Hartlepool St Francis 2000 is one of the founder members of the Association and continues to utilise its inclusion to benefit its young stars. The club has 22 teams in total, including four ladies teams, with ages ranging from four to adult.

Under nine's coach Mick Allen said: "The Sporting Association is a great idea, this year has proved that. It is great to meet up with other coaches from different sports who we might not normally come into contact with. There's a great chance we could help each other out, whether it is loaning equipment or chatting over how to fill in grant application forms. It feels as though we have a lot of backing behind us now."

Shaun Hope, Head of Sports Development at the College said "For a club the size of St Francis it was always going to be difficult to grow but this year has seen a lot of hard work taking place off the field to continue to improve the quality of the club. With exciting plans for player and coach development and strong partnership working taking place the future looks bright for St Francis.