FIVE local clubs have benefited from the award of £2,500 from the Bury Times as our contribution to the development of grassroots sport in the area.

Walshaw Sports, Bury Jaguars (junior hockey), Tottington Conservative (bowling), Bury Athletic Club and Bury Broncos (rugby league) have each received £500 after we invited applications from local organisations in April.

To receive the sponsorship, each club submitted a 200-word document explaining why they deserved the award along with tokens collected from issues of The Bury Times.

An independent panel selected the five successful teams and we will continue to follow their progress in the sports pages of the newspaper and online at thebury times.co.uk.

The Broncos have used the cash to part-fund the new kit for their under-16s team, who have finished fifth in the North West Counties Youth League and as part of a wider project to train the next generation of open-age players during the next two years.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars have bought kit for the u11s, u13s and u16s boys’ and girls’ teams.

The money has also helped provide a shelter at Tottington Conservative’s bowling green.

The vibrant Walshaw Sports Club have spent their money on jackets for their under-15s girls’ football team for winter training and for turning up at matches.

The girls have been together as a unit since they were under-10s and play in the North Valley and Burnley Youth League.

The club has three girls teams at u11s, u13s and u15s and they are aiming to launch an u8s team. There are also 16 boys’ teams.

Meanwhile, Bury Athletic Club have invested their £500 in training bibs for up to 60 u11s youngsters who make up a significant proportion of the Market Street-based organisation.

We’ll soon be focusing on each of these five clubs in more depth in a series of features coming soon to the sports pages of the Bury Times.