New pétanque piste in Felixstowe

A pétanque piste is one of the features of the new activity park on Sea Road in Felixstowe, Suffolk.

It was nice to see the new pétanque piste on Felixstowe sea front. We'll have to remember to take our boules with us next time we visit.

Dodgeballing again!

Back in action with the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club.

It was brilliant to be back in action with the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club last night.

Richard Gottfried - Dodgeballer

The session in Parrs Wood, Manchester was the first one for the club's adult members since March 2020.

The games were my first since the 10th March 2020 - that's 777 days!

I played 4, won 2, lost 2 in games. A fun mix of Prison Rules, Super Catch and Secret Spy.

I was also the third last player in the Last Person Standing game at the end of the night.

Check out the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club website for more info on the Tuesday night sessions.

See the British Dodgeball website for more info on the serious side of the game.

My 'all-time' Dodgeball Win-Loss Record (2005-2022) now stands at 991 games played, 453 wins, 494 losses and 44 tied games.

I've been playing the game since the eighties so this is my fifth decade!

My last pre-pandemic games of dodgeball

I played my last pre-coronavirus pandemic lockdown games of dodgeball a year ago today.

In my last Tuesday night session with the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club I played 5, won 4 and lost 1.

I'm really looking forward to returning to dodgeball action when it's once again safe to do so.

My 2020 record stood at 18 games played with 9 wins and 9 losses.

My all-time Dodgeball Win-Loss Record (2005-2020) stands at 987 games played, 451 wins, 492 losses and 44 tied games.

World Alternative Games 2021

The countdown is on until the 2021 World Alternative Games in Llanwrtyd Wells.

The World Alternative Games were due to take place in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales this month. The fifth edition of the Games have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and are now scheduled for August 2021.

The festival of strange, obscure and interesting sports takes place over three weeks and sees thousands of athletes and spectators descend on the town to compete in, and marvel at, the sporting action.

The first edition of the World Alternative Games were held in 2012 to celebrate the huge year of sport and offer an alternative to elite sport with an open-to-all event. The second edition took place in 2014 and every two years thereafter. There were 35 events in 2012 and 60 titles up for grabs in 2014.

The competitors from the first-ever Finger Jousting Championships held on UK soil back at the 2012 World Alternative Games

The Games are a superb mass participation multi-sport event and really do encourage everyone to get involved. Many spectators end up as competitors and the serious obscure sports enthusiasts very often take up a new sport after visiting.

The medalists from the 2014 Finger Jousting World Championships

Some of the sports included at previous editions include wife carrying, chariot racing, cheese rolling, pooh sticks, underwater hockey, archery, office chair racing, hay bale tossing, finger jousting, stone skimming, underwater rugby, space hopper racing, horseshoe throwing, bog snorkelling, crazy golf, worm charming, conkers, world of grip, zombie fun runs, plank racing, rock paper scissors, hide n seek and toe wrestling. There have been many many more contests and the 2021 event will be packed with a wide range of different sports and games to play.

World of Grip was a tough challenge!

I have been a competitor, volunteer, organiser, advocate and promoter of the World Alternative Games since the first event in 2012.

With my Corinthian medal from competing in the World of Grip events

I organised the World Finger Jousting Federation Championships at the first Games in 2012. Prior to that tournament I took part in the Egg Throwing Championships with my team-mate Jas Kukielka and we ended up winning the World Title!

On the World Alternative Games podium

It just goes to show that anything can happen when you're at the World Alternative Games!

The champions cooling down after the event

Spot the egg...

Visit the World Alternative Games website to find out more.

As well as being the UK's smallest town Llanwrtyd Wells is famous for being the host venue for a number of quirky and unusual sports and games, including the World Bog Snorkelling Championships and the annual Man versus Horse Marathon.

See more of my blog posts about the World Alternative Games.

The British Transplant Games

A look ahead to the 2021 British Transplant Games in Leeds.

We were due to be heading down to Coventry this week to support our friend (and minigolf rival) John Moore in the British Transplant Games. Unfortunately the 2020 Games in Coventry have been postponed to 2023 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

However, plans are well underway for the 2021 British Transplant Games that will be taking place in Leeds next August. We love visiting Leeds and are really looking forward to the event.

Transplant Sport’s flagship event aims to raise awareness of the life-saving benefits of transplantation.

The Westfield Health British Transplant Games have been running for over 40 years. Each year the games sees teams from hospitals across the UK come together to compete in a number of sports. The four-day event attracts around 1,000 transplant athletes and more than 1,500 supporters.

Find out more on the British Transplant Games and Transplant Sport websites.

We've attended the British Transplant Games in Newcastle Gateshead (2015), Liverpool (2016) and Birmingham (2018).

Last summer we were at the 2019 World Transplant Games in Newcastle Gateshead. They were the 22nd edition and the first held in the UK since the Manchester Games in 1995.

I've run in two races at the transplant games - The Gift of Life Run last year was my second 5k, after the Donor Run at the 2018 British Transplant Games in Birmingham.

The Westfield Health British Transplant Games, organised on behalf of the charity Transplant Sport, will take place in venues across Leeds from the 5th to 8th August 2021.

Visit the NHS website to join the NHS Organ Donor Register.

Happy Olympic Day

Today is Olympic Day.

About Olympic Day

The first Olympic Day took place on the 23rd June 1948.

Olympic Day aims to unite the whole world behind the Olympic dream and the Olympic movement.

Putt at Home

Back in April the Olympic Channel suggested building a Crazy Golf course during isolation. It was nice to see the Olympic movement getting involved in the craze for Putting at Home during lockdown.

World Minigolf Sport Federation and the Olympic movement

The World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) is the governing body for minigolf and has 63 member nations. There are currently a further three countries awaiting recognition as full members.

The WMF is a member of GAISF (Global Association of International Sports Federations), AIMS (Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport) and TAFISA (The Association For International Sport for All).

On the 12th January 2020 it was announced that AIMS had become a fully recognised International Olympics Committee (IOC) umbrella group.

Olympic collecting

As well as playing, organising and promoting sports I am also an avid collector of sporting memorabilia and ephemera. As such I'm a member of both the Olympin Club and Sports Philatelists International.

I got to see a lot of Olympic Torches in 2012. I was also a Paralympic Flame Assistant in Luton that year

Miniature Golf and the Olympic Games

Did you know - Miniature Golf was once played during the Olympic Games!

While it was not officially part of the Games programme, the participants in the Golf tournament at the 1904 Olympic Games held in St Louis, USA also competed in a Putting Championship on a specially built miniature golf course.

The 9-hole Putting Course was specifically built at the Glen Echo Country Club for a Putting Championship and was constructed with electric lights surrounding the layout.

The Putting competition was won by Burt McKinnie of Normandie GC. McKinnie defeated Clement Smoot of the Exmoor Club in Chicago for the trophy after McKinnie scored a total of 21. Both players had been tied going into the last hole!

The 1904 Games were quite a wild affair - with a number of other sporting events taking place out of the scope of the 'official' sports. They also took place over several months and organised alongside the World's Fair, rather than as a standalone event.

Olympiapark München

On a related note, the Olympiapark München is home to a Miniature Golf course that was set-up in the athletes village for the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Now open to the public you can find more information on the Olympiapark München and the Minigolf & Pit-Pat Olympiapark München websites.

We're hoping to visit and play the courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

The Oslympic Games

Back in the summer of 2012 we were proud to be a part of the Oswestry Games. The festival of sport in Shropshire saw the sport of minigolf included in a multi-sport games event in the UK for the first time. The Oslympics consisted of more than 50 sports and cultural events held over ten-days in July 2012.

Medals from the Oswestry Games

Related blog posts:
- Olympic
- Olympics

Links:
- The Olympics
- Olympic Day

World Cycling Day

Happy World Cycling Day.

It's amazing how may different things we've seen depicted on minigolf courses - this cycling-themed hole is at Trailer Trash Jim's Crazy Golf course at Level Preston

I've been Putting At Home during lockdown as well as getting out and about on my BMX

Bridgehall BMX Track in Stockport

I found a BMX track on my daily walk yesterday.

It's only 5 minutes away from my house too!

Amazing.

It's hidden in plain sight if you know where to look.

And there's me thinking I'd explored all of my local area!

Dodgeball with the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club in Stockport

In my last Tuesday night session with the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club I played 5, won 4 and lost 1 in games.

We also played a lot of fast-paced METEOR BALL games. That was superb FUN as you're constantly moving, dodging, ducking, dipping, diving and dodging. If you're hit or get caught out you run to the back wall and then re-enter the game.

I'm looking forward to returning to dodgeball action once the coronavirus pandemic is over.

What retro wrestling t-shirt shall I wear for my next dodgeball outing?

My 2020 record stands at 18 games played, 9 wins, 9 losses.

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My all-time Dodgeball Win-Loss Record stands at:

• 2005-2020: Played 987, Won 451, Lost 492, Tied 44.

By year:

• 2005-2013: Played 959, Won 437, Lost 478, Tied 44.
• 2014-2018: Inactive.
• 2019: Played 10, Won 5, Lost 5, Tied 0.
• 2020: Played 18, Won 9, Lost 9, Tied 0.

Related blog posts:

• Dodgeball
• Dodgeball - getting back in the game

Links:

• Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club
• British Dodgeball

Darts at The Players' Entrance in Stockport

Playing darts at The Players' Entrance indoor sports park in Stockport.

Darts at The Player's Entrance in Stockport

Earlier today I called in to The Players' Entrance in Stockport's Merseyway shopping centre as the venue was hosting a special darts event.

Stockport darts superstar Nathan 'The Asp' Aspinall is competing in the PDC World Championships this month and the event saw the launch of a new partnership with the Stockport Disability Darts League and a link up with The Players' Entrance and Stockport schools.

The Stockport Disability Darts League set-up at The Players' Entrance

Nathan Aspinall is ranked number 12 in the world and is the 2019 UK Open champion, the 2019 US Darts Masters champion and was a semi-finalist in the 2019 PDC World Championships.

It was brilliant to meet Nathan and I had the chance to play against him in two games on one of the electronic soft-tip dartboards.

Nathan 'The Asp' Aspinall and me after our two games of darts. Guess who won?

The Playerss Entrance now has a disability darts area with dartboards and oche set-up so that players of any ability can compete against each other. The backing board has two dartboards - one for standing players and one for those seated - that can be quickly flipped after each player's throw.

I'm a big fan of both playing and watching darts. It's an inclusive game and can be picked up and played easily.

Visit The Players' Entrance website for more info, opening times and prices for the sports and games on offer.

Check out Stockport Disability Darts League for more information.

Visit Nathan 'The Asp' Aspinall's official Facebook Page too.

Dodgeball - getting back in the game

Playing dodgeball in Cheadle.

Last night I played dodgeball for the first time in over six years as I attended a session with the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club.

One of the Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club balls

My last matches were with the Harpenden Dodgeball Club back in April 2013 so it was superb to be back in action.

The Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club run sessions on Tuesday evenings and it was brilliant to see a mix of people, ages and abilities playing the fun game.

Dodgeball is a fantastic game to play. It's easy to get into and you can play for fun or take it more seriously if you like

I'm looking forward to playing more dodgeball over the coming months.

Back in dodgeball action. I also picked up a win in the Last Man Standing match!

Check out Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club website for more information.


My all-time Dodgeball Win-Loss Record:

• 2005-2013 - Played 959, Won 437, Lost 478, Tied 44.
• 2014-2018 - Inactive.
• 2019-present - Won the Last Person Standing match (10/12/19).

Associations / Rules played under:

• Dodgeball UK (2005-2007)
• Get Back Into/UKDBA (2010-2011)
• England Dodgeball (2011-2013)
• British Dodgeball (2019-)

Teams played for:

• New Lutonians (2005-2006)
• The Dodgeball Assassins (2005-2006)
• Abingdon Dodgeball Alliance (2005-2007)
• Luton Dodgeball Club (2010-2011)
• Harpenden Dodgeball Club (2011-2013)
• Cheadle & Gatley Griffins Dodgeball Club (2019-)

Related blog posts:

- Dodgeball

- Dodgeball - Then & Now (2010)

Out to Play exhibition at the Manor House Museum in Kettering

A visit to the Out to Play exhibition at the Manor House Museum in Kettering.

While in Kettering last week we called in to the Manor House Museum in the town centre as we'd spotted a poster for the Out to Play exhibition there.

We're big fans of museums, sports and games and it's always interesting to see different displays and exhibitions.

Kettering is home to the famous Wicksteed Park and the exhibition included a number of items from the amusement park.

It was nice to spot something minigolf related on display.

There were a lot of postcards used in the exhibition.

A nice old postcard of Wicksteed Park

Visit the Manor House Museum website for more information.

Our main reason for being in Kettering was to play the indoor Adventure Golf course at the New York Thunderbowl, our 900th course visit in the British Isles.

There is a Crazy Golf course and a Putting Green at Wicksteed Park and it's on our to visit list when the weather is nicer.

Great Blakenham Cycle Speedway in Suffolk

A look at the Great Blakenham Cycle Speedway track.

Ever since our friend John Moore took us to watch the British Veterans over 50s and over 60s Cycle Speedway Individual Championships in Edinburgh's Redbraes Park back in 2011 we've kept our eye out for other cycle speedway tracks.

A couple of years ago we found the track at St Thomas' Recreation Ground in Stockport and yesterday afternoon we saw the one at Great Blakenham in Suffolk.

We'd only stopped off at the village hall as we'd seen a sign for a car boot sale that was starting there at 1pm.

The Great Blakenham Cycle Speedway velodrome looked to have a very nice track.

Related blog posts:
- Cycle Speedway
- Suffolk

Link:
- Great Blakenham Cycle Speedway

The 2019 World Transplant Games in Newcastle Gateshead

We had a brilliant time in Newcastle and Gateshead at the weekend. We were visiting to cheer on our friend, minigolf rival and GB international athlete John Moore in the 2019 World Transplant Games.

The World Transplant Games is a multi-sports event with thousands of athletes from 53 countries competing in 16 sports. Sporting events range from Archery and Athletics to Darts, Football and Golf to Tenpin Bowling, Squash, Swimming and Volleyball.

It was brilliant to see all of the World Transplant Games signs, banners and activity around Newcastle and Gateshead

The 2019 World Transplant Games are the 22nd edition and the first in the UK since the Manchester Games in 1995.

We've previously been to the British Transplant Games in Newcastle, Liverpool and Birmingham.

The Games were created to be a celebration of a second chance of life, and to demonstrate the success of transplant surgery while also promoting the need to raise public awareness of organ and tissue donation.

I got some very nice pins for my sporting badge collection at the Games

There are currently around 6,080 people on the transplant waiting list including around 150 children and teenagers. On average three people die every day who could have benefited from an organ transplant.

If you want to save lives through organ donation and join the NHS Organ Donor Register it only takes a few minutes to sign up. Do ask your family and friends whether they want to be donors too.

After a healthy walk it was nice to get to heart of the city to see the Athlete's Parade through Newcastle on Saturday afternoon.

A snap with the Games mascot Hope at the Athlete's Parade

With the athletics getting underway on Sunday John got off to a winning start, with victory in the 5k Road Race in both the individual and team categories.

Emily and I also took part in the Gift of Life 5k Run at Exhibition Park and the Town Moor on Sunday.

After the 5k run

The Gift of Life Run was my second 5k, after the Donor Run at last year's British Transplant Games in Birmingham. I felt a lot better this time and really need to run some more

Another day and another photo with Hope the mascot

While having a lovely walk around Newcastle and Gateshead on Saturday we found the Petanque Boulodrome and watched a bit of the practice.

The upper terrain

Petanque players practicing on the middle terrain

We enjoy playing petanque and it was superb to see the game being played at the World Transplant Games.

Australian players practicing on the third terrain

The petanque terrains had been created on a car park and the approach to the Sage Gateshead music centre. It looked like it had been turned into a really good spot to play the tournament. A great use of a car park.

Our friend Kay, John's sister, is a volunteer at the Games and one of the sports she has been assigned is Petanque.

A view of the two lower terrains

Events are taking place across Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland until Friday 23rd August. For more information visit the World Transplant Games website.

Links:
- World Transplant Games 2019
- Join the NHS Organ Donor Register