Walking sports have been taking the country by storm in recent years, but Bedford Hockey Club was a forerunner in establishing its Walking Hockey team back in 2018.
At that time, there were no other clubs in the area offering this format of the game but, in more recent years, several other local clubs have joined the movement.
Such has been the growth that, on Sunday (15 September), the inaugural Beds & Herts Walking Hockey Festival took place at Letchworth Hockey Club, with four clubs participating.
Both Bedford and Letchworth fielded two teams apiece, with Chiltern and Welwyn also bringing teams.
The goal for the day was to have fun whilst being active, and that was certainly the achieved result. Bedford will be looking to follow up on the day’s success, providing a venue later in the season for the teams to come together again.
Bedford organises regular, mixed-gender, Walking Hockey sessions at its Chester Road ground on Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings.
Walking Hockey is low impact, so not only suitable for a wide age range of people but also a great way for those who are new or returning to hockey to have a go with a view to moving on to playing mainstream hockey.
In other club activity, it was yet another game-packed Saturday for the club’s 14 senior squads, in their final pre-season friendlies before league matches commence next weekend, with some fantastic results across the board.
Of particular note was both the Men’s and Ladies’ first teams taking 5-1 victories, over West Bridgeford and Marlow, respectively.
Sunday Juniors, for Under 8s, 10s and 12s has, once again, seen a tremendous turn-out of youngsters this season, as has the club’s Development Centre, for Under 14s, 16s and 18s.
New players are always welcome, with further information on the club’s website.
Words by Jean Fitch
