Top 20 – the first clubs to earn Basketball England Level 1 standard

The first 20 clubs to meet Basketball England’s new Level 1 Club Standards can be confirmed. 

The standards have been introduced to support clubs in establishing good practices and were developed to align with Sport England's expectations of clubs and The Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) framework. 

And a raft of clubs, listed below, have wasted no time in getting verified.

Clubs can apply to meet both our Level 1 (Accredited Club) and Level 2 (Leading Club) standards and doing so will unlock a range of benefits. 

Basketball England’s Club & Volunteer Manager Nick Holloway said: 

“We are extremely pleased to see our first clubs meet our standards - congratulations to them. These clubs will now have access to a range of benefits including support in accessing both internal and external funding grants, and the ability to enter next year's Junior National League.  

"We look forward to supporting many more clubs in meeting these standards and encourage clubs to reach out to us at [email protected] if they would like support with their application.” 

It is mandatory for any club wishing to enter BE’s Jnr. NBL in 2025/26 to have met the Level 1 standards by 30 March. 

Clubs can progress to Level 2 once Level 1 standards have been met. 

Our first 20 Level 1 clubs 

• Black Country BC (West Midlands)  

• Bexley Tigers (South East) 

• Bishop's Stortford Vikings (East)  

• Bristol Storm (South West)  

• Bromsgrove Bears (West Midlands) 

• East Cleveland BC (North East)  

• Enfield Scorpions (London) 

• Fastbreak United (East)  

• Surrey Rams (South East) 

• Torbay Tigers (South West) 

• Sheffield Hatters (Yorkshire) 

• Ilkeston Outlaws (East Midlands)  

• Milton Keynes Basketball Association (South) 

• MK Basketball Foundation (South)  

• Southampton Suns (Superstar Sports) (South) 

• Stourport Spartans (West Midlands)  

• Vale Vipers (South West) 

• Warwickshire Hawks (West Midlands)  

• Whitby Jets BC (Yorkshire)  

• Worthing Thunder (South East) 

Standards 

• Structure: Club has a constitution 

• Club Development: Club has a club development plan 

• People: Club has a governing committee consisting of a minimum of three people, usually a chair, a secretary and a treasurer 

• Safeguarding: Club onboards a Club Welfare Officer who completes the Basketball England Safeguarding and Club Welfare Officer Training; Club will adopt the Basketball England Safeguarding Policy and make policy visible for members 

• Financial Management: Club operates accounts through an independent club account 

• Policies and Procedures: Club adopts the Basketball England policies provided or develops their own 

Benefits 

• Ability to enter Basketball England Jnr. NBL (mandatory for entry from 2025/26 season, must meet standards by March 30) 

• Access to Basketball England Funding Grants and support with external funding applications 

• Access to Basketball England programmes 

• Access to Basketball England webinars 

• Access to the marketing support and resources 

• Access to Basketball England staff expertise, and support from Club Development Manager 

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