My Alternative weekend Jan 2016

Alternative Sports weekend
Jan 15th-17th 2016
Bath

This weekend I took a break from football in search of some other popular past times. It started on Friday morning for a bit of an extended weekend.

The opportunity came up to visit The Lansdown Club just a short, but hilly, walk from the busy city centre. I honestly didn’t know what to expect having never ventured up there before, or even had reason to go over to this side of Bath before. Growing up in Oldfield Park and Twerton you gain opinions of places and sports without ever having explored these options. Tennis for me was one of those sports which is fun to play but expensive to play regularly as part of a club. So growing up table tennis was the cheaper option.

However following Google Maps (other maps are available (apparently)) I set out from the bus station with an open mind. It looked an impressive facility from the outside over a 6 foot wall but I couldn’t find the entrance on Richmond Road where it directed me. Maybe it was a fitness test? Scale the wall and you’re in?

I eventually found my way around and wow what a place! The clubhouse has been remodelled just 15 years ago and nearly all the courts were busy with men of women of all ages. I met the General Manager Phillip Torjussen who I had been speaking to on social media and he showed me around clubhouse and squash courts before exploring outside.

He was very approachable, enthusiastic and forward thinking about how to better the club to incorporate more players. The club has also got three brand new Clay courts to help improve your game on a different surface. There is also a membership offer running at the moment to make sure you contact them on Twitter for details.

I will certainly be back for a game soon, it’s a great sun trap up there on the hill too so the temperatures aren’t too bad even in this cold snap we’ve had. Look out for my full article on the club soon!

So my alternative weekend continues with Dodgeball; now back on every Saturday morning. Sessions take place at Hayesfield School at 11am for ages 14 to adult; with a strong student turn out. Now this is the perfect exercise to do after a long working week as you burn calories and take out some aggression in a fun team game.

The club is called Bath Spartan Dodgeball Club and the club takes you through the basics of the game whilst also looking at the tactics each week. There is also the chance to play other clubs around the UK coming up this year. Make sure you get on down to one of their sessions to try it out, it’ll be the best £2 you’ve spent that week!

Finally on a rare Sunday off I managed to get to a Bath Futsal Club home league game against Kettering. Bath have had a relatively good season so far having managed to stay off the bottom of this tight national league. Against Kettering though Billy Whittaker was looking for his lads to add to their points tally and make it their most successful season to date.

After a very close first half Kettering were just edging the game at half time and were two goals clear shortly after the restart. However kept to their game plan and rotated their squad well to claw their way back into the game. In the last few minutes it looked likely that Kettering would be able to come back for a point but Bath pulled away with a strong finish and a three goal lead; 10-7 to Bath.

Now it’s very unlikely that you have watched a game of futsal but this indoor version of the beautiful game is a great end to end spectator sport. The work done at Bath this season and the high calibre of players they are attracting means they are putting in great performances. It’s free to watch too and played at Hayesfield school, so check them out in their next home game.

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