Tom Birchall, one half of Mansfield’s world and TT motor cycling sidecar champions, the Birchall Brothers, has joined the Armchair Club as a full member.

At his first monthly meeting, Tom supported an application for funding to two recipients.
Tom told club members that now he had retired from racing, he was looking forward to putting something back into the local sporting community through the Armchair Club.

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Mansfield School Games and the Armchair Club are continuing to support future sporting stars by providing financial backing that will allow students to access community sports clubs.

Four learners from King Edward Primary School Mansfield were presented with cheques which will allow them to access a new sport or continue with current activities. The donations will support with club fees, sports kit or equipment.

Nicola Biggs, Mansfield School Games organiser said “This is a fantastic opportunity that will support the students and local clubs as well. Sports involved include rugby union, tennis, taekwondo and gymnastics.”

A cheerleading team will experience the magic of Disneyland Paris when they take part in an international cheer and dance competition November.

And the 776 Gymnastics team has been given a helping hand by the Armchair Club, a group of local people who support sports clubs and individuals.

776 Gymnastics, which has bases in Mansfield and Newark, received £500 from the Armchair Club Sports Foundation Trust development fund, which is jointly supported by Mansfield Building Society.

When the 776 Gymnastics Junior Cheer team — 16 chilren and four coaches — goes to Paris for the Future Cheer competition it will be the first time that 776 has had the opportunity to compete at international level.

The youngsters are increasing their training schedule to help perfect routines and skills.

Gymnastics coach and owner Kelly Westwood, who thanked the Armchair Club for the donation, said: “We would like our children to have the same opportunities as others and this is such a big dream come true for them.

“We are doing all we can to help these children on their way to represent Mansfield at an international competition.”

As well as the donation, the club has started to help families raise money for the trip, including three coaches tackling a sponsored Three Peaks challenge, and a cheer display for parents that added £400 to the Paris fund.

Two parents are also making gifts and holding weekly tombolas, raising hundreds of pounds so far, while children at the club completed a sponsored run.

YU! Martial Arts Collective, more commonly known as YuMac, are the latest sporting group to benefit from a grant from the Armchair Club, a group of local business people who support sports clubs and individuals

A cheque presentation of £500, funded jointly by the Armchair Club and the Mansfield Building Society, has been made to YuMac.  The partnership between the Armchair Club and Mansfield Building Society has recently been established to identify and support local sports clubs with their youth development plans.

The photo shows members of YuMac along with Geoff Waller, and Kelly Weatherer from Mansfield Building Society at the Intake Business Centre on Kirkland Avenue in Mansfield where the club are based,

https://www.yumac.co.uk/

Mansfield Woodhouse’s Brandon Lee is the recipient of the latest grant made by the Armchair Club, a group of local businessmen and women who raise funds to support aspiring athletes across Mansfield & Ashfield.

This is the second grant made to Brandon, the first was in January 2023, since when Brandon has gone on to represent GB at a junior level in an international competition in Loughborough. He is now ranked number one in the U20 triple jump in the UK. He is also the Midland indoor champion in his age group.

Brandon also went on to win the national indoor championships in February too. In the outdoor season, Brandon has made his mark by winning the English Schools Championships as well as the outdoor

national championships. Brandon now commutes to London once a week to train with a top UK coach.

The grant will help meet transport costs and enable Brandon to pay competition entry fee’s as well as accommodation costs for events, and training equipment.

Our photo shows Brandon being presented with a cheque for £500 from Armchair Club members Geoff Waller and Stewart Rickersey at the Berry Hill track, the home of Mansfield Harriers, where Brandon is a member.

Mansfield Triathlon Club are the latest sporting group to benefit from a grant from the Armchair Club.

Mansfield Triathlon Club run an active junior section, and offer bike hire to those who don’t own bikes so that they can take part.  The £250 grant will be used to service and repair the bikes for the juniors to continue training.  The club currently owns 18 bikes, with 13 being out on hire to children.  When each annual hire contract ends, the club will get their bikes serviced and in better working order for the following season. Regular servicing is important so that time spent repairing chairs or gears and brakes which take up session time on Saturdays is minimised, thus reducing the time the children miss out on vital training time.

The photo shows members of Mansfield Triathlon Club along with Geoff Waller, Emma Curry, and Andrew Saunders from the Armchair Club at the Forest Town Arena where the club are based.

Thank you to the Armchair Club who recently supported Edward Sankey from Garibaldi school with his journey to the English Schools Athletics Competition in Birmingham.

As a School Games Organiser, it was a pleasure to support Edward and present a cheque to contribute to the expenses of this elite level competition where Edward came 3^rd in the 2000m Steeplechase.

Edward has been a great role model both in the school and at the club and has recently supported the School Athletics events with his school.

Nicki Biggs
School Games Organiser

As the fencing season comes to an end, I felt that it would be an ideal time to give you an update on how Dylan has progressed in his first U14 category season.

Dylan’s main goal for this season was to maintain his top 15 England ranking by performing well domestically, ensuring his selection to fence internationally with the England squad.

Dylan fulfilled this goal and was selected for both England squads, travelling to Croatia and Switzerland. He finished in the final 32 in Croatia (21st) and final 64 in Switzerland (35th).

Domestically, Dylan not only finished in the top 15 but finished ranked 2nd in England and 4th in Great Britain. Along the way he had many podium finishes and won silver in the England Youth Championships and finished 9th at the British Youth Championships.

Dylan and I would like to thank you for your support this season. He is excited for the new season in September and will be training hard in Budapest this summer to continually improve his performance in preparation for his second year in the U14 category and already has a performance plan in place to aid his transition to the U17’s (cadets).

Kind regards,
Kim – Dylan’s Mum