NFA Announces £200,000 Investment to Support the Development of the Grassroots of Angling
19th May 2006The listing was posted by National Federation of Anglers
Terry Fell the President of The National Federation of Anglers at the NFA’s first AGM and Conference announced a £200,000 two year investment to support the development of angling clubs and the development of angling.
The Presidents speech focused on three areas:
- 1. The development of angling clubs
- 2. Support for angling clubs
- 3. Development of angling education
The NFA are backing the development of angling clubs by launching the Clubmark Scheme. This scheme backed and supported by Sport England will enable the NFA to accredit angling clubs providing assurance to schools and local authorities that clubs are fit for purpose. The scheme will carry the additional benefit of giving the accredited club an edge when applying for funding. Running alongside this development the NFA are introducing The Angling Club Development Fund. This fund utilising money from the sale of Halliday House will be open to NFA affiliated clubs will give small grants to pay for training and development and will be conditional on the club applying for partnership funding to enhance the value of fund. The NFA will support angling clubs through their preferential insurance scheme with Towergate Insurance. Through the new website (built by Nemisys & FixturesLive) to be launched during the summer the NFA will provide a valuable tool to develop club membership and link to the world’s most popular website www.bbc.co.uk. Additionally all riparian clubs will receive free group legal protection. This insurance provides cover against, legal defence, bodily injury, employment disputes, free helpline, statutory licence disputes, tax protection and property protection to guard against pollution incidents. Also provided free to riparian members affiliated clubs will be able to access free legal and fishery advice, provided by solicitors Herbert Mallam and Gower and Apem Aquatic Scientists. The NFA are assisting the development of angling education by launching a new educationally accredited Kingfisher Award. Already this year three hundred candidates have received the award. In partnership with the Salmon and Trout Association and the National Federation of Sea Anglers the NFA will launch a new Level One coaching course making it easier and cheaper to gather and train volunteers at grass root level. To enhance this work the NFA have just introduced the Positive Images Programme. This programme is open free of charge to disabled anglers claiming disability allowance, who are available to work in schools and with youth workers during the week. The objectives of the programme are to:
- 1) Create positive images of people with disabilities as coaches and leaders.
- 2) Enhance the therapeutic value of coaching by providing useful work that disabled anglers enjoy.
At the close of his speech Terry Fell stated, “Make no mistake – over two years this is a £200,000 investment in the development of angling.” Paul Baggaley the Chief Executive Officer commented that “As a National Governing Body we see the development of clubs and the sport as a key part of our work and this is where we will be spending our money in the future.”