[ Skip to content ]
Added on 21/11/07
Playtime is a very important part of the Notts Sport day, and it's something we've been getting right for years.
So with this in mind we decided it was high time we showed off our fun-loving credentials by joining the Association of Play Industries, the lead trade body within the play sector.
Becoming an API member isn't a walk in the park. They're pretty picky over who makes it into the industry's finest, but thanks to our experience and safer surfacing expertise, our ChildsPlay products and services sent us sailing through the selection criteria.
As the newest API member, we're now looking forward to taking play to the next level by working with the governing bodies of play, nationally and internationally.
Added on 08/11/07
Has anyone noticed something different about Notts Sport's Chief Exec Shaun Patrick lately?
We were quite anxious at first, when he arrived at work sporting the makings of a moustache. This turned to outright terror as it became apparent the boss was cultivating a full-on soup-strainer.
We think of ourselves as a fairly modish bunch of guys about the office, so, after a quick game of knock-out 'scissor, paper, stone', it fell on Kirsty to find out what he was playing at.
Known for her diplomacy, her "You've got a something dodgy on your top lip" line was, we felt, a touch blunt. But it did the trick.
Turns out Shaun's joining in with the 'Grow a Mo for Hambo' cause – letting his moustache show his support for the Matt Hampson Trust.
Local lad Matt suffered a spinal injury during U-21s training with the Leicester Tigers in 2005, and since then has been paralysed from the neck down.
The Tigers are busy growing their facial hair, and everyone (ok, this one's purely for the guys) is encouraged to do the same and donate £5 or more to the Matt Hampson Trust.
Hairy-faced supporters can also send their photos to marc.heywood@tigers.co.uk so that they might be featured in a future matchday programme and to tommy@hambo.co.uk for posting on Matt's official website at www.matthampson.co.uk
Added on 08/11/07
Sometimes it's difficult to pick out a winner – and when it's prize-time at Notts Sport the anticipation – some would say desperation – on the team's eager faces is truly heart-wrenching.
Yet there can be only two winners each month... unless you're the boss, and this month he's made it three.
Sales co-ordinator Sophie Roy's been on Shaun's shortlist loads, and this time she bobbed to the top thanks to a display of ruthless determination in nailing down the monthly stock figures from Italy, Spain and Germany.
Meanwhile, we've been beginning to wonder whether Marketing Executive Kirsty Bishop used to be a rock band roadie. When it came to tackling major technical issues in the lead-up to the FSB conference in Cologne her handling of the situation pointed to previous experience of setting up stages, lights and displays. We're currently scrutinising the 1980s section of her CV.
Finally, our Regional Manger David Starkie deserves a huge slap on the back this month for working his socks off to develop client relations Up North, despite our continental distractions.
Added on 01/11/07
Well here we are, blogging from Cologne, home of great perfume, super-efficient public transport... and the sports and amenities industry's all-powerful FSB exhibition (31st Oct – 2nd Nov).
Fortified by Kölsch beer and Rhine cuisine, the team's in it's element, and looking pretty as a picture, I might add, against the backdrop of the towering Notts Sport stand.
Visitors are going wild for our sensational display, and let's face it, with 12ft, ceiling-scraping graphics, a funky-coloured ChildsPlay carpet on the floor around us – and a mini Multi-Use Games Area built in to the stand – who wouldn't be wowed?
More than anyone, export aficionado Zec is loving the all attention he's getting.
Someone should probably remind him that our products are the bigger crowd-pleaser – and that of the hundreds of enquiries he's had, not one has been of a personal nature.
Still, we love being the centre of attention, and Notts Sport is certainly that at this autumn's exhibition. If you can't catch up with us here, we're packing our lederhosen tomorrow ready to rejoin our colleagues left holding the fort.
Added on 24/10/07
The time has come for us to gather our wares and make the bi-annual pilgrimage to meet industry colleagues and customers in Cologne for the hugely popular FSB exhibition (31st Oct – 2nd Nov).
We love a good knees up and the chance to meet people at Notts Sport, and so this year we've got a 13 -strong contingent jetting over to Germany for the full three days.
Anyone coming along can't possibly miss us – we've got a truly enormous stand this year, and Zec and Sophie in the Export Department – who have been like excited puppies in the run-up to the trip – will be pulling out all the stops to get themselves and the Notts Sport name noticed. But just in case you prefer to use the traditional map and a compass method, we'll be in hall 11.1, aisle D040 - E041.
Added on 24/10/07
Who said semi-retirement was all pottering, cups of tea and days at the coast?
We barely gave Project Liaison Manager Tony Berridge time to unfold his deckchair before dangling a carrot we knew he'd be unable to resist.
Because when it comes to testing NS cricket systems, 'Our Tone' is beyond compare, putting full-time effort into the new process and procedure tests and barely bobbing up from his calculations to acknowledge he'd won our September Support Team Member Award for his outstanding contribution.
It was only the whoops of joy from Regional Manager Andy Stevenson – September's Salesman of the Month – that roused Tony from his concentration long enough to pick up the accolade.
Added on 23/10/07
Picture your face when there's a knock at the door and a team of guys carrying a full-size Notts Sport cricket pitch ask "Where do you want this?"
That's exactly what's going to happen to one lucky club selected by The Wisden Cricketer magazine's Adopt a Club programme.
Being a generous bunch we're donating a non-turf pitch to help support the grass roots development of cricket, which goes to a club picked out by the magazine for its drive and ambition to succeed.
It's part of a pretty amazing assistance package, including the supply and installation of our top-quality system, as well as gleaming new kits and expert coaching.
This year it's the turn of Three Caps Cricket Club in Wanstead, East London. You can keep up to date with all the Three Caps' progress in The Wisden Cricketer every month.
Added on 23/10/07
Children's safety isn't something to be sniffed at as any parent, school teacher or play organiser will tell you, and here at Notts Sport we take it very seriously.
That's why we've thrown our weight behind a European organisation which promotes safety in children's play.
FEPI – or the Federation of the European Play Industry – have just awarded us membership in recognition of the fact we're one of the most highly-regarded suppliers of safer surfacing for children's play areas, under our brand ChildsPlay.
Now, under the FEPI umbrella, we'll be offering our sound advice to help shape European policies and standards on children's play safety.