Did you know that one of the fastest growing sports in the country is walking football and Haverfordwest County Walking Football Club is proof of that fact as it has grown immensely over this season and has had to increase the number of bookings it makes at The Ogi Bridge Meadow Stadium so that members can now book to play in Tuesday mornings as well as Wednesday evenings, writes Bill Carne.
 
This is a fact that Alan Jones (Sport Pembrokeshire) and I discovered as we recently popped along to see the first morning session and as well as high skill levels a great deal of enthusiasm, and camaraderie, soon became very evident.
 
And no-one is more delighted than Paul Williams, the Chairman, who is rightly proud of the fact that the club covers every range from 40+ to the mid 70s, with at least one team to play in age-group matches against other areas like Swansea, Cardiff, Caldicott, Newport and Merthyr, as well as attending the Bridge Meadow Stadium for a good run around in great company, with a coffee or a pint afterwards, depending on the time of day.
 
“The best decision we ever made was to move our venue to The Bridge Meadow Stadium and we are now delighted to be affiliated to Haverfordwest County AFC, who have been fantastically welcoming, but we maintain our separate status.

We have also had great support financially as we have set up our new equipment, like special goalposts, from Sport Wales and the Haverfordwest Swimming Pool Trust.
 
“We pride ourselves on being an inclusive club where everyone is welcome and particularly pleasing is the way that the ladies involved have already climbed into double figures - and we already have four who are playing representative football, alongside two of our men.” But more of that later.
 
Matches are played with six players on the field at any given time, but with interchangeable substitutes, game times vary depending on schedules but there is no physical contact whatsoever, no sliding tackles or from behind or the side - and as the name implies, participants are not allowed to run.
 
“We try to avoid 40-year-olds playing against 75-year-olds for obvious reasons as we grade games if there are enough in attendance. At the moment our youngest member is Dan Devine, a goalkeeper (early 40s), with Steve Brown (Clarbeston Road) in his mid 70s.!
 
“We now have teams ready to compete in national competitions at over 40s,50s, 60s and 70s, plus women’s in different age groups, and so far, we have had Marie Tilley and Leanne Jones in the Welsh over 40s, Pam Vaughan-Thomas (over 50s) and Jan Thomas (over 60s) as proof of the strides we are making.
 
“In the men’s groups we have had Rob Harries playing for the Welsh team in Rome, where he scored a hat-trick to earn a draw against England and finished as the tournament’s top scorer by scoring all seven goals for Wales!”
 
Gareth Holden, the club’s Hon Secretary has also played for Wales at over 60s level, whilst Paul (Williams) and Neil Godden were chosen to represent the Welsh National League in a festival in Redditch.
 
There is further good news for the club in that they are to host a tournament in April organised by the Pembrokeshire Association for the Homeless where teams will come from all over Wales to enjoy the hospitality of that charity, who are led by Dean Flood, who is a walking footballer himself alongside his dedication to his work.
 
In a first for Welsh walking football the national leagues will be holding two days of their annual tournament at Bridge Meadow in June and July. A major departure from their usual routine and a real feather in the cap for the walking football group and Haverfordwest County.
 
In June they are off to the Midlands to compete in the Inkberrow Festival for the second time and September brings their first tour to Ireland to compete in Duncannon - so there are exciting times to look forward to.
 
So, the message is clear - if you fancy rekindling an interest in football or simply want to use it for physical or mental health reasons just pop onto their Facebook page or pop along to see what you think. It is a very cheap sport to take part in - they will even loan you a pair of special boots to make your start on the hallowed 3G turf!