writing this especially as we had such a turbulent start to the season. However, in true Sheffield grit and steely determination, the team has roared through the season and become the Super League champions! This is extra special as it was always a dream for Leslie Martin to win this competition, a stunning achievement. A special thanks goes to Rachel Ross who joined the Super League team part way through the season as we were very light on numbers with Kyle Martin suffering several setbacks. A huge well done to all five athletes in the team, Sam Hindley, Lee Croker, Amy Darlow, Kyle Martin and Rachel Ross.

The SMILE OPEN is always one of the most popular competitions of the boccia calendar and this season was no exception. The competition was bigger and better than ever and we had 8 athletes attending and competing. Some stand out performances from Max BurgarBriggs and Evie Crowston, both having wonderful competitions and wiping the floor with all their competitors. Well done to all athletes who have competed.

Unfortunately, due to several reasons, we have not been able to host the Leslie Martin Cup this season. This is something I am determined to bring back next season and ensure that there is either a team or individual competition that everyone can enter.

The National League gave another opportunity for both of our teams to qualify for the National League finals. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be this year for our teams as they bowed out at the regional stage. We changed the teams this season to try and give each team the best chance of qualifying, both teams played exceptionally well, captained by Max and Joe Majchrzak. The Warriors missed out on qualification by one win. We are already looking forward to next season where we will try again to qualify for the finals.

As a club it is important for us to provide as many competition opportunities as possible for our athletes. The BE Cup and Heathcoat Cup provided more opportunities for competing. Olivia made her debut in the Heathcoat Cup and although she didn’t qualify for the finals, this was an excellent learning opportunity for her as a new athlete. All athletes who competed did very well and will take a lot from each competition and be stronger next year.

As a club we recognise that the competition calendar is quieter between September and December. We are looking at several opportunities to provide additional competitions. One of the opportunities is a pairs competition in Liverpool which happens in October. We are also thinking about hosting the Leslie Martin Cup earlier in the season as well, possible in November.

We look forward to as many athletes as possible competing again in the 2025/26 season.

Funding

Although we are in a financially stable position, the club had a scare earlier in the season with regards to our venue. We were told that we had to vacate the building before Christmas and find another venue. However, after several conversations with Vinci who own the building, they reversed their decision and said we could stay for the immediate future. Nothing has been said since but we have fingers crossed that we can continue to use Talbot school as our training home. We haven’t fundraised this year but we have talked about small fundraising opportunities for next season.

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School-Club Links

Boccia has been included on the PE curriculum for all Talbot students, this gives them an opportunity to play together and to enter some small competitions through the School Games route. This enhances the links to our club and recently we have seen another former Talbot student join the club.

The Upcoming Season

At the end of this report, I always look ahead to next season. After such a wonderful season, I am not sure how we can top that next season, but we always seem to do something unbelievable! I am sure the upcoming 2025/26 season will throw up even more surprises!

Of course, the club is about the athletes but we would have no club without the volunteers that make it happen. I want to thank all the coaches, parents and PAs who travel up and down the country following and supporting the athletes in their quest to compete.

The new season will see new competitions, new opportunities and of course the chance to represent yourself and the club. We know that you will all give 100% and try your best and that is all we can ask of all of our athletes.

Good luck to everyone involved in the club for the new season and remember ‘as one, we are great’.

Bring on the 2025/26 Boccia season!

Mark Dolan Chair - Boccia Sheffield

Secretary’s Report

As usual, I’ve been spending my time working behind the scenes, to ensure that all our athletes are entered for the right competitions and that all the club’s records are up-to-date. Boccia England has now announced a set of minimum standards for clubs, effective from Autumn 2025 and so I’ve been attending webinars and finding out what we need to do. I’m happy to say, as I retire from Boccia Sheffield, having supported the club for over 11 years, that everything is in good order and the club is fully compliant with the new standards.

Richard Howarth has agreed to become a trustee, Sam Hindley is the new Secretary and Sam’s Dad, Chris Hindley, is the new Treasurer.

I’m sure that the club will continue to run smoothly and wish everyone every success for the future.

Ian Woodward Secretary - Boccia Sheffield

Treasurer’s Report

As I’ve reported many times over previous years, the club remains in a healthy financial position. This is mainly due to the support of our excellent set of volunteers and the fact that we can meet each Monday in a venue, which doesn’t charge us a hire fee.

Unfortunately, during the last financial year, the club had virtually no income, apart from the sale of some boccia kit and a very small donation. It is likely that, at some stage in the future, the club will need to look at ways of raising funds before our existing money runs out.

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As normal, most of the club’s expenditure concerned membership of Boccia England (£202.50) and competition entry fees - Boccia England (£432.50) and Other Competitions (including SMILE Through Sport) (£90). The club wasn’t asked to pay anything to Special Olympics Sheffield, which had been £215 in the previous year.

Just before the year-end, £178.22 was spent on Boccia Kit. We will hopefully recoup this money, along from a small amount outstanding from previous years, within the next few weeks. The main other items of boccia related expenditure included: Trophies and Medals (£167.14), DBS Checks (£28.80), Training for Coaches / Volunteers (£25.00), Consumables eg Boccia Tape (£16.99), Gifts for Athletes (£12.25), which was mostly chocolate, and Catering (£10.51). Finally, the club paid £266.63 in Expenses.

At the end of the year, the club’s income was less than its expenditure, resulting in a deficit over the year of £1,391.69. The club now has £5,831.48 in the bank. Last year, it was £7,223.17. £5,517.84 is in the general fund and can be used on any of the club’s normal boccia activities and £313.64 is restricted to running the Leslie Martin Memorial Competitions.

Ian Woodward Treasurer - Boccia Sheffield

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an Woodward Secretary - Boccia Sheffield

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BOCCIA SHEFFIELD STATEMEMf OF FUNDS. FUND MOVEMENfs. ASSEfs AND UABILMES FOR THEYEAR ENDING 30th JUNE 2025 2028124 Curr•nt Fundx Fund Leslle Martrn mem￿31 Compebtlco Fund IResrric¢edl K￿e Martln IRestrfaedl SpÈclal Olwnplcs for Oub AthlÈtÈs IDesI8nat￿l 5.S17.84 313.64 £,￿9.53 313.64 S￿lA8 7.228.17 Represented ty. Cash On Hand PayPal Ctrop Bank 2BJ. &831.48 s￿lA8 6.940.17 7.221.17 rr•Tht U•bllhl T•t•l ￿￿*11 hMT•t•l U•bllMI•b: Oponln8 6alancÈ- Istjulv Cl¢sln8 8al•hce- 3rth Juhe 7.223.17 5.831A8 8.292.06 7.223.17 ¢urv•Trt U•bllhl•b Surpluil D•fi¢h f•r th• Y•w 91 Fund Mov•m•nt by Typ• 6.￿9.53 313.64 43A4 1,435.13 5.517.84 313.64 Leslle Martln Merryl•l Compelltkn Fund (Re51￿Cle￿I K￿e M8rtSn IPe5trfctedl Speclal OlyrnpScs lor aub Athlete5 ID2sl8notedl 4r•nd T•t•l OA) 71Page

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS / TRUSTEES OF BOCCIA SHEFFIELD

Respective Responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Act and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of Independent Examiner’s Statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent Examiner's Statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Geoffrey Roy Mackridge Date: 7[th] July 2025 Chartered Accountant

Balholm Voel Road Penmaenmawr Conwy LL34 6YW

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