Sport Yorkshire SY01 Web | Page 12

Battyeford FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/SPORTYORKSHIRE 1 Battyeford SPORTING CLUB Battyeford Sporting Club was founded in 1973 by a local painter and decorator, the late Stan Rowlands. It has evolved greatly over the years and now has 31 teams across the Boys and Girls sections ranging from development squads to Open Age Men and our relatively newly formed Walking Footballers. We have around 400 players signed on with an aim to involve children and adults of all ages and abilities to play and coach football. The club has a committee of ten Executives who ensure the smooth running of the club. We are a very close group who meet monthly at the clubhouse but I bet there isn’t one day goes by where there isn’t some sort of communication between us, organising fixtures, referees, player signing on and league matters. It’s a never-ending job but worthwhile to see happy kids playing football. The club faces many challenging and rewarding times. The most challenging 12 Issue 01 time in recent years was during the floods on Boxing Day 2015, when the river Calder burst its banks and flooded the fields, causing over £100,000 of damage to the clubhouse. Over the last three years we have managed to get the clubhouse back to its original condition, only for the recent threat of flood to cause continued concern. However, the recently purchased flood defence barriers prevented any damage when the river once again flooded the field in March this year. The most rewarding times are knowing that we are supporting our local community by not only providing an opportunity for local people to play and coach football but also by the activities organised away from the normal running of a football club. Our Boys and Girls regularly attend short breaks playing football. There has traditionally been an annual trip to Holland for our U15 Boys teams to compete against other European teams.