In 2015, Paul Kybert set his mind to creating a walking football team as part of the Dexter Sports family of teams. Ten years later, we’ve 60 members, four teams, and a healthy looking future. To commemorate our tenth anniversary, a walking football extravaganza was arranged.
Fifteen teams gathered at our home stadium in Hamworthy, Poole. That’s about 100 players, playing in three groups of five teams, followed by play-off groups to finalise the overall table. The full list of teams and their final positions were…
| Team | |
|---|---|
| 1. | Chelsea Fans |
| 2. | Swanage |
| 3. | Beaminster |
| 4. | Winchester |
| 5. | Bournemouth |
| 6. | Magna Pirates |
| 7. | Salisbury |
| 8. | Dexters Eagles |
| 9. | Dexters Falcons |
| 10. | Argy Bargies |
| 11. | Wimborne |
| 12. | Bridport |
| 13. | Broadstone Strangers |
| 14. | Dexters Ospreys |
| 15. | Dorchester |
Fantastic Feedback
The day was a huge success, but then I guess we would say that wouldn’t we?! Well, take a look at some of the heartfelt comments that were received within hours of the end of the tournament…
Argie Bargies
Stan Newiss – “Brilliant tournament today Andy – absolute credit to you and your club for organizing such a well run day!! Lots of camaraderie and banter, new friends/contacts made!! Some good teams attended and was lovely to see the non-Dorset league teams playing too.” 👏👏👏👏👏👏
Bournemouth
Emma Miller – “A great day of football… thanks for having me gents and thank you Andy for organising.” 😊
Marco Dipinto – “A great event. Well done Dexter’s. Happy anniversary.” 👍
Rex Buttle – “Good day for everyone. Got me out, seen lots of good friends. Well done Andy and friends for the great job they all did.” 😀👍
Chris Keenan – “Hi Andy… it was a really good event, thank you to all at Dexters for putting the show on the road and a big shout to Kate in particular who had to referee a very tricky game between us & Magna Pirates. Overall it was a fantastic atmosphere and played in the spirit of the beautiful game. Looking forward to next year’s event already.”
Bridport
Kevin Moys – “Hi Andy – just wanted to say thanks again for a great days walking football at Hamworthy. We all enjoyed it and it was played in a great spirit. Every team we played were full of sportsmanship and a pleasure to play against. We would love to be invited to the next tournament as it was so well run. Can I also give a shout out to the referees who were great and had a special mention to Kate from us. Thanks again we had a very enjoyable day.” 👍
Broadstone Strangers
Julie Hill – “Thank you to all the organisers of today’s tournament, it was a lovely day and such fun!” 🤩
Brett Butt – “Thank you to all those involved in organising such a wonderful day out. Also to all the players that showed football is not just for youngsters and for a fantastic day all round.”
Chelsea Fans
Carl Barker – “Great to meet you guys today and on behalf of the Chelsea Fans team, I’d like to say thanks for a great day’s football. Obviously it’s nice to win but the tournament was superbly managed and refereed and played in a great spirit, at a great venue which is a credit to you and your team.”
Dexter Sports
Gary Craig – “Thank you to all the volunteers and organisers of today’s tournament. It was a pleasure to play in and with a fantastic team.”
Peter Cherryman – “I echo Gary’s comments. Thank you so much to everyone involved in making the tournament so enjoyable today.” 👏👏
Dave Bacall – “Yes, it obviously took a lot of organising, so thanks for that and well done to all the support team for giving up your time to help out. Well done all round and yet another example of Dexter’s playing a positive role in the development of walking football.”
Referees
David Wilkin – “Thanks very much for today, Andy. A well organised and very enjoyable tournament. I don’t know if I was lucky but all the sides I refereed behaved themselves impeccably – which makes refereeing a joy. The teams I spoke to all said they were having a good day. Here’s to the 20th anniversary! Well done.”
Salisbury
Paul Anderson – “Hello Andy, I’m the goalkeeper and Manager/organiser/kit-washer of Salisbury’s team which played in the tournament yesterday. On behalf of the entire team, I just wanted to thank you for such a well-organised and welcoming event. It was a great opportunity to play against teams who we wouldn’t usually meet. Also last time I played Dexter’s I let seven in, so a few personal demons were exorcised. Thoroughly enjoyable fun. Thanks to you all for your hard work in putting together such a rewarding day. Look forward to your 20th Anniversary one.”
Swanage
Andy Vince – “Hi Andy. Thanks very much for inviting us today, a superbly enjoyable event, very well organised.”
Tournament Logistics
Charlotte Weaving – “Great day and really enjoyed being part of it. I overheard lots of positive comments from lots of different teams, who were all saying how much they enjoyed it. Thanks for a fun day.” x
Anna Snell – “It was a good day – it’s a pleasure to help out when I can as you are a truly nice bunch.” xxx
Wimborne
Hazel Baines – “Us lot at Wimborne Town had the best time today playing in our first ever competitive event. Thanks Dexters for a brilliant afternoon of football! Cracking job this afternoon! Brilliant tournament and so well organised. We absolutely loved it. Reckon you need a cup of tea now.” 👏👏👏
Super Snaps
The weather was good, the kits were varied and the games were competitive. So why wouldn’t there be a number of photos of the day?
Here you can see a very small number of the nearly 100 images which were shared with us by other teams, players and support crew. To see all of the pictures, please visit our Flickr page.
Get in touch
The physical and mental health benefits of regular exercise are well known. If you’re interested in playing football in a friendly, safety first environment, get in touch with Dexter Sports Walking Football Club now…
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