History of Stoolball England

Stoolball England was formed as the National Stoolball Association on 3 October 1979. 23 people, representing 9 different leagues and associations, attended the inaugural meeting at Clair Hall, Haywards Heath, West Sussex.

It replaced the Stoolball Association for Great Britain which ceased to function in 1942, possibly due to World War Two and the death of Major W W Grantham.

He founded the original association in 1923 and was instrumental in the phenomenal upsurge in the popularity of stoolball after World War One. In 1927 there were over 1000 clubs playing stoolball.

The aims laid down in the inaugural meeting of the National Stoolball Association in 1979 were:

• The promotion and expansion of stoolball.
• To seek to link together existing associations and to encourage the formation of others.
• To study the rules of play and all the variations used in numerous parts of the country with a view eventually of standardising them.

The first and second are ongoing objectives but the third, standardising the rules of play, has been finished. It took four years of meetings and consultations with the various leagues and associations to arrive at a standard set of rules.

The National Stoolball Association changed its name to Stoolball England on 28 September 2008 as a step towards recognition as the governing body of stoolball. Sport England recognised us as the governing body of stoolball in England on 13 April 2010.

Stoolball England is affiliated to the Sport and Recreation Alliance. Stoolball is recognised as a sport by Sport England and UK Sport.