News

Nunthorpe Eagles play Argentine International! - Feb 2010

Stokesley Leisure Centre hosted international volleyball when one of Argentina’s most prestigious schools, St Andrews Scots School of Buenos Aires, played matches against players from the Nunthorpe Eagles VC and Stokesley School. St Andrews School prides itself upon its excellent extracurricular activities and this top fee paying school currently has football, rugby, hockey, volleyball, basketball teams and an orchestra in Britain. Prior to arriving at Stokesley, they had beaten one of County Durhams best private schools at volleyball.

Before the match, U15 Girls Captain Alice Walton (Nunthorpe Eagles VC & Stokesley School) made a presentation on behalf of everyone and this gesture was also carried out by the visitors in thanking all their hosts.

In the U15 match, the local girls took the lead and kept it in what turned out to be a thrilling first set in which they triumphed 25-22. Front court hitter Rebecca Chalk (Nunthorpe VC) kept racking up the points for the home team but the Argentines came back strongly and started to catch up. The Laffan twins Rebecca & Catherine (NVC) linked up to score points from other angles on court to re-establish a lead for the home team. The second set was another close game but this time the visitors triumphed with a 25-21 victory. Third set, the Argentineans went into a commanding lead but attacks by Joanne Connolly (NVC) helped start the fight back. The local girls kept catching up and looked to be the team in form as the game came to a climax but all credit to the visitors in holding their nerve right at the end to clinch a win.

The Under 18’s match was a different story; the Nunthorpe Eagles team (A Huntsman, L Cheung, K Martin, E Aitken, E Gordon, R McManus) established themselves quickly and won the first set a comfortable 25-9. Stokesley School PE teacher was drafted in to help the Argentines in the second set and a closer game ensued but the home side were clear winners 25-15.

The evening finished with a mixed side game of volleyball giving the girls a chance to share experiences and build friendships. Next year, maybe they will be playing return matches in Buenos Aries!

Yorkshire Ladies Premier League

23-Sep-2009 - The first match for the Eagles against the mighty Leeds Met team of primarily NVL players. The squad included Lauren & Lydia Sweeting from Haughton but otherwise was all Eagles players. First set, the Eagles team seemed to catch the Leeds team off guard and the first few points went to the Eagles. However the Leeds team composed themselves and pulled the points back and then slowly moved ahead. First set to Leeds 25-15. Second set and settled in, Leeds forged ahead with some very strong serving and took the set 25-04. Third set, the Eagles put on a strong performance but slowly succumbed to the strength of the Leeds side and lost the set 25-14 and with it, the match. The most unexpected outcome from this match was not the losing but the quality of play from the Eagles. We never expected to come away with a victory against such a strong opposition but the scores in the first & third set gave an indication of the future potential of the Eagles team.

York Volleyfest - July 2009

(From YVA -report, North Riding were Nunthorpe Eagles club members entry)

It was a great day of friendly, competitive volleyball at the Yorkshire leg of VolleyFest 2009, held in York. The adult competition, 4-a-side mixed teams, attracted 24 teams from all over the North of England, including Manchester, Worksop, Liverpool and Middlesbrough.

The junior 4-a-side competitions attracted 14 teams, playing in Under 16 Girls, Under 16 Boys and Under 14 Mixed divisions. Despite the forecast, the weather was great, with sunshine and, amazingly, no rain at all!

The main final was again contested by 2 teams from West Yorkshire. Leeds Bunch beat local rivals Pow Pow Boom (Cleckheaton).

The Plate winners were Worksop, beating the Haughton Young Gits in a close match.

The Under 16 Boys competition was played as a double round robin, with all teams playing 8 matches. Worksop took the honours, with a talented pair from St Mary's College, Hull finishing 2nd.

In the Under 16 Girls competition the top 2 places were decided in the very last match, with North Riding Eagles, from Whitby, beating Worksop into 2nd place, in a tight 25-22 score.

In the Under 14s, the North Riding Eagle swept the board, with their Under 14 Girls team winning so easily that they were promoted into the Under 16 Girls competition. Runners-up were the Eagles Under 14 Boys team.

More importantly, all the teams played all day long. There was a separate Plate competition for the teams that didn't finish 1st or 2nd in the initial pool stages, which kept everyone motivated to play their best.

EVA National Knockouts - 07-Mar-2009

Nunthorpe Eagles U16 Girls travelled to Nottingham University on Friday night ready for the last eight knockout on Saturday. Drawn in Group A, the girls had to play Tettenhall Tigers first. After a slow start, and falling five points behind Tettenhall, the girls rallied themselves and took the set 25-23. Second set they started well but couldn't seem to find the same grit and after a brief lead, let it slip away. Final set, once again, the girls let Tettenhall pull a few points lead and after a brave struggle to catch up after a change of ends at 5-8 down, the girls lost the set 11-15. Next match against Ashcombe, the girls never really showed their true potential and although coming very close to beating Ashcombe in one of the sets, conceded the match 0-2 and with it the opportunity to make it to the semi-finals. Final match against Richmond and with nothing to lose, the girls strolled to a 2-0 victory! In spite of the disappointment at not making it to the semi-finals, which could have been a real possibility if we had managed to play our best volleyball throughout, the girls finished a very commendable joint 5th and lets face it, 5th best U16 Girls team in the country is something to be really proud of - well done to all!! Squad: Rachael McManus (C); Emma Gordon; Rachel Matkin; Emily Aitken; Jenny Chapman; Ashleigh Huntsman; Caroline & Rebecca Laffan; Lorna Cheung; Magna; Amy Rout; Coach: Dave McManus; Manager: Colin Gordon. Supporters: Cheung family, Laffan family.

EVA National Knockouts - 19-Jan-2009

Nunthorpe Eagles Volleyball Club U16 Girls make it through to the last eight in the National Knockout. The squad travelled to Tameside in Manchester this Sunday to play against two Tameside teams and one Moorside team to determine who would go through to the final eight in March at Nottingham University. After a hard fought contest, the girls came through in second place to Tameside A. Squad: Emily Aitken, Emma Gordon, Ashleigh Huntsman, Rachel Matkin, Rachael McManus, Amy Rout, Jenny Thompson.

EVA National Knockouts

Nunthorpe Eagles Volleyball Club U16 and U18 girls win through the first rounds of the English Volleyball Association National Knockout Championship with decisive wins against Middlesbrough/Acklam and Newcastle Staffs (U18) and Middlesbrough/Acklam, Marske and Tynedale (U16). Next round in January!

Nunthorpe Volleyball Club duo win U16 Beach Volleyball, Brighton

Posted by Volleyball club blogger on September 2, 2008 10:14 PM
Once again the North East triumphs by winning the NIVEA SUN VEBT U16 Junior Championships in Brighton on Aug 29th.
As reported on the Yellowave website (www.yellowave.co.uk), "What a great day and some fantastic play from youngsters from across the UK. Britain certainly has some great up and coming teams for 2012 and beyond". Winners Rachael McManus and Emma Gordon, pictured, from Nunthorpe Eagles Volleyball Club (www.nunthorpe.com) had something to be proud of, especially as they were also winners of the U14 tournament last year. They did the area proud and it is worthy of note that club players Catherine and Rebecca Laffan, both just 12 years old, played in the U16 competition and secured forth place - a pair to watch for in future years!

U16 Girls
1st Rachel McManus & Emma Gordon
2nd Sian Warren & Megan Warren
3rd Emma Johnston & Nicola Foster

Volleyball England Interregional Competition, Nottingham University 3-5th May 2008 - U16 Girls - a squad of twelve were selected by NEVA to represent the North East at the Interregional. Of the twelve, six were full members of Nunthorpe Eagles (Rachel Matkin, Emily Aitkin, Amy Rout, Kirsty Martin, Rachel McManus and Kirsty Martin). Sarah Naylor also attended in support. With one team absent the tournament became a round-robin making it a straight fight for maximum points to win. Disappointingly, early points deficit in crucial sets against both North West and West Midlands could not be made up. The net result was a defeat at the hands of the North West (who basically fielded Tameside) and defeat against the ultimate winners, West Midlands. With the girls winning all their other matches, third place was secured. This in itself is a fantastic achievement for the region and we should be especially proud of the Nunthorpe girls who took part. It is just that little bit disappointing that maybe, with some alternative choice of player against these two teams, second or even first place was within our grasp. See the Gallery for images of this and the U17 boys matches.

Ian Berry Tournament - 20 April 2008 - A valiant effort by both the Open (non-National League Players) and Ladies team entries for the Eagles saw the teams get through to the semi's and finals respectively. The open team squad was Anthony Laffan, Chris & Amy Rout, Jonny McManus, Tom Allen, Dan Mercurio, Tom & Colin Gordon. Winning through by one point over Haughton, they worked hard against Concordia but having lost a few points at the start of the match could not make the ground back up again. The Ladies squad was Sarah Naylor, Nikki Attah, Jess Smith, Vicky Archard, Rachael McManus, Kirsty Martin & Emma Gordon. Playing some great volleyball, the girls won through to the finals but could not quite overcome the consistent play of Newcastle University and lost by a small margin. Ian Berry was present all day and conducted the awards ceremony. Thanks were given to Dave Coates & Lez Shepherd for organising the day. Overall the tournament was a fun day and it was great to see so many fellow volleyball players.

U15 National Finals (Girls) - 30 March 2008 - An early start for the Nunthorpe Girls, setting off for Birmingham University at 06:30 after the clocks had gone forward an hour. First match against a strong Newcastle Staffs side with the girls still a little travel weary saw them lose 15-25, 22-25. Next match with all still to play for to qualify second in the group against Wessex, our girls were the stronger side but let the first set slip away 24-25. Second set was a different story and they won convincingly 25-17. Third match against Ashcombe, both sets were down to the wire with Nunthorpe winning the first 25-23 and losing the second 23-25. Overall, with Newcastle Staffs deserved winners of the group, second place went to Ashcombe with Nunthorpe third and Wessex fourth. It would be easy to be disappointed with the result knowing that a couple of extra points could have made a difference but it is still a great performance to make it to the quarter finals. Squad: Emily Aitkin, Emma Gordon, Jenny Little, Rachel Matkin, Rachael McManus, Amy Rout, Ria Wilkinson, 'Charlie'.

Nunthorpe Eagles Volleyball Club - One of Six finalists for VE Club of the Year Award 2008

U16 Girls National Knockout Quarter Finals - Saturday 8th March 2008 - An early start (06:30) to set off for the Quarter Finals in Nottingham. Drawn in Group A, the first match for the girls after adjudicating for the first, was against Tettenhall Tigers. This was a strong side with some big hitters but our girls had their hearts set on victory from the start. They took the lead and held on to it to the end with some great three-touch volleyball taking the first set 25-16. Second set, Tettenhall fought back with the game going point for point to 14 all. Nunthorpe then started to assert themselves with some strong and consistent serving, pulled out a lead and took the second set, and the match 25-17. Sadly a different story for their second match against Tameside 'A' as the self belief disappeared! After a good start and edging out a few points lead, our girls abandoned the three touch volleyball and strong hitting that had served them so well in the first match and allowed Tameside to dictate the game and take both sets comfortably. Although Tameside have no obvious 'stars', they play as a very cohesive team and the fact that their girls play regularly together as a squad showed. Third match against Boswell, our girls needed to win to qualify for the semi's. First set our girls made an excellent start and opened up a good lead. Boswell fought back well but Nunthorpe kept their cool and took the set 25-23. The second set was a different story with Boswell continuing the fight back they made in the first set our girls never got into their stride and let the set slip away 13-25. Final set, with all to play for, the set went point for point all the way but disappointingly, a netted serve and volley lost them the set 17-19. With Tameside 'A' the clear winners in the group and the other teams all having beaten each other, a count-back on points was required to decide second place for a place in the semi's and by a small margin, Nunthorpe lost out. Although bowing out in the quarter finals, this was a fantastic performance by the Nunthorpe team and one they should be proud of as they were a very young side with almost the whole squad still qualifying for the U15's. The squad on the day: Kirsty Martin (Capt), Natasha Kawndele, Amy Rout, Emily Aitken, Rachel Matkin, Emma Gordon, Rachael McManus of Nunthorpe VBC and Laura Pearson (Haughton), Jenny Little (Marske), Rhia Wilkinson (Marske). Coach: Dave McManus. Colin Gordon

19 Feb 2008 - Report from the Evening Gazette - STOKESLEY Leisure Centre has been recognised as a regional volleyball centre - giving players in the area the chance to train and compete at the top level in the sport. The facility has already seen success. In partnership with Stokesley School, the centre hosted the regional qualifier for the national Under-14 volleyball cup. The English Volleyball Association tournament, open to teams in Humberside, York, South, West and North Yorkshire, saw 12 teams battle it out to get through to the finals in London next month. Stokesley fought it out with Featherstone in the final game, with the Hambleton team victorious - securing a boys and a girls team at the national finals. And Stokesley School pupil Rebecca Chalk was also selected to play in the finals as part of a team. Posted by Fiona - Administrator on February 18, 2008 1:41 PM | Permalink

02 Feb 2008 - National U15 Girls Knockout, Sugden Sports Centre, Manchester - Another trip to Manchester for the Nunthorpe team and another success coming second and securing a place in the Nationals Final Eights on 30th March 2008. First match the girls played St Edmonds and won in two sets. Next up were Moorside who were again despatched in two sets. Tameside 'A' proved to be a much more difficult proposition and although they played well, were beaten in two sets. Final match of the day and needing to win to go through to the last eight was against Tameside 'B'. This was the girls forth consecutive match and they were begining to tire both physically and mentally. As time was short the first two sets were to 15 and went one a piece as Nunthorpe struggled with their form. However, after a firm pep talk from their coach they set about the final set with determination to win and took the final set 7-5. Well done to Emma G (capt), Amy R, Rachel M, , Emily A, Jenny T, Jenny L, Ria, and Charlie. Also to Rachael Mc who was injured and could not play but supported well and should be back for the final!

27 Jan 2008 - Yorkshire U14 Regional/National Championship - Deprived of the opportunity to enter the U14 Regional Championships as a club due to the competition scheduling during school times in the TVVA region, a number of the Yorkshire based club members dispersed to play through their schools in Yorkshire at a the Sunday tournament organised by the club Chairman Anthony Laffan and hosted at Stokesley School. The tournament was an overwhelming success for the local teams and with the Nunthorpe Eagles represented in strength in both the Stokesley School and Danby teams, the results speak for themselves - Girls: Stokesley C, Danby, Stokesley A, Featherstone A, B & C, Stokesley B taking places 1 - 7 respectively. Boys: Stokesley A, B, D and C taking places 1 to 4. The winners go forward to the National Finals at Ernest Bevin College: Boys U14s - Saturday 1st March 2008, Girls U14s - Sunday 2nd March 2008.

19 Jan 2008 - Nunthorpe Volleyball Club U16 Girls - through to the last eight in the National Knockouts - Round 2 of the English Volleyball Association (EVA) Under 16 Girls National Knockout brought three teams to Nunthorpe on Saturday 19th January to determine which two of the four would go through to the last eight of the knockout. The first match started badly for Nunthorpe with an early injury and defeat to Newcastle (Staffs) but showing their resolve and tenancity, the team regrouped and comfortably beat Moorside 'B'. Their third match against Moorside 'A' demanded a win to ensure qualification. The team played their best volleyball of the day and proved their worth with a tense and exciting victory that made them second overall and put them through to the next round!

24 Nov 2007 - NEVA Ladies Round 2 - A great day for Nunthorpe with both teams doing well. Nunthorpe Alpha worked hard every match and only went down to Middlesbrough College. However as runners up in their section, Nunthorpe Alpha won through to the finals and in a breathtaking timed final against Tynedale, the scores were tied. A further sudden death first to five points was played and Tynedale went ahead 3-1. However, with some under pressure serving followed by some strong hitting, Nunthorpe Alpha overcame Tynedale to win the day 5-4. Nunthorpe Gamma, whilst slightly eclipsed on the day by Alpha, played some strong volleyball and came away with a respectable 6 points to take forward to the next round.

22-Oct-2007 - National League Volleyball, Ladies Division 3 North - Yesterday The Teesvalley team travelled to their first away matches of the season to play Chester and Wirral. This is a development squad with the youngest players at 14 years old and the oldest just 26. Having won the first fixture at home to Loughborough University 2 weeks ago, travelling to Chester was a new experience for these young girls. The team had already lost their first setter, Lauren Sweeting, who underwent a shoulder operation 2 days after the home fixture, and so had to re-organise for the season without her. The first match against Chester went to 5 sets with the Teesvalley girls displaying some tremendous attacks and court covering, eventually taking the 5th set 18-16, against a much more experienced team. The next game against Wirral looked to be a more difficult task, who again were much more experienced and we lost the first set. Undaunted the girls picked up their game to win the next 3 sets with some great volleyball. Winning the first 3 games is a fine start to the season and all the team worked so hard for each other. Nikki Attah was voted the ‘most valuable player’ by the opposition in both games. The rest of the squad is; Emma Gordon, Sarah Naylor, Lydia Sweeting, Laura Cave, Rachel Moody, Rachael McManus, Kirsty Martin, Vicky Archard, Laura Pearson and Jenny Little. Jackson Sweeting

10-June-2007-Redcar Beach Tournament - a blisteringly hot day and some blistering results for the Nunthorpe Eagles! In the U11 group, Nunthorpe girls Catherine & Rebecca displayed skill & determination winning the U11 3-a-side competition as a pair. The girls remained focused throughout playing excellent volleys and brilliant serves. Well deserved winners! In the U14 girls group the Nunthorpe girls Amy R, Rachel B, Emily W, Emma G & Rachael M show their dominance and secured first place beating Marske in the final. In the U16 girls group Vicky & Jess scooped another first place for Nunthorpe as did U18 boys Jonny M & Thomas G who had an impressive start beating two National League players 15-14 in their first match. Overall, give changes to the age groupings this year, the Nunthorpe teams did exceptional well and everyone who took part should be proud of their achievements. See the gallery for images from the day.

April 2007 - National League, Men's 3 North - Congratulations to the Middlesbrough Mavericks who secured third place this year. This is their best result ever and they narrowly missed out on a promotion play off position. See the EVA Website for more details - follow the links on the home page of this site.

17th March 2007 - U16 Girls, National Knockout Final 8, Loughborough - What a fantastic performance by our Under 16 Girls who secured a well deserved third place. The team (Amy R, Rachel P, Sarah N, Emma G, Rachael M, Abbie O, Jess S, Vicky A, Polly S, Kirsty M, Kirsty L, Becky B, Alex W & coach Dave M) travelled down on the Friday evening arriving in time to head off to the local Pizza Hut for the evening meal. Excellent service was provided by waiter (Benny) and the evening had the added attraction of being Vicky's birthday!! This resulted in the team being presented with balloons and Vicky an extra slice of chocolate cake to supplement her six slices of pizza! First match Nunthorpe played Wiltshire Mavericks, the girls started slowly, perhaps it was all the pizza, and lost the first set 25-22. Next set they started to settle in but were just beaten 26-24, both sets being lost largely due to some uncharacteristic poor serving. Not a good start, but gave the girls a wake-up call. Second match was against Tameside 'B', the girls were up for it from the start, taking the lead and romping away to a 25-14 win. Next set went point for point to 11-11 then Nunthorpe established their superiority and took the second set 25-14. Third match, first set against St Edwards with the girls well in their stride was taken 25-16. The second set was more-or-less point for point with a small Nunthorpe lead until around 18-16 when some super serving took Nunthorpe to a 25-18 victory. The final results for Pool 'A' were: 1: Wiltshire Mavericks; 2: Nunthorpe; 3: Tameside 'B'; 4: St Edwards. Pool 'B': 1: Tameside 'A'; 2: Ashcombe; 3: Boswells; 4: Moorside. For the Pool play-offs, Nunthorpe played Pool 'B' winners Tameside 'A'. The play-off started well with Nunthorpe establishing a small lead which was held to 20 points. With some strong serving Tameside fought back and overtook Nunthorpe to lead 24-20. Nunthorpe responded and pulled back to 23-24 but lost the final point and the first set 23-25. After such a close call for the first set, the team were a little deflated and allowed Tameside to dictate the play in the second set. Tameside opened up a lead and held on to it to take the second set and with it a place in the final, 25-15. It has to be said that the team was disappointed with third place as for a moment it looked like they may have beaten Tameside 'A' and had the team been at full strength - who knows? But at the end of the day, the girls performance was brilliant, they gave it their all and they can all walk away with their heads held high as the third best U16 Girls in the country! Thanks must also go to Ian & wife, Alyson, Colin & Linda who provided excellent and very noisy support for the team. Colin Gordon.

3rd February 2007 - There's no stopping the Pink Girlies. The team from Redcar & Cleveland (Marske & Nunthorpe Volleyball Clubs) have qualified for the EVA U-15 Championship finals. The Pink Girlies won three of their four games convincingly at the qualifying tournament in Manchester. They only lost to Tameside 'A', who also reached the last eight. The national finals are in Worcester in March. The Pink Girlies are already in full training as the build up to their big test. The Squad: Emma Gordon, Jenny Little, Rachel McManus, Kirsty Martin, Clare Menzies, Sarah Whalley, Charlotte Whalley, Alex Worrall.

27th January 2007 - Birmingham

7th October 2006 - NEVA Ladies Round 1 - A good performance by both Nunthorpe teams but a disappointing outcome as neither team made it to the semi's. Nunthorpe 1 playing as a team for the first time had the usual problems a new team has of learning to work together but showed promise for future rounds. Nunthorpe 2, a younger team but experienced as a team performed better and narrowly missed qualifying for the semi's. Looking forward to Round 2.... See the photo gallery. Colin Gordon

2nd September 2006 - England Beach Volleyball Invitational Tournament

The first England Beach Volleyball Invitational Tournament took place on Saturday 2nd September 2006 at Brighton Beach. Each English region was invited to send representative teams to play in various competitions including the Under 14 Girls competition. Representing the North East and coached by David McManus were three local girls from the Nunthorpe Eagles Volleyball Club; Kirsty Martin, Emma Gordon and Rachael McManus.

In less than ideal weather conditions of blustery wind and rain, the girls won through to the finals play-off where they were matched against the home South West region. The final was a display of grit, determination and skill in weather conditions of horizontal rain. The first two sets went both ways 16-14 and 14-16 but our girls raised their play in the final set taking an initial 11-0 lead. However, the opposition fought back to close the gap before the Nunthorpe girls played out the set 15-7 to take the match and first place.

England Beach Volleyball Commission President Mark Kontopoulos remarked " I am pleased to see so many young, talented and enthusiastic players enjoying themselves out there. These are the age groups we should be watching very closely for talent identification, development and training."

As Beach volleyball is an Olympic event, it is hoped this could be the first step for these girls on the ladder to this pinnacle of sporting achievements, the ability and opportunity to play in the 2012 Olympic Games.

22nd July 2006 - Tynemouth Beach Volleyball Tournament - Another great performance by the Nunthorpe teams on a hot Saturday. Nunthorpe entered four teams - two U16 girls, one U14 girls and one U16 boys. The U16 & U14 girls played in a combined pool. After completing the pool round, the U14 girls (Emma Gordon, Rachael McManus & Amy Rout) had only lost one match to Nunthorpe B team (Rachel Powson, Vicky Archard, Laura Rout) who had won all their matches and Nunthorpe C (Kirsty Lang, Becky Brown & Polly Sewell) just dropped the one match to Nunthorpe A. The finals saw Nunthorpe A play Acklam girls, Nunthorpe A winning decisively 15-10, 15-11. Nunthorpe B vs. Nunthorpe C with Nunthorpe B winning 21-18. Meanwhile, the U16 boys worked their way to the final unbeaten and completed the day by wining the final against Hexham. Colin Gordon

9th July 2006 - Redcar Beach Volleyball Tournament - Results reported under TVVA Match Reports

1st & 2nd July 2006 - Pontins, Southport - A great performance by the Nunthorpe teams on a really hot weekend. The Under 15 Girls - Kirsty Lang (capt.), Sarah Naylor, Rachel Powson, Kirsty Martin, Becky Brown & Claire (Marske), completed the Saturday Pool on top, dropping just one set to Cleobury 'A' whilst beating Moorside, Conyers, Tameside 'B' and Tettenhall in both of the two set matches. On the Sunday, the girls put up a great performance beating Pensby & Tameside 'B' leaving both Nunthorpe & Tameside 'A' unbeaten to play the final round for the first & second places. The girls put up a great fight against a strong Tameside team but unfortunately could not match the strength of the Tameside girls and lost both sets & the final to the Tameside team.
Meanwhile, the U13 girls were making short work of their opponents! The girls played consistently even against the Tettenhall girls who it must be said looked an extremely strong side for thirteen year olds!! However, in spite of this, the Nunthorpe girls triumphed and took first place.
Unfortunately for the U15 boys, there were only two entrants - Cleobury & Marske, the Nunthorpe boys joining Marske to make up a team However, they played 3-a-side on the Saturday & won (Thomas Gordon, Steve Grainger & Jonathan McManus) but were beaten into second place by Cleobury on the Sunday.
Overall the weekend was great fun for all with the hottest weather we have ever had. Local teams Nunthorpe, Marske & Conyers travelled together on the same coach with Acklam taking so many they needed a coach of their own! It was the first year that Marske & Conyers have taken part at Pontins & good to have them along. Colin Gordon.

14-May-2006 - Ian Berry Tournament - well done to Nunthorpe who came runner's up in both the Ladies and NEVA Cup and put up a creditable performance in the Open. This was the forth round of the Ladies Tournament of which most of the girls of Nunthorpe had taken part in. This final round was played by Sarah Naylor, Rebecca Brown, Emma Gordon, Rachael McManus, Rachel Powson, Laura Rout, Kirsty Martin, Kirsty Lang, Alex & Vicky Worrall. All played well and gained sufficient additional points to take them to the final at the end of the day. The second place was well deserved, particularly when you look at the age and team profile of the opposition. The winners Haughton, fielding a team primarily (if not exclusively) of National League players. The Nunthorpe NEVA Cup team were incredibly unlucky not to win the cup, putting up a sterling performance against the Haughton team. The match was stopped for three minutes following a Haughton team player injury at 19-20. On completion of the game, the Haughton team won the last point to win 26-25. The Nunthorpe team line up - Mick & Paul Welsh, David Black, Stephen Hall, Thomas Atkinson, Will Milburn, Ian Potts, Martin Wain, Matthew Haycroft. Nunthorpe Open team - Dan Mercurio, Thomas Gordon, Helen McManus, Jonathan McManus, Sally Nicholson, Michael & Stephen Granger & Jonny Whitwell. Report - Colin Gordon (see the Gallery for the NEVA Cup & most of the Ladies players group photo).

5th May 2006 - Nunthorpe Meet Accreditation! - After a fantastic season, growing Volleyball Club Nunthorpe are the latest club to have hit Volley 1 Accreditation this week.

The English Volleyball Association is proud to announce Nunthorpe Volleyball Club as reaching their hard earned accreditation level. Having had a successful year with their Junior Under 15 Girls coming in at a strong third place in the National Finals, the club have a growing number of members and has upped their game this year which is reflected in this recent news.

“We are pleased to have made accreditation and to be recognised for our efforts to become a safe and responsible club” says Graham Worrall, Club Chairman.

12-Mar-2006 - U15 Girls, National Finals, Worcester - A fantastic performance by the Nunthorpe girls saw them secure a third place after losing to Tameside in the semi-finals. The team of eight (Kirsty Lang (Capt), Sarah Naylor, Rachael Powson, Becky Brown, Kirsty Martin, Rachael McManus, Emma Gordon & Amy Rout), coach Dave McManus and club members Colin & Linda Martin, Alyson McManus & Colin Gordon travelled to Worcester on Saturday. The girls played their opening match at 10:30 on Sunday morning. First match against Devizes the girls showed their true talent winning both sets comfortably 25-13 & 25-15 to take 2 points. Second match against Cleobury they again won both sets 25-16 & 25-17. Third match which followed straight on, was against a strong Ashcombe side. They put up a tremendous fight with many long rallies but succumbed in both sets 20-25 & 15-25. However, this gave the girls 4 points which was enough to take second place in the pool, Ashcombe winning the pool on 6 points. In the semi-finals, having come runner's up in the pool, they had to play a strong Tameside team of about a dozen players. Unfortunately, after a good opening few points, the girls slipped behind in the first set and lost it 11-25. Second set went almost point for point into the late teens but Tameside then managed to win a few crucial serves and crept ahead taking the set 21-25 and with it a place in the finals. This was a brilliant performance by the girls and we are all proud of them. Colin Gordon

19-Nov-2005 - North West U14 Girls Tournament - A team of five (Kirsty M, Hannah K, Emma G, Alex W, Rachel Mc) travelled to Birkenhead (7:00am start!) to represent Nunthorpe Eagles. Some great team play saw the girls through to the semi-finals with just two games lost to Moorside 1, 24-25, 24-25. The skill and tenacity of the Nunthorpe side kept a cocky Moorside team on their toes and both games could just as easily have gone to Nunthorpe. Having lost to Moorside 1, Nunthorpe then had to play the stronger of the teams in the semi's and were pitched against a tough Tameside team. Although they put up a brave fight, after losing by such a narrow margin to Moorside 1, their spirits were a little dampened and the 3-touch play slipped. Tameside capitalised on this and the much bigger side powered their way to victory. Overall, this was a fantastic performance given the age of the team and a result they should all be proud of. Colin Gordon

17-Nov-2005 - At the very prestigious Northern sports personality awards tonight, we were delighted to be present to see Ian Berry be presented not only as his category winner, but overall winner of the evening. This presentation was in front of approx 500 people (with personalities like Steve Gibson) who have achieved incredible heights in sport. A fantastic night for Ian and of course for volleyball in the North.

12-Nov-2005 - To all you juniors who have had Ian Berry help coach you recently, this is an article written for 'Grass Roots' about Ian: Ian Berry - Ambassador for Volleyball in the North East for over 25 years, dedicated his life since the 1970’s to coaching, promoting, refereeing, administering and encouraging Volleyball. Represents Sport England and English Volleyball amongst other national bodies and effortlessly encourages young players to become more involved. Coached his own children in Volleyball with daughter Wendy becoming England Captain for numerous years in European competition. Ian led a successful bid (with Sport England) to host international volleyball here in the North East for the first time outside London and over the years has taken the game to a level once unheard of. Through his work with schools in the region, the North East now has a very strong junior set up, regularly competing nationally. This has been recognised by the English Volleyball Association who have singled the North East out for Sporting Excellence. It goes without saying that Ian is the tower for the entire Volleyball community in the North East, for his dedication and success Volleyball will be forever grateful. Follow this link for more details: This is The North East

22-Oct-2005 - NEVA Ladies Tournament, Round One
- A very good day for the young Nunthorpe squad if not a little disappointing at the end! The squad (Kirsty Lang (Capt), Kirsty Martin, Sarah Naylor, Becky Brown, Rachael McManus, Alex Worrall, Emma Gordon) was by far the youngest squad there but systematically defeated Tynedale (36-26), Marske (27-26), Middlesbrough College (41-33), Newcastle University (40-24), Haughton (38-29), leaving one match to play against Prior. This last match of the day effectively became the final as Prior had only lost one match. Unfortunately, the Nunthorpe team lost a few crucial points at the start of the match and perhaps their confidence slipped a little for the first time and although they fought back, they finally lost the match 20-42. With Prior and Nunthorpe having only lost one match each, the points difference came into play. Nunthorpe and Prior were also equal on points won, but Prior won the day on points conceded!

The Middlesbrough Mavericks National League team squad is as follows Paul Welsh (Capt) (4), Tom Atkinson (2), Simon Harsley(4), Lyndel St Ville (4), Matthew Haycroft (4), Luke Hegerty (4)(libero), Dan Martinez (2), Mick Welsh(4), Ian Potts (2),Will Milburn (2), Martin Wain (0), Michael Grainger(0), and soon to return from around the world Dave Black. Numbers in brackets show matches played this season up to date. We always need as much support as possible - Shaun Welsh has done a great job scoring, and we have had good support running the lines. Come and give us some loud support on the sidelines in our 3 home games after Christmas. Watch our progress in the EVA tables link. Martin Wain

18th Sept - Div 3, Nunthorpe Ancients vs Nunthorpe Juniors. First match of the season, A close run match with the juniors winning in the last set 15-12. Just two points difference between the two sides. Welcome to Kerry Gordon to the Ancients, she attended her first training session & played her first match on the same day!

AGM - 18th Sept.
Graham Worrall re-elected Chairman, Linda Martin re-elected Secretary, Colin Gordon - elected Treasurer.

AGM
Hi All,
A note to let you all know the AGM arranged for Sunday 4^th September has had to be re scheduled for Sunday 18^th September – same time, same place. 5pm (Before training). Awards, teams etc. Please do your best to attend and help your club make the decisions that affect you.
Please check your friends have this message in case I have missed anyone out!
Thanks
Linda Martin

Tynemouth Beach
Saturday 9th July 2005
After the mist cleared, a lovely hot day. Nunthorpe fielded three teams - the All Stars, Nomads and Camels. The All Stars won the U14, with the Nomads runners up. The Camels - took the hump!

Sunday 10th July 2005
Another hot day. Our 4 aside adult team did really well today. Second in morning group taking us into the top half for the afternoon. Second in group (losing to Haughton 27 - 25), taking us into the cross over semi finals. Played against a strong Newcastle side and despite reaching 15 - 15, we lost 25 -16 (what happened?)Newcastle overwhelmed their opponents in the final. Our team consisted of me, Gemma Nelson, Luke Heggerty and Tom Atkinson. My young Acklam team won the plate competition. Cheers Martin