Walking Football Club Name: Rothwell Old Boars
1) How long have you been involved with the running / management of the club? 2 and ½ years
2) Why did you first get involved with helping run your Walking Football?
Someone has to take the lead or it doesn’t happen.
3) When was your Walking Club formed?
February 2015.
4) How many hours per week do you spend on club related matters?
Too many.
5) Is your club funded in any way and if so, how did you achieve securing these revenue streams?
We secured some funding from Leeds sports foundation and Warburton’s bread for team kits.
6) Does your club follow rules of the game created by the FA or WFA? If the answer is yes, why did you decide to follow those association rules?
Rules are simple, no running and minimal contact.
7) How many regular players attend each session and how quickly have numbers grown since the club was formed?
We have 20 to 30 attending each week.
We have around 40 members.
8) If your club plays a competitive game, rather than one of the weekly Walking Football fitness sessions, do you see any change of attitude in respect of competitiveness in the players?
Yes there is a change of attitude, it cant be helped the players have to become more competitive to keep up with the opposition.
Is not ideal and many of our members will not play against other teams because of this.
9) Do you feel fitter and healthier since you have started playing Walking Football and if so in which ways?
Yes I do feel fitter.
Walking football is a good work out and a lot more fun than jogging or going to the gym.
10) Have you had any injuries playing and if so what were they?
No injuries because of the game.
11) Do you always have a club member present who has had first aid training at your games and training sessions?
A lot of our members have first aid at work training or emergency aid training and there is a defibrillator on site.
12) Has your social life changed since you started playing, and if so in what way?
No not really.
13) What are your best and worst memories of playing Walking Football?
My best memory is one of our members who walks with he aid of a stick, diving across the goal to make a save with his stick.
Worst memory was seeing a guy collapse, it make you realise how frail we are.
14) How else has playing Walking Football affected your life?
I have made many new friends.
15) What do you like most about Walking Football?
I like the fact that at the age of 57 I’m playing football again.
16) What do you like least about Walking Football?
I don’t like the super competitive need to win that some clubs have.
17) Do you find it difficult NOT to run and what advice could you give someone in how to remain at walking pace?
When you first start playing its hard not to run but in my case my body told me to slow down.
You soon get the pace of the game.
18) What are your goals for the future when playing Walking Football?
To keep enjoying playing the game.
19) What advice would you give to someone who would like to play but is nervous about approaching a club or attending a Walking Football session for the first time?
Go along and give it a go.
We have members who didn’t play football when they were young but they love playing walking football.
20) What do your friends and family think about you playing a sport again at your age?
Some don’t understand it but most are very supportive.
21) What are the costs involved in order for you to play / run your Walking Football?
£3.50 per player per session just to cover pitch hire.
22) Anything else you’d like to share?
At Rothwell Old Boars we believe in inclusion.
Men and women playing the game together.
Able bodied or disabled, a lot of skill or no skill at all you will be made welcome.
Author: The Walking Football
You create the memories; we help you relive them forever!
