Star duo boosts Armchair Club ranks

The Armchair Club is a group of businessmen and women from the Mansfield area who raise funds for local aspiring sports stars as well as organising the annual Mansfield Sports Recognition Awards.

And Paralympics canoe star Charlotte Henshaw and former World sidecar racing champion Tom Birchall have now agreed to join their ranks.

Armchair Club's Stewart Rickersey said: “On behalf of the Armchair Club team, I am delighted to announce two great signings that we have made.

“Mansfield’s Paralympic gold medalist, Charlotte Henshaw, has accepted our invitation to become a Patron of the Armchair Club, joining a strong list of Patrons who support our efforts in many different ways.

“Charlotte says she was always appreciative of the continued support given to her and looks forward to supporting as much Armchair Club activity moving forward as possible.

“She has agreed to be the keynote speaker at the next Sports Recognition Awards in December.

“Tom Birchall, one half of Mansfield’s World and TT motorcycling sidecar champions, the Birchall Brothers, has joined the Armchair Club as a full member and attended his first monthly meeting today and immediately made a useful contribution, supporting an application for funds to two local recipients.

“Tom told the AC members that, now he had retired from racing, he is looking forward to putting something back into the local sporting community through the Armchair Club.”

The Armchair Club was founded in 1982 when a group of six local businessmen got together to help raise and distribute financial support to the benefit of local sports people.

That membership has now more than doubled and they share equally in the responsibility of promoting sporting activity in and around the Mansfield and Ashfield area.

The need for easily accessible and sensibly controlled financial support for local sportsmen and women was identified at the outset and over 40 years on, that need still exists.

Each individual member has helped sport grow and flourish in their own back yard and encouraged and enabled people of all ages and ability to participate and enjoy life through sport.

The Armchair Club has no chairman, secretary or treasurer and has no formal structure - all just do whatever is necessary.

They meet most months to organise events and consider requests for support from local individuals and organisations, supporting those who help themselves, usually with a bias towards young people making their way in an increasingly competitive sporting world.