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Mid season Hockey and Squash Report. (Dec.2002)
Having played 13 matches, Northern's men's squash teams, and club captain Steve Noakes, can relax and enjoy a mid-season break, with fixtures due to resume on 9th January. With seven men's teams in action each Thursday night, it can prove a difficult task for the captain to juggle players to ensure each team has a full compliment. So far this season, over fifty players have been called upon and anyone interested in playing team squash should contact Steve.
It has been a satisfactory season to date with the 3rds proving to be the most consistent. Presently they occupy top spot in Division 4 and promotion is a real possibility. The 1st team are currently in mid-table in Division 2 while the 2nds are still in contention, lying 3rd in Division 3. The 4ths, 5ths and 6ths sit happily in mid-table in their respective divisions and the 7ths are in 4th spot.
The ladies too are enjoying a good season, with the 1st team occupying fourth place in Division 2a, having won 9 out of 12 fixtures. The 2nds are fighting hard to maintain their place in the same division, while the 3rds are eighth in Division 3a.
In addition to its league teams, Northern runs around twenty squash mini-leagues offering regular games at all playing levels, and there are senior and junior ladders. The club also offers qualified coaching to juniors on Sunday afternoons.
The Annual Handicap Tournament, held in November, is open to all members and is organised to give social players every chance of victory against team players. This year's winner was 14-year-old Alex Cunningham, the youngest player ever to hold the Men's Title. The annual Club Championships, comprising of Men's, Ladies', Veterans', Junior and Plate Competitions will, as usual, take place in late February.
The Squash Christmas Dinner and Disco, held in the Clubhouse on Friday 13th December and organised by Sandra Cunningham, was a sell-out and proved a roaring success.
Meanwhile the men's hockey 1st team have maintained their winning run, sitting second in their division, and have progressed to the Lancashire Cup semi-final with an epic victory over Wigan after extra time. Jason Batty leads the goalscorers with 15, with Anthony Symondson on 14. The ladies suffered their first defeat of the season, narrowly going down 2-1 at fellow promotion favourites Prescot.
For fuller details see
Results and Reports.
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The Children's Christmas Party. (Dec.2002)
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Entertainment was provided by Mr Stix and assistant, in the form of magic and humour,
plus an eagerly awaited red-clad gentleman with long white beard.
Click here for more pictures.
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Snooker Doubles winners Neil Moody and John Nelson. (Nov.2002)
Congratulations to Snooker Doubles winners Neil Moody and John Nelson, who defeated reigning champions Barry Hyman and Ray Shimmin in the final.
Neil and John (left) are pictured receiving their trophy from Snooker Secretary Colin Rhind,
with the President, Mike Robinson, in attendance.
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Jubilee family picnic goes with a bounce. (Jun.2002)
A new event in the Northern calendar, the Golden Jubilee family picnic was a great success.
Organised by our neighbours, the Moor Park residents association, in conjunction with our own John Nelson,
the event ran throughout the Sunday afternoon of marquee week and was thoroughly enjoyed by young and not-so-young alike.
Entertainment was provided in the form of jazz and skiffle bands, and even some sea shanties.
There was no time for the kids to be bored, with circus tricks to learn, a fancy hat competition, face painting, bouncy castles, and much more.
Children's entertainer Mr.Stix was a great hit, with his magic and clown troupe.
Early indications are that both the Club and the Residents hope to repeat a similar event next year, jubilee or not!
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The Summer Ball. (Jun.2002)
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The presentation of Loyalty Awards. (Jun.2002)
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Sport England club strategy. (Apr.2002)
The club is affiliated to Sefton Sports Council, which in turn is affiliated to Sport England, whose consultation document is being discussed 'Developing a sports club strategy for England'.
In summary, the strategy aims, over the next five years or so, to build a more effective infrastructure through clubs, and their links to National Governing Bodies, schools and Local Authorities, and sport development agencies.
The principle is to make best use of the finite central resources available to sport, and to focus grants, coaching links, etc, where they will generate greatest benefit.
The Northern seems ideally positioned to embrace, and benefit from, the project if we chose to do so.
There is a risk that we will lose out if we do not.
Central to the strategy is a Clubmark, along the lines of the British Standard quality kite mark, recognising a safe, effective and child-friendly club environment.
Sports clubs which meet the criteria will be able to display the Clubmark logo, and use it as a valuable marketing tool to parents, teachers, coaches and children, who in turn will use it to determine the clubs that they will forge links with.
The strategy will also look at how clubs contribute to their local community and the wider sports development system.
A few one-liners, to give a flavour of the strategy document ...
There will need to be a process of prioritisation of resources … which clubs can most contribute to
delivering sports development outcomes and therefore receive most support from public sources.
Objective of the strategy is "to establish a distinction between those clubs that can contribute something to the strategy outcomes and those that can contribute significantly to the strategy outcomes" and to allocate resources accordingly,
and "to publicly recognise, value and reward clubs that are contributing to their communities and sport".
Any 'professional support' that might be proposed needs to bring added-value to sports clubs, where professional officers complement rather than
duplicate or take over the roles that are best filled by volunteers.
Standards and delivery mechanisms for "FUNclubs" and better coaching practice with Under 10s in sports specific clubs.
Processes to ensure safe practice in sports clubs, including the work of the Child Protection in Sport Unit.
Performance measures … such as
- the number of clubs that have an accreditation e.g. from Sport England Clubmark or NGB scheme
- the number of clubs with duty of care and child protection policies and practices
- the number of clubs with volunteer co-ordinators
- the qualifications of coaches working in clubs.
The strategy recognises that sports clubs need to
improve their infrastructures in order to ensure their viability and sustainability
and to contribute further to sports development; and that sports agencies will
need to work together to develop policies, funding regimes, programmes and
initiatives that can effectively support sports clubs.
The full text of the consultation document can be accessed from
the Sport England website (click here).
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Northern voted top ground. (Apr.2002)
With the new cricket season upon us, and the grounds once again looking in great shape, a belated 'well done' to the
groundstaff from last season.
Word has finally filtered through that the Northern Club was voted the top cricket ground in the Liverpool Competition
over last season.
Congratulations to Graham, Gary and Jack.
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Northern say goodbye to Kathy. (Apr.2002)
The club have said goodbye to Kathy, our longest serving member of the bar staff.
Kathy has decided to retire, after 19 years with the Northern.
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Kathy is pictured, during her final bar shift,
receiving a retirement gift and bouquet from the club.
Making the presentation is the Vice President John Watts,
accompanied by our club steward Gordon Robison.
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No doubt we will still see Kathy around Crosby.
Motorists are warned to take prompt evasive action if confronted by her on-coming bicycle!
We wish her a long and happy retirement.
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A bit of Northern's history.
The Northern Club was founded in 1859 and was called The Northern Cricket Club until 1961.
The first Clubhouse was situated in Rawson Road in Seaforth
and although the predominate sport was cricket, bowls was also played and the ladies indulged in archery.
In 1879 the Club re-located its premises north of Haigh Road, Waterloo Park.
In that year the President presented a bell to the Club which is still used to this day in the main pavilion.
A lawn tennis court was added to the amenities and additional grass and cinder courts were added later.
In 1888 the total membership was 70 compared to around 1000 today.
In 1907 the grounds of the Club were sold to an unscrupulous builder
who offered to sell it back to the Club at an exorbitant price.
The search was on again for grounds the Club could call its own and the present site was eventually settled upon
while the Moor Park residential site was in its infancy.
The Club has continued to thrive since then and has evolved into one of the best sporting clubs in the North West
offering splendid facilities in beautiful surroundings.
In the 1970’s, Waterloo Park Cricket Club merged into the Northern, and when their former ground was sold in 1989, it enabled our Moor Park home to be expanded with the acquisition of 9 acres of farming land that are now the back cricket pitches, and the addition of the synthetic hockey pitch and second bowling green. Ladies hockey came to Northern when Ormskirk Ladies Hockey Club, which had been founded in 1966, merged into the Northern in 1995.
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