On a dramatic weekend for NSVC teams, the club has two National Cup Finals to look forward to, and has an impressive record of having featured in at least the semi-finals of national competitions at u16, u18 and senior levels with both the female and male sides of the club this season!

Hundreds of photos from all of the weekend's matches can be found via the Volleyball England Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/VolleyballEngland?ref=ts (all photos courtesy of Jon McGugan) and 'Castle specific content will soon appear on our own YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/NSVC1

This weekend (23rd and 24th January) 'Castle's junior players again took to the court in style showing tremendous form for the second successive weekend. After the u16 girls and u18 boys qualified for the Top 8s weekend without dropping a set, this time it was the turn of the u16 boys.

On the 27th and 28th March at Port Hill Park Cricket Club there is the opportunity for all young people aged 14-35 to get thier heart checked out, FREE OF CHARGE. Every week in the UK at least 12 'fit and healthy' young people die of heart conditions.

Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) recommends that all first-degree relatives should be referred by their GP to a specialist cardiologist where there have been other young sudden deaths in the family or when a young person is experiencing the following symptoms:
- chest pain (exercise-related)
- breathlessness
- palpitations
- dizziness

Today, Sunday 10th January 'Castle launched its own TV Channel through YouTube. To check it out and the videos on there so far go to http://www.youtube.com/user/NSVC1

'Castle's MVP for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 Richard Guest is planning a return to the club for a third spell. Guest was first with 'Castle after graduating through our junior teams, and returned for two seasons in the mid-noughties where he became 'Mr Reliable' for the team.

Richard has been out of Volleyball since suffering a seriously broken finger whilst playing for Manchester in 2008 but his return to action should add further steel to 'Castle's battle to make it into the new 'Super 8' division for the 2010-11 season.

It has been revealed that 'Castle's Sam Shenton, was awarded the title of England's MVP at the NEVZA (Northern European) Championships in Denmark in December.

This is a great achievement for Sam, a member of the National under 16 Champion team in 2009, who has put tremendous work into developing his performances on court over the last 12 months and has excelled since his inclusion in England Cadet squads. Sam now trains 3 x each week and is reaping the benefits!

NSVC is pleased to confirm that the second Family Fours event will take place on Sunday 3rd January at Madeley High School from 3pm-5pm. If you only have 3 players you are very welcome to play anyway!

Confirm entries with Ant Viggars asap on anthonyviggars@ntlworld.com

Congratulations to the under 18 girls and the under 16 boys 'B' teams who this weekend progressed into the 2nd round of the National Junior Championships.

The girls, playing without three of their starting 6 came through with a 3-0 win over Wirral and a 3-1 defeat to an excellent Redhill team and go into the 'group of death' in the second round, with Redhill, wessex and Wiltshire Mavericks - all 4 of whom were at last year's top 8s!

The details for the 30th Anniversary Dinner for Newcastle (Staffs) VC have been confirmed. The date of Friday 7th May 2010 has been known for a long time, but we now know that the night will begin at 7pm at Keele Hall and will feature a gala dinner, guest speaker and awards, followed by a disco with the night ending at 1am.

In early October Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club was confirmed as having achieved Volley 2 accreidtation, four years after completing Volley 1. This is a significant step for the Staffordshire club as it approaches its 30th anniversary in 2010, "We knew we had the credentials in place, it was a matter of pulling it all together. We are delighted to have achieved Volley 2 in what has been a fantastic 12 months for the club both on and off the court," said club chair Colin Roberts.

And what a 12 months it has been for the club:
- 2nd place in the Volleyball England Club of the Year