KENDAL Warriors skipper Gareth France is relishing this weekend's return to action after a summer of keeping fit and nursing injuries in preparation for a tough season in Northern Division 4.

After playing in the Northern League for three seasons, last year the club applied for National League status after gaining confidence National Founders Cup.

As the only senior men's team in the county competing at that high level, France admits his side have a hard, but exciting, campaign ahead of them - starting with a trip to Lancashire Spinners on Saturday for their curtain raiser.

"When they finally got back to us to award us a place in the league we knew then that we had our work cut out to prepare the club on and off the court," he said.

"The league will be a big challenge for us as there are clubs who have invested heavily in their squads backed by the financial muscle of big institutions such as universities or professional clubs. These teams have the capability to train four or five times a week.

"The team have spent the summer trying to keep fit and nurse any injuries from the previous season. Open practices have taken place throughout the summer and we have looked to recruit new players to the squad.

"Off the court has seen the biggest change as we have had to invest in the facilities and equipment to meet the requirements of playing National League.

"The team are getting better with each practice session with players demonstrating a greater understanding of their roles within the team. We played a friendly game last week away to Hyndburn and won the game comfortably demonstrating some real promise for the season ahead.

" I expect the Lancashire Spinners to be well organised and able to choose from a much greater pool of players than us. However we are an unknown quantity so hopefully we can use this to our advantage."

He added: "We have recruited 6ft 7inch centre Nathan Williams from Barrow Thorns who will bring so much needed size to the team and also veteran guard Mark Crawford from Blackburn. It is our hope to bleed some of our younger players into the squad this season so they can see what the standard at this level is all about first hand."

Anyone interested in helping the club financially should contact Phil Mason at p.a.mason87@googlemail.com.