Festival of Sport.

[dipper]

Hi,you might remember Clive, I have just found a tin badge with Inter Town Festival of Sport, Visionhire Trophy, Worthing 1985.
I remember playing it somewhere in Horsham and winning with Worthing, I think they had lots of sports events and pastimes being played over the weekend.

I think our team was mainly made up of the old Ham team :
Roger Taylor.
Peter O`Brien.
Peter Rourke.
John Symington.
Shiela Pinner.

Five a side, can`t remember what other teams we played against.
Any idea`s.

Roger.  

Only too pleased to oblige, Roger. ;D
From page 36 of the Horsham Website:

www.horshambarbilliards.co.uk/page36.html

Worthing did indeed triumph in 1985 - by one point from Brighton & Hove.

The "Arun" team mentioned was a composite arrangement as one of the "Five Towns" was Bognor Regis which didn't have its own league and so Littlehampton and West-Sussex were offered the slot jointly.

The teams of five comprised:

1 x Mens Singles
1 x Ladies Singles
1 x Mens Pairs
1 x Mixed Doubles
1 x Mens Singles

The format allowed for shuffling the line-up from match to match, and I see that Alan Duffell beat Colin Smith in the decisive leg right at the end.

I remember it as an enjoyable event played in a sporting atmosphere.

Your Mixed Doubles "combi" was Barry Holt and Gina Sherratt by the way. ;D

tommo

[dipper]

Thanks Clive, the memories are coming back, a few names from the past, some with different sir names than today.
Is my badge a collectors item, ;D, antiques roadshow next stop!!

[squirerichard]

That sounds like a brilliant event. Was it a one-off, or was it held for a number of years before it died out?

Cheers.

Five towns were involved in this venture - Worthing, Bognor Regis, Brighton&Hove, HorshamDistrict and Crawley, and it was over a five year period 1982,3,4,5 and 6 with one town being hosts each year (in the above order).  As far as I know, the event hasn't been held since - probably due to financial reasons.

Somehow, it seemed to be a lot easier to find willing sponsors in those days. Nowadays sponsorship seems to be a double-edged sword, with professional sport having the upper hand, and sponsors requiring to see a tangible return on their investment.

In 1985 when it was Horsham's turn to be hosts I was invited on to the Sports Council Committee, and they had received a huge grant from the local Council. One of my perks was a pass for two to the executive lounge (with wine and cheese) to see the Athletics events at Broadbridge Heath.

When it came to providing the medals for the bar billiards, I was shocked to learn that the money had run out, and I kicked up such a fuss that Worthing eventually received them retrospectively. Hence Roger's tin badge is very much a valuable collector's item ! ;D ;D    

[squirerichard]

Seems like it was a good event, financial issues aside.

The BMGA is getting involved with the 2012 Oswestry Games - a community multi-sports event. I had a look on the Bar Billiards map and there seems to be a dearth of tables in Shropshire. Bar Billiards would be another great sport to add into the mix.

There's an excellent new Minigolf course in Worthing too (there's been a course there since the 1920's). I'm looking forward to checking out the pubs and Bar Billiards down there after the practice and tournament there next month.

[dipper]

Thanks Clive, must put it on E bay!!