August Organisation of the Month

Dare Valley Flyers Netball Club is a relatively new club which launched in January of 2024. The club was started as a response from the clubs’ founders – Lindsay Davies and Jonathon Davies, whose daughter started playing netball for her primary school’s team and really enjoyed it.  Due to large waiting lists for new members of local clubs, Lindsay Davies took it upon herself to set up her own club. Just seven months later, this club is home to over 80 young girls. We award Dare Valley Flyers Netball Club our Organisation of the Month for August due to their provision of netball in their local area, and their fantastic progress in such a short amount of time.

As Lindsay has never ran a club before, she was new to the governance and processes, so she reached out to Sport RCT for support, who helped her along the club accreditation process. It was at this stage that Lindsay began to find her committee, applied for community support funds for facility hire, and applied for grants from Sport Wales and Pen Y Cymoedd to enable them to purchase equipment and fund coach education through Wales Netball. Lindsay often reached out to our team at Wales Netball to complete DBS Checks for her committee members and coaches and to receive helpful advice about coach and umpiring education. During conversations, Lindsay has always been so appreciative and respectful which speaks volumes to her character.

To get the word out about her new club, Lindsay and the committee took it upon themselves to link with all the local schools in the surrounding area. Around 35 children attended the first taster session, with the club now boasting 80 registered players consisting of three teams – Under 10’s, 12’s and 14’s. To help run their sessions, they have now recruited eight active volunteers with six qualified coaches and umpires.  

Sport RCT recently took some feedback from the young girls who play at the club, and since joining, 98% feel happier, and 100% feel healthier, more confident, have made friends and are more active, more often.

Phoebe Crowley, a secondary school player, said:

“Since joining Dare Valley Flyers, I have made lots of new friends, developed new skills and learnt how to work in a team. Being part of this team helps me stay active and keep fit, as well as giving me lots of opportunities in the world of netball. I can’t wait for the 2024/25 season to begin so I can keep improving, keep meeting new people, and keep doing the sport I love.”

Phoebe’s mum, also commented saying:

“When Dare Valley Flyers was first set up, I was so happy as a parent with a teenage daughter in the area, as I knew it would be something she would be interested in. The club has been a success since the start. The family run business has ensured that the children and their families have felt part of the decision making and general running of the club, it has definitely been inclusive to all. The committee members have worked hard to gain funding and sponsorship to ensure the team have everything they need going forward. From a skills point of view, the coaches have worked tirelessly every week to help the children grow from strength to strength. The progress they have made from when they first started is outstanding. I cannot praise Dare Valley Flyers netball enough; they have certainly been a breath of fresh air to our small town.”

The club’s popularity has skyrocketed, and they now too have a waitlist for new players to join. Their ambitions now turn toward securing a place in their local junior netball league, to give their young girl’s an opportunity to play more competitively and experience tournament style play. Wales Netball wish Dare Valley Flyers all the best of luck in their future endeavours.

At the halfway point of every month, Wales Netball will announce its Organisation of the Month. An article will be displayed on our website and a post will be shared across all our social media channels.

If you would like to nominate an organisation involved in the Netball community, complete the nomination form using this link: https://forms.gle/9RxwRWndbCRX4fgCA