The 2009 Fieldfare Kielder Challenge Finals took place last week and 12 teams from across the UK descended on the Kielder Forest to fight it out for the title of Fieldfare Kielder Challenge Plate Winners and Cup Winners.

The winning team at the Plate was Victoria School & Purbeck School from Poole, and the winners at the Cup Final was Sturminster Newton School & Yewstock School from Sturminster.

The Unity Shield which is awarded to teams who most embrace the spirit of the Challenge and is voted for by their peers and volunteers was a very close race at the Plate and it was decided to award the Unity Shield to two equally deserving teams at the Plate, and the winners were Jordanstown School/Belfast High, Belfast and Brentwood School/Wellington School, Rugby.

The Unity Shield for the Cup Final was awarded to Kingsdown School/St Thomas More School, Southend.

Congratulations to all teams, and many thanks to all the teaching staff to the commitment to the Challenge and the hard work they put in getting the teams to the Challenge.

Thank you also to the volunteers who help make the Challenge such a success.

The Fieldfare Kielder Challenge now has it’s own dedicated website.

The website will have all latest news of the Challenge and has a blog page giving you the opportunity to comment on the Challenge or to relay your experiences of the Challenge.

The web address of the new website is www.fieldfarekielderchallenge.org.uk

Rod Holmes joined the Trust over twenty years ago to help run the first ever Kielder Challenge.

Now as Fieldfare’s longest serving full-time member of staff he retired on 21st April.

He was a volunteer on the Challenge for 2 years from its very first weekend in 1985 before becoming a member of staff in 1987. From that small beginning, with about 30 teams taking part in 6 heats across the North of England, to the present 300 teams and 50+ heats, Rod has been central to the Challenge’s success. He is well known to teachers, volunteers and youngsters with and without disabilities right across the UK, all of whom regard him with affection and respect for the fun he has engendered through the Challenge activities. His gargantuan rope and timber structures at the finals will be remembered by all who saw them.

Rod also made significant contributions to other Fieldfare projects, playing key roles in the BT Countryside for All Grant and Awards Scheme. He worked on Fieldfare’s advisory and training services. He could always be relied upon to provide a very practical and down-to -earth input.

Everyone at Fieldfare wishes Rod a long and happy retirement, well earned!!

At its last meeting the Fieldfare Board of Trustees was pleased to welcome two new members.

Andrew Shipley
For a number of years Andrew Shipley worked alongside Fieldfare through his role as the Disability Rights Commission’s representative on the Countryside for All Forum. He is President of the Buckinghamshire Society for the Blind and has a keen interest in countryside access. He is currently seconded from the Equality and Human Rights Commission to the Department of Communities and Local Government working on inclusion issues within the Sustainable Communities programme.

Ellie Bennett
Ellie Bennett has been associated with the Trust for at least twenty years and is a regular volunteer on the Fieldfare Kielder Challenge. Ellie knows Fieldfare well from the time when we were based on the Wicker in Sheffield where Ellie now manages the Wicker Mobility Shop. Ellie brings to the Trust a strong commitment to equality aligned with substantial business experience.