Sport
Meads wins Club of the Year

Squash Club of the Year: Meads Squash Club
THE WALES SQUASH AND RACKETBALL annual presentation evening was held recently at the Angel Hotel in Cardiff.
One Pembrokeshire club received its fair share of awards. Meads Squash Club, who run out of Milford Haven Leisure Centre, for the first time ever a Pembrokeshire club received the WSRB Squash Club of the Year award. The club was against the largest clubs in Wales and were selected eventual winners not only for the work they undertake at the club but also the help and support they show to other clubs within the county and the work they carry out within the local community.
The club has worked hard over the past three years to achieve a player pathway out of the county, not only for club players but for any Pembrokeshire player to enjoy. They now have five teams playing league squash in Pembrokeshire, South Wales and in the Welsh Premier Divisions.
As well as a player pathway, the club have put into place a coaching pathway and, again for the first time ever, Pembrokeshire has regular coaching courses being run in the county at the club from Leaders, Level One and the first Level Two coaching course run this year.
As well as coaching at the club, the coaches go out into the community on school and club visits, giving children within the county the opportunity to have a go at the sport using portable rebound walls. They are also active with disability sport and again using the rebound walls, they have run a series of sessions with the Lets Get Active Milford Haven group whose participants achieved the club’s Green Squash Skills Award this year.
The quality of the coaches coming from the club has not gone unnoticed; for the third year running, a coach from the club has received an award at the WSRB presentation evening and, this year, Alfie Wheeler received Young Coach of the Year – a fantastic achievement at 16. Alfie has also completed his UKCC Level 2, which shows the level of support the club gives to their coaches.
On the junior front this season, the club has 25 attending regular coaching sessions only limited by the number of courts. Out of these juniors, the club have a number who play within the adult leagues through to premier division; six juniors attend the WSRB Academy training programme, four attend the WSRB National Squad training programme, four juniors were selected to play in the English inter counties and two juniors have received the Young Coach of the Year award this year.
Not limited to juniors, two of the club’s adult players received Welsh representational caps this year. James Walters, Manager of Milford Haven Leisure Centre, represented Wales in the home nations over 50s held at Aberdeen, whilst Nick Dyer, Headmaster at Huberston and Hakin junior schools, represented and captained the over 45’s side in Cardiff this year.
The club also received the WSRB Silver charter award this year for running good policies, procedures and practices at the club, including ensuring all coaches are DBS checked and have undergone safeguarding courses. The club is also working towards their insport ribbon award.
Pete Crook, Head coach at the club, commented: “It has been quite a year for the club and receiving the Club of the Year award is a fantastic achievement, knowing the size and quality of the other clubs throughout Wales within the category. This shows testament to all the good work being carried out at the club and beyond and by a lot of people behind the scenes.
“The player pathway has been put together for all Pembrokeshire players to enjoy the highest level of squash on offer in Wales, whilst the juniors have surpassed our expectations. Not forgetting the most important part for myself, the coaching pathway the club have put in place, this really is the backbone and the only way clubs can remain sustainable in the future. I am proud to be a part of such a dedicated group of people who have achieved so much in a short period of time.”
Sport
Signed Wales shirts gifted to RNLI go up for auction

FOLLOWING a winning start to the Six Nations Tournament, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) have scored a winning try for the RNLI, gifting six signed rugby shirts to help save lives at sea.
Each rugby shirt has been signed by the full WRU squad and are accompanied by a certificate of authentication – a winning prize for any Welsh rugby fan.
To avoid a ruck for the WRU shirts the charity has placed all six signed shirts on an online auction, ensuring a fair game for all who wish to win the golden prize. The auction will be live until Wednesday, March 31, which allows plenty of time for supporters to bid for the team in red.
Each signed shirt includes Wales Captain, Mumbles RNLI supporter and the most capped international player of all time Alun Wyn Jones; as well as Louis Rees-Zammit, the Man of the Match in the nail-biting Scotland v Wales game.
Nick Evans, RNLI Fundraising and Partnership Lead said: ‘On behalf of the charity I would like to say a big thank you to the Welsh Rugby Union for donating these fantastic prizes to the RNLI. RNLI volunteers are on call 24-7 and are often called away from important events such as family celebrations – or international rugby tournaments – to respond to the pager if someone is in trouble at sea.
‘Like all charities, 2020 was a challenging year for the RNLI when all traditional fundraising had to stop – all our shops were closed, there were no collections and all events had to be cancelled. This is why we at the RNLI are so grateful to all the team at WRU for their ongoing support. The auction is now live and we would like to encourage all Wales rugby supporters to throw the RNLI a lifeline and place their bid for the winning prize.’
To place a bid or find out more about the charity auction please visit https://www.jumblebee.co.uk/rnliwru.
Sport
Five subs to be allowed for JD Cymru Premier clubs

THE FAW’s National Leagues Board has confirmed that JD Cymru Premier clubs will be permitted to make five substitutions in matches, in accordance with the Laws of the Game, until the end of the 2020-21 top-flight season.
FIFA extended the use of the rule, which was first introduced following the COVID-19 outbreak, citing “player welfare” as part of the reason for the temporary amendment to Law 3 of the Laws of the Game.
FIFA stated that “Some competitions which resumed in 2020 may have a shorter-than-usual recovery/preparation period before the start of their next season.”
“For many competitions, the 2020/21 season will involve matches being played in a condensed period due to a delayed start and the inability to end later than usual because of major international tournaments.”
With the JD Cymru Premier set to restart on March 2, the National Leagues Board has approved the use of the rule in the JD Cymru Premier until the end of the current campaign.
Sport
Haverfordwest County’s remaining phase 1 fixtures released

HAVERFORDWEST County will return to action on Saturday, March 6, with a home game against Cardiff Met University.
The JD Cymru Premier has been granted elite status by the National Sports Group once again and the FAW has announced the rescheduled fixtures.
The first fixture upon the return will see Newtown AFC host Penybont on Tuesday, March 2, 2021 live on Facebook via Sgorio’s platforms.
Bala Town travel to The New Saints on Sgorio on March 6, 2021 with a 5pm kick off.
This will be followed by a full host of fixtures on Saturday, March 6, 2021.
The new calendar sees clubs play their final six matches of Phase One, which is now due to be completed on April 4, 2021.
Haverfordwest County’s remaining fixtures for phase 1 are listed below.
March 6 – 14:30
Haverfordwest County FC v Cardiff Met University FC
March 9 – 19:45
Aberystwyth Town FC v Haverfordwest County FC
March 13 – 14:30
Haverfordwest County FC v The New Saints FC
March 20 – 14:30
Connah’s Quay Nomads FC v Haverfordwest County FC
March 27 – 14:30
Newtown AFC v Haverfordwest County FC
April 2 – 17:00
Penybont FC v Haverfordwest County FC
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