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The Guernsey Veterans padel team were Fletcher Sports’ Team of the Month for May. We caught up with Captain Rick Denton, who is also coach/ manager of Guernsey’s Island Games tennis team. FS: Let’s talk padel, it’s relatively new sport to Guernsey isn’t it? RD: It is, but thanks to our new facility at Longcamps, envisaged and built with the inspiration of Tony Woodland and Gary Naftel, it’s a sport that is rapidly growing.  It’s also thanks to the Guernsey Tennis Centre for having faith in the new sport and for being part-investors in the new facilities. Padel is the fastest growing racket sport in Europe and combines tennis skills with squash and badminton, so it suits many racket sports players who use their own styles in competition. It is a doubles game, so employs different strategies than singles play and is less stressful on the body, being played in a smaller court than tennis. What’s not to like? FS: And in May, you had an international match, is that correct? RD: Yes, we played a Guernsey veterans match (for over-45s) against Ireland on 24 May. It preceded a gold open padel tournament held in Guernsey on 25/26 May where international top players and top veterans from around the world competed. The team consisted of three pairs that each competed in three matches against the Irish pairs. Playing together were Tony Woodland and Andy Privett (a tennis professional at the Guernsey Tennis Club), Dominic Woolland and Lester Boscher and then there was Gary Cousens and myself. Reserves for the team were Kevin Taylor and Andy Platt. The origins of the match were from our tournament last year when the winning pair in the veterans event enjoyed it so much they wanted to bring a team over for a match against us. This was their Irish captain Barry Coffey and his partner David who play for Britain and are one of the leading veteran pairs on the world tour. The Irish group also co-opted in another British national veteran player. Not surprisingly we lost the match 7-2, but considering most of our team have only been playing padel for just over a year, this was a positive result! FS: What’s next for the vets? RD: An annual fixture is planned, to coincide with our annual open event. This is just the start for our Padel Club and we have already competed in Spain and the UK. A sequence of international tours and matches will follow. FS: We have to mention the kit, which was created by Fletcher Sports… what did you think? RD: The kit was great! Designed by Gary (an chartered surveyor) with the help of Ben from Fletcher Sports. Wearing it gave a real sense of pride in Guernsey and helped our team spirit. Go greens!

With success at every level, St Martin's AC have been a force to reckon with this season. We spoke to club president Neil Hunter about the secret of their success. St Martin’s has had a successful season at all levels this year - could you give us some highlights? We have won almost everything there is to win this season, across all ages. Our first team won the league and are in the finals of both the FA Cup and the Stranger Cup this week; our Railway side won their Division 3 title too. Across our youth teams, we have won U18, U16, U15 and U13 leagues, as well as the U18, U15, U13 x 2, U12 cups, plus the Corbet Cup Shield. We also won the Normandie Cup Final (U16) on Friday night and had inter-island success in the U16 Upton and the Eric Amy cup, which was a U16 Jersey competition. So, we have done quite well! Fletcher Sports knows that a lot of work goes on behind the scenes at a successful football club and we wanted to recognise this by making those people our team of the month for April. How important is it to have a hardworking team of volunteers? This club isn’t necessarily driven by success; what we aim for every year is sustained improvement, but even more so, a sustained increase in enjoyment every season. We want everyone associated with our club to be proud to be a part of what we do, winning or losing. This is why our volunteers across the club are so vitally important. We have individuals who maintain our grounds, who run our bar and canteen on match days, as well as some extremely loyal supporters of the club, and that is before we begin to thank the coaches for the role they play. What makes St Martin’s special/ different? We strive to keep a strong bond across all aspects of our club, because togetherness, respect, care and kindness are extremely highly regarded values which have made this club so successful, not just this year but since our inception. How can people get involved playing/ helping out at St Martin’s? If people want to be a part of our club, they can reach us on Facebook @StMartinsACgsy and on Twitter @StMartinsAC. Picture caption: St Martin's AC club president Neil Hunter with this season's trophies (photo courtesy of Max Hunter).

The Fletcher Sports Team of the Month for March is a group of youngsters who have played out of their skins this season. The U14 Peninsula Panthers were the first Guernsey junior side to qualify in Guernsey’s netballing history for the UK South Region U14 league, travelling to play two games a weekend once a month from September to February. ‘They have improved hugely throughout the season in finishing the league the most successful Guernsey U14 team for many years. A technically brilliant team with strength, resilience and speed,’ said coach Heidi Rosamund. ‘They came up against some very strong and very tall players, which meant they needed to be technically better and change their game to suit their opponents each game. They learnt over the season and the improvement was seen each game they played. People have even said they now play beyond their years.’ In January this year the girls won a Sports Commission award for Outstanding Team Performance of an All-Guernsey U18 Side, the first Guernsey netball team to win such a high accolade in sport in many years. On Mother’s Day, the girls did themselves proud at Inter Insulars, beating Jersey in front of a home crowd by 14 goals the biggest win of the weekend across the Guernsey sides. ‘They were fantastic, everything they were taught was in their game which was a huge accomplishment for such a young team,’ said Heidi. ‘The girls have played local league netball together as a squad since they were 10 and 11 years old. This season the team were also undefeated champions in the Little Big Hotel Division 2 winter league and were crowned overall Channel Island champions last month winning the Uptons, this time in Jersey. ‘They’re a fantastic team who are best mates on and off court, they have grown together from little people into champions; myself my fellow team of coaches and team manager really couldn’t be prouder of them. The maturity they show on court I firmly believe is down to the journey they have been on since a young age which is key to building a squad to the standard they are. ‘As young players they aren’t mature enough to process instruction and immediately implement them on court so playing week in week out was key to their development and now we see them not even needing to check where each other are on court, they just know. That being said they have all worked very hard and have been 100% dedicated to their team and the sport.’ The netball scene in Guernsey is thriving, with more juniors taking up the sport locally than ever before. Heidi believes that this is due, in part, to the success of the England national side. ‘The Roses winning Commonwealth gold last year has certainly helped. Compared to when I was young, the sport is now televised, sponsored and players are even paid, finally players are recognised as athletes,’ she said. ‘Netball is a team sport; it provides inclusion and teaches some very valuable life skills. When you’re on court there is nothing else on your mind giving you a break from everyday life stresses and concerns.’ This year, the Guernsey Netball Association has introduced walking netball for the more mature lady or players using the game for rehabilitation purposes.  Anyone interested in taking up club netball or even walking netball can go to www.guernseynetball.gg  

Amalgamated Boxing Club boxer Billy Le Poullain has had a great start to 2019. Guernsey’s Commonwealth Games representative is so far unbeaten and hopes his winning streak will continue. The talented welterweight is an instinctive fighter with a great tactical mind, reflexes and athleticism. Fletcher Sports spoke to Billy about the sport after choosing the club as Team of the Month for February. How is your season going so far and what are your expectations for the remainder of the season? As a club I hope to see the constant progression from everyone up there, there is a great atmosphere in the club and we are going from strength to strength. My season is going well, with three fights unbeaten so far. My next fight is in a couple of weeks with a busy schedule following. I hope the hard work I’ve been putting in pays off and I continue this winning streak. We had a fantastic show at Beau Sejour last month – our February Fury was a superb night with lots of great boxing watched by a crowd of around 500. What’s the attraction of boxing? In my biased opinion, boxing is the best form of exercise. You can give your all in training and feel on top of the world afterwards. It’s a great way to release stress and get fit! I personally just enjoy the competition and love the training, it’s something I’ve done for nearly 14 years and I couldn’t imagine life without it. But boxing is about more than just fighting. We teach discipline, respect and hard work. Over the years the club has helped to keep a large number of youngsters off the streets. How can people get involved in boxing? They can follow our Facebook page, and come along to training. Sessions are Monday, Wednesday and Friday for over 15s and seniors, and for under 15s it’s a Tuesday evening. We are currently trying to raise funds for our proposed ‘big build’ which is a club renovation to try help us entice more of the young coming through the doors. We need to raise about half a million pounds to refurbish the club, which is obviously a huge task. But with the right facilities the possibilities are endless, and we could do so much more. We really want premises that are fit for purpose and allow more seating for family and friends to be able to watch events. To donate, go to:  www.giving.gg/donate/charity/290/Amalgamated-Boxing-Club 

 Fletcher Sports’ Team of the Month for November is Blaze A.  We spoke to Nena Copperwaite, the team’s captain and coach about their successful start to the season.    Blaze A have had another fantastic month, with a huge 83-39 win over Resolution IT Black. We have also posted a 48-28 win over Titans A which was a great performance from the girls, particularly in both our attacking and defending circles where we were up against our fellow Guernsey Panther team mates. On that occasion Hannah Blondel came away with the Player of the Match nomination for her superb efforts in making numerous interceptions at WD.  Both our shooters (Abbie Greening and Jemma Green) have been outstanding this season. The high scores that we have been able to post are a testament to them and the work they have been putting in both on and off court.    This season our aim is to win the league, however this is going to be tough and could potentially come down to the last match of the season as we are up against stiff opposition in the form of Resolution IT Green. The last time we played each other at the start of the season the match ended in a high scoring 62-62 draw. We were due to play them again recently, but due to circumstances out of Resolution’s control, they were without two very key players. Out of respect to Resolution, and because the league is so tight this year, we requested that our match be moved to a date when both sides can field a full squad.  Therefore, we are now due to play them at the end of the season which could end up being the title decider!    Netball is a fantastic sport for people of any age to get involved with and here in Guernsey our Guernsey Netball Association (GNA) has something to cater for everyone, from elite level (Guernsey Panthers), to club level, walking netball, minis netball (starting from reception age), men’s netball, social summer leagues and also Nets (an indoor version played in a court surrounded by spring netting in which you bounce the ball off).    Currently netball has seen a huge boost in participation numbers, following England's gold winning medal performance at this year’s Commonwealth Games. With weekly matches of the Vitality Superleague (the UK’s top netball league) being shown on Sky Sports and a new sponsorship deal between England Netball and Nike, now is an exciting time to get involved with the game. We have seen a big rise in participation on island with numerous girls attending weekly club sessions and trialling out for various Guernsey Panther Squads.    Being part of a team sport like netball is fantastic as not only does it keep you active but for children it teaches them about teamwork, respect and is brilliant for socials skills, often lifelong friendships are formed through playing sport. The GNA currently has two clubs which offer youth netball -  Nerine (reception - seniors) and Investec Wealth Zebras (Year 5 through to seniors).    If anyone would like to get involved in netball then they should visit the GNA website, www.guernseynetball.gg where they can find contact details for all club and island teams.  They can also contact the GNA direct from there if they wish any further information with regards to Walking Netball, Nets or Summer League.