## **GLL & Aspire London Titans** Annual Report & Accounts For the Year Ended 31/07/21 GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 ## **Annual Report 2020/21** Contents - Legal & Administrative Information - Trustees' Report - Independent Examiners Report - Financial Report - Chairman's Report - Future Planning - Club Structure - Eurocup 2022 - Training - Sponsorship and Funding - Building Brand Awareness GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 ## **Legal & Administrative Information** **Trustees:** R Spry-Shute M Sealy L Sugden A McMullen **Charity Number:** 299497 **Principle Address:** 4 Broadwater Park Maidenhead Berkshire SL6 2UA **Independent Examiners:** Sally Clark 9 Tithe Barn Close, St Albans, Herts AL1 2QD GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 ## **Trustees' Report y/e 31 July 2021** The trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 July 2021. The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accountancy policies set out in Note 1 to the accounts and comply with the charity constitution, the Charities Act 2011 and the Statement of Recommended Practice, “Accounting and Reporting by Charities”, issued in March 2005. ## **Structure, governance and management** The charity was established by a charitable trust deed on 16 July 1987 and the Constitution was adopted on that date. The trustees who served during the year were: R Spry-Shute M Sealy L Sugden A McMullen The charity is run by a management committee elected annually at the Annual General Meetings of the charity; from whom the trustees are then drawn by reason of the offices they hold. The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to major risks. ## **Objectives and activities** The objectives of the charity are to provide and encourage able and disabled persons who live in London and the surrounding areas to participate in the sport of wheelchair basketball and to provide and assist in the provision of facilities in the form of equipment and coaching. The charity is dependent on unpaid work of the management committee, who organise social and fundraising events, together with training and competitive matches but who are not in receipt of other goods or services which are not reflected in the financial statements. ## **Achievements and performances** Since there was no season in 2020/21, the 'Season Overview' section of this report has been replaced with a ‘Future Planning’ section, where the committee have set out their plans for the year ahead. GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 We have resumed collection of annual membership fees for the coming season and have made efforts to raise funds and receive donations towards the running costs of the club but this has been severely hampered due to the Coronavirus pandemic. We are continuing to develop relationships with sponsors who are crucial in enabling the club to develop and grow, details of these sponsors can be found in the 'Sponsorship and Funding' section of the Annual Report. ## **Financial Review** The charity generated funds of £34,193 (2020 - £9,767) giving rise to a surplus of £30,629 (2020 - £7,414 deficit) The charity has spent considerably less this year for many reasons mostly due to the Coronavirus pandemic causing no leagues or competitive matches to taking place in the 20/21 season. There were no match expenses and the club received a partial refund for EuroLeague expenses which had already been paid before the competition was cancelled. No kit or wheelchairs were purchased in the season. Included in other expenditure is website hosting and PPE to allow us to return to training safely. We have continued to develop the relationship with Heathrow but have not received any money from them this financial year due to the challenges faced by the travel sector during the pandemic. We hope that their financial support will continue once they’ve recovered from losses suffered in the last 18 months. We received a £20,000 one off donation from a source we are unable to disclose at this time. During the financial year we have received money to cover the cost of running the club during such challenging times from the National Lottery Covid Response Fund, as well as over £3,500 from the Co-Op Local Community Fund, so thank you to everyone that raised money for the club via the Co-Op. Subscriptions were charged to members for the 2021/22 season on 31st July. The timing of this charge has made the club debtors appear worse than they actually are. Some historic debt has been cleared over the last year and we will look to restart direct debits for club members who wish to pay in this way. The reserves as at the end of the financial year under review amounted to £54,092 (2020 - £23,463). On behalf of the board of trustees L Sugden **Treasurer** Dated: 22/09/2021 GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 ## **Independent Examiners Report** 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: - examine the accounts under section 145 of the GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 Charities Act, - to follow the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Act, and - to state whether particular matters have come to my attention 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. In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: - the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or - the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or - the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed: Name: Sally Clark Dated: 23/01/2022 Address: 9 Tithe Barn Close, St Albans, Herts. AL1 2QD Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): ACMA GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 ## **Financial Report y/e 31 July 2021** ## **Statement of Financial Activities Including Income & Expenditure Account** |**Notes**
**Incoming resources from generating funds**
Donations and Subscriptions
**3**
Other Incoming Resources
**3**
**Total incoming resources**

**Resources expended**
**Charitable activities**
**4**
Governance costs

**Total resources expended**


**Net incoming resources / Net movement in**
**funds**

Total funds b/f


**Total funds c/f**
|**2021**
**£**
**30,136**
**4,057**
**34,193**

**3,564**

**0**

**3,564**

**30,629**

**23,463**

**54,092**
|2020
£
9,681
86| |---|---|---| |||9,767| |||17,181| |||0| |||17,181| |||(7,414)

30,877| |||23,463| GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 ## **Financial Report y/e 31 July 2021 (cont.)** ## **Balance Sheet as at 31 July 2020** |**Notes**
**Current assets**
Cash at bank and in hand
**9**
Debtors
**7**
**Total current assets **
**Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**
**8**
**Total Assets less current liabilities**


**Income Funds**

Unrestricted funds

**Total funds c/f**
|**2021**
**£**
**47,446**
**6,646**
**54,092**
**-**
**54,092**
**54,092**
**54,092**|2020
£
20,813
3,658| |---|---|---| |||24,471| |||(1,008)| |||23,463| |||23,463| |||23,463| The accounts were approved by the Trustees on 23[rd] September 2021 ….......................................... R Spry-Shute **Trustee** **----- Start of picture text -----**
…............................................
L Sugden
Treasurer
**----- End of picture text -----**
GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 **Notes to the Accounts** ## **1. Basis of preparation** ## **1.1 Basis of accounting** The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014 and the Charities Act 2011. ## **1.2 Going concern** These accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis. The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern. ## **2. Accounting policies** ## **2.1 Income** Charity income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity became entitled to the resources; it is more likely than not that the trustees will receive the resources and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability. Grants and donations are only included in the SoFA when received. ## **2.2 Expenditure and liabilities** Liabilities are recognised where it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty. ## **3. Analysis of Income** |**Donations and Subscriptions**
Donations and grants
Membership subscriptions
**Other Incoming Resources**
**Total Incoming Resources**|**2021**
**£**
**30,136**
**4,056**
**1**
**34,193**|2020
£
10,218
(537)
86
9,767| |---|---|---| GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 ## **4. Analysis of Expenditure** |**Charitable Activities**
Match Expenses
League Registration Fees
EuroLeague / Cup & Ireland Expenses
Kit Purchases
Chair Purchases
Fundraising Expenses
Education Expenses
Finance Expenses
Other Expenditure
**Governance Costs**|**2021**
**£**
**-**
**160**
**(517)**
**-**
**-**
**3,618**
**-**
**81**
**222**
**-**
**3,564**|2020
£
2,912
205
2,033
1,184
257
9,418
150
153
869
-
17,181| |---|---|---| Governance costs includes amounts payable to the Accountants of £0 (2020: £0) for non-audit services. ## **5. Paid Staff** We employ a Fundraiser as a contractor. The cost of this is included in ‘Fundraiser & Admin Costs’. ## **6. Trustees** None of the-trustees (or any persons connected with them) received remuneration during the year. During y/e 2021 no travel expenses were paid to coaches compared to £734 in 2020. Three coaches are trustees, but payments are not relating to trustee activities. ## **7. Debtors** |**ebtors**||| |---|---|---| ||**2021**|2020| ||**£**|£| |**Trade Debtors**|**6,646**|3,658| GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 |**8. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**
**2021**
**£**
**Trade Creditors**
**-**
**9. Cash at bank and in hand**
**2021**
**£**
**Cash at bank and in hand**
**47,446**|2020
£
(1,008)| |---|---| ||2020
£
20,813| GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 ## **Chairman's Report** Since last September we have continued to be affected by Covid-19 however unlike the uncertainty we faced during the initial lockdown there has, thankfully, been progress towards life returning to a “new normal”. The cancellation of the 2020 season left many scratching their heads around what our sport would look like during the continued restrictions. I am incredibly proud to say that this was not so for London Titans. As a club we have continued to build on the work that we had already started to keep the ball rolling on the virtual court. We saw the return of the Sealy Sessions, delivered by Matt (Sealy) and our own Godmother of Communication, Lisa (Blythman-Wood) as well as the addition of competition through the Homecourt App to encourage participation and support. A key theme for us as a club has been to keep the feeling of “together whilst apart”. WhatsApp groups, Zoom calls and personal messages of support have become the norm. We have celebrated the birth of Ade and Christy’s Tiny Titans. We have joined together in nominating Matt for “UK Coaching Hero”. We collectively screamed support at our screens during the Paralympics as GB Women and Men made us proud. Although we have not been able to take part in outreach events like the Heathrow Terminal Take Over or Great Ormond’s Street Children’s Activity day, we have flown the Titans flag to support the “International Day of People with Disabilities” by producing the “This is me” mime for Heathrow. We have shown an in-depth knowledge of Peppa Pig and US Presidents on the TV Quiz “Tenables”! Manni’s starring role in The Gym Group and Maddie’s skills in George at ASDA TV ads, as well as the Titans Take Over on Channel 4’s Last Leg during the Paralympics have all helped to keep our club visible and in people's minds. Now is the time that we are finally able to come together again as we look towards 2022. The role out of the national vaccination programme has allowed us to progress steadily through the BWB’s “Return to Play”. Our Development Committee organised safe ways of training that have allowed us to move from Stage 1 to Stage 4 of this pathway. Thank you all for continuing to send in your Risk Assessments and Lateral Flow tests. Without these we would not be able to get to the stage we are at now. For now we will continue to need these measures to stay in place to ensure we are able to keep each other safe as we look towards next season. GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 I cannot begin to describe the sheer amount of work that the Development Committee has undertaken over the last year to keep the wheels turning whilst so many other organisations have ground to a halt. Matt, Lisa, Macca and Lou have gone above and beyond throughout 2021. The behind the scenes effort that has gone into growing and building the club has been truly inspiring. Without their time, commitment and leadership we would not be celebrating our achievements today. Thank you simply doesn’t cover how grateful the Titans family is to you. Finally, the new season undoubtedly brings excitement for all the teams we will be fielding. As a club we need volunteers to provide key support ranging from running the Table, completing the match book, coaching and recording Stats for the Premier games. Whilst we hope many of the establishment, such as Lyn and John Weeks who have so kindly supported us in the past will return to help we need to encourage others to join our key Titans support team without whom the games would not be able to happen. It has been great to welcome new and current members of the Club back to play. I look forward to celebrating the success that awaits us next season. Thank you all for being part of the Titans family and making this club a place we can call home and be proud of. The following pages outlines the work that has been undertaken by the committee and club structure for 2021/22: GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 ## **Future planning** I would like to give everyone an insight into the future direction of the club and how we, as a club, are set up and ready for the promising return to national league, women’s league and junior divisions. The last few months have seen the committee working together to prepare Titans for the 2021/22 season, alongside continuous weekly planning for our Saturday training sessions. I would like to take a step back first and acknowledge where and how our club bounced back out of the initial outbreak of covid back in March 2020. Some of our juniors' parents who had reached out to us asking for advice for their children’s physical well-being, led us straight into finding new ways to train. The commitment of these juniors turning up to virtual training sessions every week over the course of 3-4 months proved the integrity and togetherness of our players. This in turn led our club into a confident and steady filter of players joining the virtual sessions, to then training at our first court sessions in mid December. After another covid speed bump at the beginning of 2021, we were finally ready to start the return to training stages. I would like to thank all of the Titans family, juniors, parents, players and their families for being so patient and responsive to the challenging ways we have had to go through to train. Through mask wearing, online signups, endless lateral flow tests, you have all played your part to get our club back together in the safest way possible. It’s been a gruelling task to collate all this information week by week, but the reward of seeing 30 plus players every week really makes me feel proud to be a part of this expanding club. On that I would also like to mention the healthy influx of new players we have taken on over the last year, regardless to Covid putting so many blocks to our normal ways. I would like to especially thank Lisa Blythman-Wood for her invaluable work to keep our club at the forefront of all social media platforms during the last 18 months. Without this, outsiders would have never known what our club has been doing during the pandemic, and the 10 new players we have taken on may never have emerged! So to name a few of our new recruits we have Tokyo paralympian Jude Hamer. Jack Perry who was in the final 16 selection for Tokyo has also joined our premier team. Stuart Jellows, who was in the GB squad in Athens 2004. He also represented South Africa’s wheelchair basketball squad at London 2012 after residing there for over 15 years. We are glad to have him back playing for us. We have also taken on a number of other players from div 1 level, to juniors, and also new players to our sport. ## **Club Structure** The coaching team have reshaped the club as follows: GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 ## **3 national league teams** - Prem - Div 1 - Div 2 ## **Women’s League** Titans look forward to fielding a women’s league team, however the league is still under fixture development by the BWB. More details to follow. ## **Junior Team** A junior team consisting of a mix of previous juniors and newbies will offer opportunities for rising Titans to train, play and continue their development. ## **Div 3** As a Club we have decided not to enter a div 3 team this season as our players didn’t stretch far enough to make a suitable squad for this level. However with a healthy group of new players to the sport that have been training with us over the last number of months, we will be hosting a number of friendly matches during the 2021/22 season. Any players not assigned to one of the national league teams will have the opportunity to be involved in these friendly matches. All of our teams are now re-balanced to play multiple lineups to give every player better opportunities to develop. All of the coaching staff will be working closely together to give players opportunities to play up into higher divisions. This will be strictly based on a coaches performance review of those players. We want to give all players opportunities to excel within our club, and we will strive for dedication to the club and commitment to training sessions. ## **Eurocup 2022** Our premier team is also entered into Eurocup 2022, and we are waiting on group allocation and destination! We will work closely with the IWBF to monitor the covid situation nearer the time. ## **Training** My final point is about our committee’s continued hunt for additional midweek training sessions. We are working with a number of venues to find a suitable solution. One is a potential partnership with UEL’s pro women’s team to train alongside them. We are hoping to get two evening sessions so that our prem and 1st div will move out of the Saturday session here at Stanmore and into those. Leaving the Saturday sessions at Stanmore for our juniors, div 2 and development players. GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 ## **Sponsorship and Funding** Like so many things during 2020/21, the ongoing pandemic has paused events, opportunities and made funding applications tough. Our ambition was to build on the success of the numerous events which have taken part in previous years. These included our Path to Success Wheelchair Basketball Challenge, Whizz-Kids, Great Ormond Street Hospital’s Get Active Day and Superhero Tri. The uncertainty of the times we are living in is making organisations nervous about planning for events with planned ideas already being postponed once again. We have made great connections with AFK and recently took part in their 3x3 basketball event, and although the rain poured, thank you to everyone who played at the iconic venue at Canary Wharf. We will be looking to develop this relationship in the future. We have also taken part in several online training sessions with teams at Heathrow, in order to keep them active. Working with representatives from the internal working groups at Heathrow Airport. HAND - Heathrow Airport's Network for Disability is one of these, this group demonstrates that Heathrow supports diverse disabled talent with its current employees and is seen as an employee opportunity for all. GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 Throughout the year, if you have been shopping at Co-op and have made London Titans your preferred cause, then you have helped raise over £3,500. During the financial year we have also received money to cover the cost of running the club during such challenging times from the National Lottery Covid Response Fund. The club continues to benefit from the support of BETTER and the GLL Foundation. Their support is not only financial, but it enables our players free membership to their facilities and access to other sports services, which for many of our players is invaluable. We are working with them to support their own recovery plans as we all emerge from the current situation. We are also supported by Aspire who provide court hire for our main club training session on Saturdays and for the majority of our matches throughout the season. It is worth noting their unwavering support throughout the past year, all of our home fixtures for the coming season will be played here. As we look forward to more planned events and fundraisers, we wanted to remind everyone that the Titans Pathway document highlights the level of commitment we ask of the Premier and Division One teams in attending these events. This is not exclusive to these teams and we hope that as normality settles into the new season, that you all feel engaged and keen to support events and fundraising efforts to enable the club to flourish in 2022 and beyond. GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21 ## **Building Brand Awareness** As a club, we have become the ‘go to’ group for brands to find talent, with regular opportunities coming in our inbox for everyone to represent the club, our sport and people with disabilities. Whether this is a team on Tenables, starring roles in TV advertising from The Gym Group or ASDA or advising the creative industry on how to cast, talk and brief disabled people. The recent launch of #wethe15, and the commitment from so many organisations to see and hear disability and challenge preconceptions is a key area the club and all its members have as an opportunity to drive. The Titans inbox has regular interest and enquiries from casting agencies, film makers, photographers and potential new players. More recently the club has taken over The Last Leg on more than one occasion, from the launch night of their Paralympic show through to Louise being the athlete guest. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the show and we will keep looking for more opportunities for you to pull on a vest and represent. These key moments support interest and visibility on social media, with over 40K impressions during the Paralympic Games on Twitter. We are consistently presenting ourselves as a brand to be proud of, whether that is on court, during a pandemic or a social post. Please keep showing your #TitanPride regularly, so we keep leading the way in the UK and internationally for pushing engagement and awareness of our sport. GLL & Aspire London Titans – Annual Report & Account y/e 31/07/21