Recreation Field / Playing Field
Latest News
Pavilion and Pavilion Hire
Tennis Courts and Tennis Club
Play Areas
Sports Field and Hire
Woodland areas
History
About us
Fund raising:
100 Club - Please join!
Village Festival
Music Concerts
Trail Run
Contact Details
Dates for your diary:
Clipston Music Festival - Saturday June 22nd 2024
TRAIL RUN 2024 - Sunday September 22nd
Latest News:
A successful Clipston Trail run in September 2023 raised around £1500 for the Rec and £200 for cake making for CWI
GoFundMe
The impact of the popularity of the playing field has meant that we have had to increase the amount of maintenance we need to carry out. We have an annual inspection for RoSPA each year
and they had identified the increased wear in the surface of the young children’s play area as a concern. We are now working with an excellent playground maintenance company who have installed all the new rubber mulch and the new basket swing. This is all paid for by you, through the 100 Club and your attendance at our events. Without your contributions we would not be able to run the recreation field as we do. It’s probably worth saying again that CRFT is an independent charity, we are not council funded like many other play areas. We appreciate the support from Clipston parish Council but the money that goes to run and improve the area comes from fundraising. If you’d like to make a donation, please go to www.gofundme.com.
Pavilion and Pavilion Hire
The Pavilion is available for hire for £10 per hour for the length of the event, setting up and clearing up times are not charged for within reason. The charge is more if showers are required. Some examples of past hirings are adult and children's parties, music/band practising, a physiotherapy venue, meeting room, pre-school venue. For more information please email or phone. Contact Details
Download the pdf for Pavilion hiring information here
The main pavilion area and kitchen was reburbished in 2015 with a Big Lottery grant.
Tennis Courts and Tennis Club
Clipston is very fortunate to have 2 good quality tennis courts. These are “owned” by the village through the Recreation Fields Trust and as such they are freely available to everyone and anyone in the community to use with no lock on the court and no need to pre-book or be a member of the Tennis Club.
There is an active Tennis Club and there are benefits to being a member (current cost in 2024 of £30 per year) of the Club.
For a start the Club is very inclusive, welcoming players of all standards (ideally able to sustain a rally) and has a very popular “social” night on Wednesday evenings (5:00'ish – dark from March (when the clocks change) till September) where we play predominantly mixed doubles before adjourning to the pub when darkness falls! Whilst social there is a competitive edge to these matches but primarily they are fun! The benefit to being a member is that you can come down on your own and be guaranteed a couple of hours playing with others, mixing and swapping who you play with and against no matter what your standard. And the Club provides new balls regularly!
Since the pandemic we also have agreed with CRFT that one day a week (Thursdays 9:00-5:00) will be reserved for, or at least priority given to, Club members who can then “pre-book” courts on an hourly basis guaranteeing that the court will be free for pre-arranged matches. Those taking advantage of this tend to play more seriously (often a best of 3 sets) and presumably arrange games with those of a similar standard………….but again if you are a Club member then anyone can book and use the court for a session of their own choice.
In 2024 we will similarly be reserving use of the courts at certain times to allow for professional coaching to take place, both for Club members (who will get a discount!) and non-Club members, including youngsters. We hope this initiative will prove popular with budding Roger Federer’s and Serena Williams’s.
When - Wednesdays, 5:00pm to dark from March (when the clocks change) till SeptemberWhat - Social tennis, all abilities, mostly mixed doublesWhy - Why not! But basically to enjoy some social tennis and good companyWhere - The courtsHow (much) - Membership is £30 (first week free) for the seasonMore info - contact me on 07443 076217 or via clarkemartin2022@gmail.com
- A men's team of 4 playing 2 x 2 sets against teams such as Corby, Kettering, etc on a midweek evening
- A mixed team, 2 men & 2 women, all over 50, playing on a weekday morning (11:00 am start) 2 x 2 sets...........we partner Crick & West Haddon in this format.
- There is adult coaching available on Friday mornings through a private qualified LTS coach (in the dome at Market Harborough during the winter)
- There are also junior tennis "camps" during the Easter & Summer holidays run by the same LTA coach
So, as you will see there are benefits to joining the Club……………and if you want more details on how to do so then please contact Martin Clarke 07443 076217 or via clarkemartin2022@gmail.com
Professional Coaching
Professional coaching available both for adults and juniors.
For further details please contact Laura on 0776 655 7122.
Play Areas
There are two play areas one aimed at younger children which has been updated over the decades and one aimed at older children and adults mainly installed in 2015 and added to in 2018.
Sports field and Hire
The sports field is available for hire for regular team sports. Presently we have a Saturday morning adult football team who use the main pitch. The pavilion can be used for teas and showers but must be cleaned by the team using the facility. For more information please email or phone. Contact Details
Woodland and picnic area
The Woodland area at the top of the field was planted in the winter of 2016/17 with the trees supplied by the Woodland Trust and the bulbs, play trees and benches by a Big Lottery grant. We planted approx 400 small saplings and 20 specimen native woodland and orchard trees. Some of these are: Oak, Silver Birch, Hawthorn, Holly, Rowan, Apples, Pears, Plums. Spring bulbs were also planted to hopefully naturalise and increase over the years. The woodland gives the recreation field an interesting place to walk and a picnic area.
Stepping Stones Forest School Leader, Jo Dewar, said “We had a lovely time planting the trees and the children were delighted to help. It will be great to have a new area for the children to explore in Forest School - I think the play tree will be very popular!’ Andy Blake, Chairman of CRFT said "The area will become a great addition for Stepping Stones, which takes pre-schoolers to the playing fields every Thursday to enjoy their Forest School. Their weekly adventures allow them to run and play and learn about the world around them by exploring animals and nature, building dens and making potions and mud pies!"
History
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About Us
We are a small dedicated group of volunteers who meet approximately four times a year. Besides fundraising we organise a couple of working party Sundays a year to do any maintenance needed. Volunteers are always welcome to help either on the committee or with the working party.
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100 Club
The 100 Club is a fund raising lottery with three monthly prizes totalling £175 to help raise much needed funds and have fun in the process!
The draw is held monthly with a 1st prize of £100, 2nd prize of £50 and 3rd prize of £25 (unless members are lower than 75). Winners are posted on this website and on our Facebook page.
100 Club form and details download For more information about the 100 Club including how to join.
Please join! Email clipstonplayingfields@gmail.com for more details
100 Club Prize Winners - 2024
| 1st Prize | 2nd Prize | 3rd Prize | |
| Jan | Rob Leveritt | Dave Bates | Claire Harvey |
| Feb | Michael Taylor | Toby Alderson-Smith | Jane Trent |
| Mar | Angela Fellowes | Nikki Bugla | Gil Burbage |
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100 Club Prize Winners - 2023
| 1st Prize | 2nd Prize | 3rd Prize | |
| Jan | Moira Willey | Jim Tyson | Helen Bellamy |
| Feb | Rosemary Tyson | John Oldershaw | Martin Clarke |
| Mar | Andrew Wallis | Becky Tomkins | Emma Plowman |
| April | Steve Clark | Charlie Gowling | Peter Butler |
| May | Andrew Wilkinson | Stephen Woodgate | Tim Milward |
| June | Jim Tyson | Vicki Scales | Jon Tedd |
| July | Claire Harvey | Dominic Pemberton | Jean Wilford |
| Aug | Mike Parrott | Hannah Eveleigh | Peter Warren |
| Sept | Jean Wilford | Tim Mayer | Billy Webb |
| Oct | Nikki Bugla | Sue & Alan Marshall | Rob Leveritt |
| Nov | Stephen Woodgate | Toby Alderton-Smith | Dave Wilford (Ch Ln) |
| Dec | John Oldershaw | Alan Skinner | Ian Hendry-Adams |
Clipston Music Festival Saturday 2023
For nearly ten years we have hosted and run the yearly village festival. This has involved most of the village organisations and many other village people who come together to make a very memorable event. The majority of the money raised goes to help with the upkeep of the playing fields and renewal of equipment or new projects and to other village organisations who have participated. Last year rather than the usual fete and evening music we just kept to the music format which helped greatly in the organisation of the event, it had become more and more difficult to get willing volunteers.
A few quotes from villagers and images from past festivals.
“Really enjoyed sitting with the breeze drifting through the marquee, with friends dropping by for a leisurely chat; loved the Clipston AllStars - some great laughs that day!”
"As always it was a fabulous occasion to play at - I drank a pint of water on stage and a pint of Prosecco afterwards!"
"My two main memories -the final encore bouncing on the new stage extension with Timmy, and earlier on seeing Kev come onto the stage and going onto one knee to propose to Jess."
"Brilliant festival yet again, thanks to all who contributed and organised. Have always loved the community spirit, and now it's stronger than ever!"
"It is a great village event which everyone loves and I think I can speak for us all by saying that the amount of work that it takes to organise is massively appreciated"
" We feel very lucky to be living and raising our child in such a fantastic and beautiful village with such great community spirit - thanks again to you all"
"Lots of work by so many for our enjoyment. Thanks everyone!"
"Well done and thank you. Love our village. It’s the best. Xxxxx"
Music concerts
Occasionally a light classical music concert run in conjunction with the Church is another fund raiser, usually in the autumn or spring. A matinee performance for younger children and an evening performance for adults has proved very popular in the past.
Trail run
Two races - a 5-ish mile race along with the Clipston Trail Half of 13-ish miles.
Entries at https://raceharborough.co.uk/clipston-trail-half
Our fundraising trail runs, starting and finishing in the recreation field, has become an annual fixture around end of September/October. This event is run by us but promoted and supported by Race Harborough. We are lucky to have CWI (Clipston WI) and Alison Morley making fabulous cakes for runners and supporters.
Race information
Event date: Sunday 22nd September 2024
The Clipston Trail run includes a 5 mile'ish Country Trail as well as the original Half Marathon'ish Trail Run, using paths on the rolling hills across-country. Starting/finishing at Clipston Recreation Ground, Station Road, Clipston Market Harborough LE16 9RN.
The racing will start at 9 a.m. There is no formal cut off time but you should expect to finish within 3 1/2 hours.
Entry fee: Half marathon - £25 Country 5 miler - £15
If you would like to help as a marshal please contact Mark Ginns on 07949 954 363. If you are interested in the run itself, visit Race Harborough
Competitors must be at least 17 on the day of the race.
Contact details:
Andy Blake Tel 07768 554 395 Email: andyblake4@hotmail.com or clipstonplayingfields@gmail.com