Walking football has been on the increase over the last few years as the older generation are encouraged to stay healthy.
David Wise has been a leading figure in Cumbria promoting the sport so I thought it was time for a catch-up.
First of all David can you just give me an insight into your sporting background over the years.
I am a Workington born Sillothian! A passion for Football saw me play as a striker for various incarnations of my home town club in the Carlisle & District and Workington Sunday leagues for many years as well as Sunday league stints for Maryport & Prospect.
Moving into my 30s my other sporting passion tennis took over and I became a full-time tennis coach working out of Netherhall School in Maryport for 12 years.
I then became Sports Development Officer at St Joseph’s School in Workington where I still work.
We are focusing on walking football in this piece. How did you get started and involved with it and have you an official/unofficial role?
As part of my role I obtained funding in 2016 to put on some sessions at St Joseph’s and, as it was relatively unheard of it took about a year to attract any real interest but we persevered and here we are today with around 50 regulars.
My role is basically to organise the sessions, collect the fees and organise our two teams for matches at the weekend.
What are the age limits for the game. A visiting team to the county had a chap who was 90 this weekend. Have Cumbria any near that age?
I try to ensure we are inclusive and our twice weekly sessions attract both males and females from ages 20 to 80. Walking Football is ideally for people aged 40 and over who no longer feel that the normal game is for them or for people coming back from injuries or health issues.
Our 80-year-old is the evergreen Derek Stephenson who was one of our founding members and is still showing the younger ones how to play to this day.
Are the games played for fun or do you have a League as such or hold competitions for teams across the county?
We have two teams in the 50-and-over Cumberland Walking Football league. This runs monthly from March through to October with a mixture of cup competitions, league fixtures and friendly festivals.
I suppose an obvious question. How many teams are we talking about for Cumbria?
I believe there are many Walking Football groups in the county but at the moment most aren’t competing and are just social groups.
The league has ourselves (2 teams), Carlisle United (2), Penrith, Westmorland and Gretna from across the border.
I mentioned teams visiting the county, do we take a Cumbria team on tour or outside Cumbria to play matches?
Carlisle United have a team that play in the Lancashire over 60’s league once a month on Thursdays and we (Workington) have played teams from Blackpool, Preston, Manchester and Fleetwood so it definitely something that we are looking at to develop further.
Have you any funding behind Walking Football in the county or do you have to find the money yourselves?
Cumberland FA have been very supportive for Walking Football in the county and affiliation to the FA has seen costs be vastly reduced. Fees for the league are relatively low but we do support ourselves for that.
What about a County side. Is there one and do they take part in tournaments or are there plans for one?
County sides for different age groups such as over 50s, 60s and 70s etc would be wonderful and is already something that has been discussed with Cumberland FA.
I guess social involvement and improving health are good reasons for the older generation to take up the sport. Are those your main selling points?
They certainly are. Some of our players are meeting up again with people they haven’t really seen for years and some are widowers living on their own.
As well as improving their respective fitness and rekindling old friendships they are meeting new people, getting new perspectives on life and enjoying the camaraderie of the sessions, after match get-togethers and social occasions that we put on.
If a generous benefactor gave walking football lots of money how would you go about spending it?
Good question! I would train more Walking Football specific coaches, officials and referees and then deploy them to spread the word across Cumbria ensuring that sessions would take place for different age groups (40’s, 50’s 60’s 70’s 80’s), women only, disability groups, social drop-in sessions (cross sport) etc…
Festivals, leagues, cups, social days and more would then be drip fed for all groups to create a strong network that would have various pathways to more competitive participation outside the county as well as county teams leading to the England selection process.
I would also provide regular trips to overseas tournaments for any clubs that wanted to attend as well as ensuring that social inclusion and social activities were at the forefront of everyone’s thinking as they are as important as the football itself and improving mental health goes hand in hand with improving physical health.
David runs Walking Football sessions at St Joseph’s School in Workington every Monday and Friday from 5pm to 6pm. Cost is £3 per time. For further info just give drop him an email at david.wise@sjchs.uk
