The Belles were the brain-child of Gary Tuhill and Ray Watson back in 2000. At the time, Gary and Ray ran a boys team (Beecholme Colts) which included a number of girls. Frustrated by the lack of opportunity for these girls when they were no longer able to play boy’s football, Gary and Ray decided to start a girls section within the Colts, to be known as Beecholme Belles.
Initially the Belles were made up of girls from existing Colts teams, along with their friends and sisters of Colts. It was difficult finding teams to play against in that first season and the Belles joined the Wallington Little League which played every Saturday morning at Beddington Park, Wallington. With organised coaching arranged by Beecholme and girls who had played football for a few years, the Belles completed the season with a 100% record and ended up comfortable League winners.
By 2001, girls football was starting to take off and there were enough teams to start the Surrey County Girls League. The Belles played in the Under 11 age group and this team remains the most successful team in the Belles short history. Captained by Rosie Tickle, they swept all before them and won the League, League Cup and County Cup treble. That season, an Under 10 team was also entered into the County Cup and despite including a number of Under 8 and Under 9 girls, ended up Runners Up.
2002 saw the Belles continue to expand with 3 teams at the Under 10, 11 and 12 age groups and over 30 girls registered. Gary Tuhill and Ray Watson moved on to concentrate on the Colts and Pat Brown took over the running of the Belles. More success followed this season with League and Cup triumphs for the Under 10’s.
Into 2003, the Belles grew to 4 teams with 50 girls registered and this is the level at which the club stabilised for a few years. Even though the overall standard of girls football throughout Surrey has greatly increased, the Belles continued to enjoy success across the age groups – season 2004/5 saw 3 out of the 4 Belles teams win a League or a Cup trophy, with the Under 12’s winning the Double and the Under 13’s unlucky to lose a close County Cup Final.
Season 2005/6 saw more change for the Belles as the link with Beecholme Colts was cut and the Belles became a separately constituted club. After 3 years of driving the Belles forward, Pat Brown stepped down - and Peter Phillips, Judith Wenham and Paul Tickle took over as Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer respectively. Again, 3 out of the 4 teams won trophies with the Under 14s capturing the League Cup, their first silverware in 4 years together as a team. The Under 13s won the County Cup and the Under 12s won the Premier League.
Season 2006/7 saw the Belles expand to 5 teams, with around 60 girls registered. Following a successful Soccer School in Spring 2006, new squads were added at Under 10 and Under 11, with the latter group of girls winning the First Division title in their first year playing competitive football. The Under 15s also went close in the County Cup Final. It was also the season Olivia Phillips, the last of the original Belles, played her final game for the Club.
Season 2007/8 saw more change for the Belles with Peter Phillips (Chairman) and Judith Wenham (Secretary) stepping down from the Committee, and Paul Tickle, Dionne Curtis and Rob Colepio taking over as Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer respectively. With 6 teams and over 80 girls registered, the Belles grew to become one of the largest girls only clubs in Surrey.The Belles also attracted significant sponsorship from 3 local companies (National Counties Building Society, Beck Interior and EAS Limited Air Conditioning), which enabled a smart new kit (still based on the traditional blue and green) to be purchased for all squads. Whilst there was no silverware this season, most of the teams more than held their own in the Premier Divisions of their respective Leagues. The new Under 10s went the closest to bringing home a trophy, finishing Runners Up in the League Cup.
Season 2008/9 was one of consolidation with 5 squads and 70 girls registered. It was also the most successful for a number of years, with plenty of silverware on display at the End of Season Celebration. The Under 14s almost equalled the most successful ever Belles team (2001 Under 11s) when they won the League and County Cups and were runners-up in the Premier League after losing a last game decider. The Under 13s were runners up in the First Division and the Under 11s won the Sportsman Award in their age group. Unfortunately it was the last season for the Under 15s, 3 of whom had played with the Belles since Under 9 (Levi Chambers-Cook, Kayleigh McNeice and Becky Brown) and another (Emma Tickle) who'd played in the 2001 County Cup Final as an Under 8 and before that for the Under 7 Beecholme Colts. The end of an era.
Season 2009/10 sees the Belles go into their 10th season, continuing to provide football for girls from Banstead and beyond. |
