Foodbanks, footall, female players - it's all happening at Bexhill

Old Bexhillians Walking Football Club members have been very active in the past few weeks with league encounters, community projects and events.
Mike Davies and Steve Croft attending the specials sessionMike Davies and Steve Croft attending the specials session
Mike Davies and Steve Croft attending the specials session

Old Bexhillians Walking Football Club members have been very active in the past few weeks with league encounters, community projects and events.

Walking football, designed for those over 50 years of age to partake in active recreation, is strongly endorsed by the local Council in the guise of Active Rother.

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Old Bexhillians WFC currently boasts about 40 regular club members with an additional number of other club walkers who regularly attend sessions.

The OBWFC team who had success at the seniors' eventThe OBWFC team who had success at the seniors' event
The OBWFC team who had success at the seniors' event

Such is the rise from humble beginnings in late 2014 they find that players from other clubs like to take part at their sessions and some of their players also attend other clubs for their sessions.

They have three ladies who play and expect more soon.

The Age UK East Sussex League has really taken shape over the past few months with some highly competitive games taking place and the club recorded their first win when they beat Uckfield 2-0 on the 3G Bexhill College pitch.

This is the club’s home pitch and visits to more venues like Eastbourne, Uckfield and Hastings might well be the order of the day when the next league series takes place.

The presentation to Age UK South East by Mick DaviesThe presentation to Age UK South East by Mick Davies
The presentation to Age UK South East by Mick Davies
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The club’s other side, The Atha, fought out a tough 1-1 dual with neighbours Hastings Hornets. It was a commendable result considering the weather conditions the teams had to contend with on the day.

The Atha name is a homage to the Bexhill Amateur Athletic Club that was such a great springboard in sport for many local lads in the town from the 1940s onwards.

Meanwhile the club’s senior players (over 68s) entertained their ‘noisy neighbours’ Eastbourne Strollers, who are affiliated to Eastbourne Borough FC, at the Leisure Centre and the club were able to field two squads of older players.

A highly enjoyable afternoon of five-a-side games was held. The club can boast some 15 over 70 players and a fair number in their late 60s.

The presentation to the FoodbankThe presentation to the Foodbank
The presentation to the Foodbank
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They arranged four squads, two from Bexhill and two from Eastbourne, and the OB Blues just topped the league on the day without conceding a goal.

Like many local clubs OBWFC like to engage with the community as much as possible and they have made donations to three local causes – the Bexhill Foodbank, Age UK and the 1066 Specials Football Club.

Cllr Lynn Langlands was handed a cheque by club chairman Mick Davies at one of theirsessions to add to the funds that the foodbank are fully appreciative of.

And Age UK South East were visited by club member Mark Cole and the chairman with the donation. The 1066 Specials were presented with a cheque to purchase a set of bibs. This club, the brainchild of local man Harold Lawrence in 2003, gives people with special needs and disabilities the opportunity to play football.

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All three charities can be checked out on Facebook should readers want more detailed knowledge of the great work undertaken by these organisations.

The walking football club can be contacted by emailing chairman Mick Davies on [email protected]

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