Top sports club celebrates after getting new kit

A successful Bury St Edmunds sports team left out of pocket after their kit supplier went bust is celebrating after raising enough money to buy a new strip.

Bury Tchoukball Club, who have won the national championships three times in a row, were left out of pocket after Leicester-based Bespoke Teamwear went out of business just days after the club paid a £450 deposit.

After months of fund-raising, and with the support of new sponsors Beautiful Beers in St Johns Street, Bury, the club have been able to buy a new strip.

Head coach Ian Parker said the troubles with the kit supplier had been a real blow to the club.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated money to the kit fund as well as Beautiful Beers who have supported us throughout,” he said.

“We only have a committee of six adults so it is quite a lot of work to run a club in the first place.

“We have to pay for the courts we play on as well as the upkeep of our equipment so the loss of the deposit hit us hard.

“It was vital we succeeded in raising the money otherwise we would have the strange situation where the national champions didn’t have a kit.

“It was great that the parents and businesses in Bury St Edmunds rallied around and helped us out in our hour of need.”

The volunteer-run, not-for-profit club has recently been named Club of the Year for the third year in a row at the St Edmundsbury Sports Awards. It manages three teams with around 35 to 40 players in total.

On Thursday January 14 the club are holding a tester session at South Lee Sports Ground at the Victory Ground in Bury, open to anyone 13 or over.

From 8pm to 9pm you can have a go at Tchoukball yourself and at 9pm the team are playing a demonstration match.