This episode: Bartholomew visits Hartsdown Park as Margate FC hosts our Non-League Fixture of the Week. Also: the rise of Salsa dancing in Maidstone!
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00:00 Hello and welcome along to Invictus Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:18 up all of Kent's sporting action.
00:20 I'm Bartholomew Hall and here is what to expect on this Friday the 8th of September.
00:27 Fixture of the week, we preview Margate's family fun day fixture against Potters Bar
00:32 Town.
00:34 Splashes to splashes, Medway's famous swim centre rebuilds starts to take shape.
00:41 And spicing up sport, Maidstone Club encourages more people to try salsa dancing.
00:48 Now onto Kent County, who have signed a familiar face as their new director of cricket.
00:55 Simon Cook, who's been part of Kent's coaching staff since 2019, originally joined as a player
01:00 in 2005, amassing over 200 appearances as a seam bowler.
01:05 Apologies, we appear to have the wrong images on the screen there, this is some of the Kent
01:09 squad of course.
01:10 But Simon Cook, in an interview with the club, has promised a more hands-on approach compared
01:15 to outgoing director of cricket Paul Downton, who retired this summer.
01:19 Well here's the new director of cricket speaking earlier today.
01:22 Absolutely, I think the focus has to be on these next three weeks, getting as many points
01:28 out of these next three games as we possibly can, retaining Division 1 status.
01:34 At that point, we can then look at what we need to do going forwards in terms of how
01:41 we move in the short, medium and long term.
01:44 So I think the primary focus is going to be in these first three weeks.
01:48 Now Kent, who are currently second bottom, continue now to their fight to avoid relegation
01:54 in Division 1 of the county championships, with just three matches left.
01:58 They next meet with Nottinghamshire at Canterbury starting Sunday.
02:05 Next in the headlines from this week, triathlete Ollie Scott from Faversham is on a mission
02:09 to prove that para-athletes can compete alongside able-bodied contenders.
02:14 The 15-year-old says he plans to podium in every Para Tri Super Series event next year,
02:20 facing competitors twice his age.
02:23 He turned to triathlon after being unable to qualify in para-athletics long-distance
02:27 running due to his lower arm amputation.
02:31 Training with Medway Tri in Gravesend, Scott follows the path of athletes like Mike Solisbury,
02:37 Claire Cashmore and Finley James being part of the British Para Triathlon's Talent Pathway
02:43 programme.
02:45 Moving on to football now, Gillingham have been fined by the Football Association following
02:50 an incident at their recent fixture with Crawley Town.
02:54 Assistant manager David Livermore has received a four-game touchline ban due to an altercation
03:00 between players and staff after the match.
03:03 The charge against Gillingham was for failing to maintain order among their players and
03:07 technical staff at the conclusion of the game.
03:10 Despite their denial, the FA found them guilty of the offence and now the club must pay a
03:14 fine of £3,000.
03:16 Meanwhile, Crawley Town, who accepted the charge, will pay just £2,000.
03:22 Sticking with football, let's take a look at this weekend's fixtures.
03:26 We start off today with Gillingham, who are facing Harrogate Town in League Two on Saturday.
03:31 The Gilles are looking to avoid making it three league losses in a row this weekend.
03:35 But according to Neil Harris, the squad are on the right footing after their EFL trophy
03:39 win against Leyton Orient mid-week.
03:42 Now in the National League, and Ebbs Fleet are visiting Weldstone.
03:45 The Fleet have had a strong start to their league run this season, winning three of their
03:49 first four fixtures on home turf.
03:52 Tumber Jangles are going to be meeting with Taunton Town in the National South.
03:57 And second bottom of the table, Dover Athletic, are welcoming Weymouth as they try to secure
04:02 their first home league fixture of the season so far.
04:09 And moving on to the Isthmian League Premier Division, and finally, it's going to be a
04:14 resumption of games for these guys.
04:16 Following last week's FA Cup break, Chatham Town, who were knocked out by Ramsgate, are
04:20 welcoming Cray Wanderers this weekend, with five unbeaten games in a row.
04:24 All eyes will be on them to see if the cracks are starting to show.
04:29 And finally this weekend's fixture of the week, our main recommendation of the week
04:34 is Margate versus Potters Bar Town.
04:37 And with the international break halting in the majority of professional football, why
04:41 not support England with your local?
04:43 Well, Margate Town are hosting exactly that, plus a lot more fun.
04:47 So I went down to Hartsdown Park to see exactly what's on offer.
04:51 It's been a fairly slow start to the season in the Isthmian Premier for Margate FC.
04:55 Two wins on the board and three losses.
04:58 But following a successful start to their FA Cup run, the team are refreshed and ready
05:03 to get back to some league action this weekend.
05:06 And that's why the club is inviting as many of its fans as possible to come down to Hartsdown
05:10 Road for a family fun day.
05:12 So I'm here as part of our fixture of the week to see exactly what is on offer.
05:18 This Saturday they're up against Potters Bar Town, who currently sit bottom of the Isthmian
05:22 Premier standings.
05:23 I caught up with their head of communications, Ryan Day.
05:26 Anyone that thinks a team that have lost five in a row aren't going to come here hungry
05:31 to get their first point is not in the right frame of mind, to be honest.
05:35 They're going to come here, they're going to fight for everything.
05:37 They're going to want to upset the party because that's essentially what we're looking for,
05:41 a party atmosphere here on Saturday.
05:43 So they'll want to come here and they'll want to ruin that.
05:45 So the boys will have to be on it.
05:48 Rhys and Ben won't let them standards slip.
05:50 They know that Saturday is an important day for the club with the community stuff we're
05:54 doing.
05:55 So the boys will know that we've got to be on our best form because Potters Bar won't
06:00 come here and roll over for us.
06:02 The team have had some success as of recent.
06:05 They came September strong with their FA Cup win over Hendon.
06:08 They now face Ithmian Premier and coastal foes Folkestone and Victor.
06:13 And it's a Kent derby known for its marine-themed rivalry.
06:27 It's not that long ago, only bank holiday Monday, we went to Folkestone and lost 2-0.
06:31 So the boys will be looking for revenge.
06:33 I know Rhys and Ben, our management team and Elliot there as well, they'll be looking to
06:38 get revenge because obviously we played really well down at Folkestone on bank holiday Monday,
06:42 we just didn't take our chances.
06:44 But being here in front of our own crowd, it'll be a big crowd hopefully as well.
06:49 And you know what the FA Cup's like, it can throw anything up.
06:52 But as Margate welcomed their Hertfordshire opponents this weekend, the Kent home crowd
06:56 is expected to be a little more packed than usual.
06:59 Yeah, so we've decided as a club that we serve our local community.
07:02 That's really important to us.
07:04 You know, we're based in Margate, some consider it a deprived area, so we always want to give
07:10 something back to our local community and that's what this Saturday is about.
07:14 It's a family fun day.
07:16 All under 18s are free and of course they can bring in one adult with them for free
07:21 as well.
07:22 So we're hoping for a really big attendance.
07:23 We've got some penalty shootouts at half time.
07:26 I think we've got so many people signed up, we've got to have them won on both goals.
07:31 So that'll be a busy one.
07:32 We've got face painting for the children and adults if they want it, you know, come along
07:37 and get your face painted.
07:38 Arts and crafts sessions in the Heartstown Bar, so some fun activities there for the
07:43 children that may be not so much interested in the activities that are football related.
07:48 Yeah, it's something we're really looking forward to.
07:50 A lot of planning has gone into it, a lot of hard work and hopefully Saturday we'll
07:53 see that pay off with a bumper crowd here and everyone enjoying their afternoon.
07:57 But again, ultimately the three points at the end of it.
08:02 And with a win this weekend, the close mid-table of the Isthmian Premier has the ability to
08:06 dramatically shift.
08:09 If you run a non-league club or maybe you want to nominate your local one to be our
08:13 next fixture of the week, all you need to do is get in touch on our social media, KMTVKent,
08:19 or email us sport@kmtv.co.uk and maybe we'll be recommending your non-league town club's
08:25 fixture next week.
08:26 Anyway, moving on, a multi-million pound redevelopment of one of Medway's most iconic leisure centres,
08:32 Splashes, has started to take shape with a topping off ceremony held earlier this week.
08:37 The new swim centre, which was criticised by councillors for costing the council almost
08:41 £24 million, is on track to open next summer.
08:44 It comes after the former Splashes fell to disrepair before being demolished in 2021.
08:49 Well, I went along to the topping out ceremony and here's how it went.
08:53 Today marks the middle for the construction of what will be one of the most expensive
08:57 developments paid for by Medway Council in recent years, coming in at a whopping £23.6
09:03 million.
09:05 The once home for more than 30 years of water-tastic action, the Splashes leisure centre was demolished
09:10 in early 2022 after falling into disrepair.
09:14 The demolition would make way for what is said to become a brand new, state-of-the-art
09:18 site with two swimming pools, a gym and a fitness centre.
09:24 In its early days, the development was criticised by Labour councillors for the sheer cost of
09:28 the project.
09:29 I think what we're saying there is that Medway certainly needs swimming pools.
09:32 For people of Medway, we've got pools over in Strood and in Chillingham, Rainham, fantastic
09:37 if we can have one, but we need to look at the cost.
09:39 But now they're in charge of the new administration, meaning it's Labour councillors who are left
09:44 to see how it will play out.
09:45 It's a sad story really when it first had to happen because the building was knocked
09:49 down and in fact my own children learnt to swim here, so to see it back on its feet and
09:52 hit in this state is really exciting news.
09:55 I think the thing we're challenging with as far as the budget is all about the budgets
09:58 and the funding.
09:59 If we can find the funding, we're in a good place, but that's our challenge as a local
10:03 authority and we've come in and we're determined to meet that challenge and find out what we
10:07 can do.
10:08 It's unusual for a local authority to have so many leisure centres and pools, but we
10:12 are don't forget an amalgamation of several authorities that have come together over many
10:16 decades and we have what we have and we have to manage it as best we can.
10:20 Despite the cost on the public purse, the Splashes development is well on track to opening
10:24 next summer.
10:25 So the project down here for Splashes is going really well, it's been a challenging programme
10:29 but something we set out and did the groundbreaking in March this year.
10:33 We're halfway through the project, we are on time, we'll be driving every day through
10:37 to completion for opening in summer '24.
10:42 Thirty years of activities, family fun and of course swimming took place here in Blaws
10:47 Lane but now rising from the ground where it once stood is the next £24 million chapter
10:52 in the Splashes story and it's already taking shape.
10:56 And with things on track, today's topping out ceremony even gave those working here
11:00 on the project a chance to leave their mark in only the most Medway way possible.
11:05 Bartholomew Hall for KMTV in Reynham.
11:08 Lots of memories there at the old Splashes.
11:10 Now we've reached half time which means it's time for a break but coming up afterwards
11:14 we'll be taking a look at why salsa dancing is on the rise in Maidstone.
11:19 We've got an interview with one of the instructors at one of Maidstone's rising salsa clubs and
11:25 we'll also have of course this week's action replay.
11:28 It's the segment where we invite you, the KMTV viewers, to send in your clips and pics
11:33 of you taking part in sports somewhere in the county.
11:36 And if you want to appear in next week's just remember all you need to do is tag us on social
11:40 media as I mentioned before, KMTV Kent.
11:42 You can also send us an email at sport@kmtv.co.uk.
11:47 Well I'll be back after the break with plenty more Invicta Sport.
11:49 Don't go anywhere.
11:50 Thanks for watching.
11:51 Bye.
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15:07 Hello and welcome back to Invicta Sport.
15:09 Now, getting into the groove and trying out salsa dancing
15:12 is the up-and-coming evening activity that's on the rise here in the county
15:16 and especially in Maidstone.
15:17 Salsa Wild are encouraging more people to join in
15:20 even if they've never danced a day in their life before.
15:22 Well, Yinka Awate went to try it out.
15:25 [Music]
15:27 Not everyone pounces on their beds after a whole day of work and stress.
15:31 Dance lovers in Maidstone hurry down to salsa nights
15:35 organized by Salsa Wild.
15:37 Originating from Cuba, salsa dancing has become a prominent dance style
15:42 in places like London, Manchester and even here in Kent.
15:46 Like I dance salsa in Manchester and I'm here on business quite often now
15:50 and I needed somewhere to dance.
15:52 So I researched and I found Salsa Wild.
15:54 So it's my first night and I absolutely loved it.
15:57 In dance lessons, the learners are grouped into levels.
16:00 Beginners, improvers and intermediates.
16:04 The beginners have either never danced before
16:06 or have attended only one or two classes.
16:09 In dancing, timing is everything.
16:11 The secret to getting the steps right is to know the counts.
16:15 One, two, three, five, six, seven or one, two, three, tap, five, six, seven, tap
16:20 going along with the music.
16:22 The improvers already know the basic timings
16:25 so they learn the spins and focus on their partners.
16:28 Not many people come here and actually with the purpose of
16:32 "Oh, I want to learn salsa."
16:34 They come here because they're passionate about this music,
16:37 they feel the beat, they want to have a bit of fun.
16:40 And then the intermediate dancers apply what they've learned
16:43 in the earlier levels to create a full dance sequence.
16:47 Most people throughout their lives, if they want to go out of an evening,
16:49 have to arrange for all their friends to go out of an evening.
16:52 The beauty of this kind of thing is it's very, very social
16:54 so you could just turn up with a partner or on your own, doesn't matter.
16:57 Almost any night of the week without having to worry about
17:00 whether people are going to be there or organize anything
17:03 and have a fun evening.
17:04 It's kind of like a ready-made social scene for anyone that wants to
17:08 turn up and join in. That's the real beauty of it.
17:11 In traditional salsa dancing, the leader is a man
17:14 while the follower is a woman.
17:16 Whatever move the leader initiates, the follower has to comply.
17:20 One, two, three, back on wheel.
17:23 But breaking the stereotypes.
17:25 Some ladies learn to lead due to the absence of men on some nights.
17:29 I realized that I was just standing a lot on the dance floor
17:33 because there were definitely more followers than leaders.
17:36 And I thought, I'm going to learn to lead because I love to dance.
17:40 And I thought, if I can lead, I'll be on the dance floor more.
17:43 I even put on my dancing shoes.
17:46 Izzy was the leader and I was the follower.
17:49 And the night comes to an end.
17:53 So, would you dare to go dancing after a stressful day of work?
17:57 [Salsa music]
18:00 Yinka Owate for KMTV in Maidstone.
18:03 Well, to find out more about salsa dance and why it's so popular
18:06 with such a wide diversity group of people,
18:09 I spoke with group instructor Vanessa Vanda earlier on.
18:12 So, Vanessa, thank you very much for joining us and welcome to Invictus Sport.
18:16 It looks like you have quite a bit of fun down there at the Salsa Group.
18:19 How did you get involved with it all?
18:21 Well, a few years ago, quite a few years ago now,
18:24 about 20 years ago, a friend of mine suggested that
18:27 it would be a fun thing to do to try out classes.
18:30 So, we did that.
18:32 And before I knew it, I was dancing three to four nights a week.
18:36 I dance a bit less often now.
18:39 But, yeah, I've kept it up the whole time.
18:41 Even through COVID, I was doing online classes.
18:44 And it's really good to be part of something that's social
18:47 and helps keep you fit at the same time.
18:49 It really does seem like it's social down there as well.
18:51 And you have kind of a bit of a split in terms of beginners are welcome,
18:55 but also people that have been doing it a bit longer.
18:57 Talk to me about that split.
18:59 Why is it important to sort of allow beginners to sort of be with other beginners, as it were?
19:03 Well, I think that it's good to have different levels
19:07 so that the beginners can learn from the more experienced dancers
19:10 and that's so that you can make friendships
19:13 regardless of what level of class that you're in.
19:16 We all started as beginners once, right?
19:19 So, it's really good to be able just to have different levels.
19:22 Having different level classes as well means that the class can be tailored
19:27 or the content of the class can be tailored to the individual
19:30 so that we make sure beginners are learning beginners moves
19:34 and the improvers are in the middle,
19:37 only learning things that are relevant to their experience.
19:40 And at the top level, the intermediate level,
19:42 they are learning moves that are relevant to their experience
19:46 so that if you've had, for example, a beginner in a top level class,
19:49 that would really slow the progress of the class down
19:52 and it wouldn't be as positive an experience for those who've been dancing for years.
19:57 No, absolutely. I completely understand what you mean.
20:00 But for me, when I look at salsa dancing, it doesn't matter how experienced people are.
20:04 I just, I love it. I love listening to the music.
20:06 It makes me want to sort of hop on a plane, go somewhere hot and be drinking cocktails.
20:10 It's such a sort of fun activity for people to be getting involved with.
20:13 But why do you think, I mean, it originated in Cuba and Puerto Rico.
20:17 Why do you think that sort of our culture is kind of, are we just a bit more rigid here?
20:21 Is that why not as many people have picked it up in the past?
20:26 Oh, I think it's had different fluctuations of popularity.
20:30 So when I started in 2003, it was quite a big salsa scene at the time.
20:35 And I think over the years, it's probably diminished a little in popularity.
20:40 And then you also have the introduction of other dances, such as bachata,
20:45 which is from the Dominican Republic, and kizomba, which originates from Angola.
20:50 So there's a bit of a dilution now, because rather than everyone just wants to do salsa,
20:54 people want to do different styles of dance.
20:56 So I think perhaps that's what has happened.
21:00 Yeah, and I mean, we're seeing a lot of people as well joining the groups
21:03 and wanting to, you know, maybe they've had a sort of long, hard day at work
21:07 and they want to come and sort of let off some steam.
21:09 And you as well, you have kind of traditionally, it's male and female partners that go together.
21:14 I know that sometimes when that's not available, you'll have sort of same-sex partners.
21:17 But do you ever see sort of partners themselves, you know, people who are together in a couple,
21:21 coming down to the group and joining together?
21:24 Yeah, it's quite a common thing that people want to do, actually.
21:27 And in my dance teaching experience, I've even had the opportunity to teach couples their first dance for their wedding,
21:35 which has been really rewarding, especially when they send you the video of the dance afterwards,
21:40 so you can see how it looked on the day.
21:42 So I think it's a really good activity for couples to do, if they're both starting off as beginners.
21:48 In my personal experience, I think less so if I was with somebody who hadn't done salsa before.
21:54 So it might be a bit frustrating for me because I've been dancing for 20 years.
21:57 But yeah, it is a popular activity for some couples.
22:00 Oh, that sounds fantastic. Now, I wanted to ask about yourself as well.
22:03 I know that you're a runner in your free time as well.
22:06 How does that sort of play into, you know, your salsa training, training people?
22:10 I mean, do you kind of need that stamina? Does it help? Does it come in at all?
22:15 Yeah, I think so. I run for a local club, actually, Medway and Maidstone AC.
22:21 And they train out of Medway Park, actually.
22:25 So I'm part of their club and have been for a few years now,
22:28 running all kinds of different distances and over track or road or cross country or trail.
22:35 I think because you need such a lot of cardio fitness for running,
22:40 it really helps with the stamina for the dancing.
22:42 So I've noticed that if there's a particularly fast track at salsa,
22:47 maybe my partner, if they're not a runner, they might get more out of breath than me.
22:50 And I'm not really out of breath at all.
22:52 Or people kind of tend to get a bit hotter and stuff,
22:55 whereas it's not as much of a workout for me compared to going for a run.
22:59 And of course, people dance salsa competitively as well.
23:02 You see all around the world people competing.
23:04 Is that something that the club ever gets involved with down in Maidstone?
23:09 Competitively, no. I have been involved with a few dance shows
23:14 which have involved a few different dance styles, including salsa.
23:18 So, yeah, I would say more performances.
23:21 And I've done examinations as well. I did a teaching examination and a dancing examination.
23:26 So that's things that people can do as well as attending classes.
23:31 But as for competitions, not so much.
23:34 I would say that might potentially fall more under the Latin and ballroom area,
23:39 which is different, again, from salsa and a bit more.
23:42 And the kind of things that you see on TV programmes over the autumn, shall we say.
23:49 Of course. Well, at the other side of things, I suppose we'll just wrap up by asking,
23:53 what's your sort of advice for somebody that's thinking about having a go?
23:57 They might have seen this but never danced before in their life.
23:59 What's your advice to them?
24:01 I would say look up a local class, come along, don't delay, just go and do it.
24:07 Don't even give yourself a chance to doubt anything.
24:10 Just turn up with a positive attitude and a big smile.
24:14 Make sure you're wearing comfortable shoes.
24:16 And, yeah, just be prepared to have some fun, really, because that's what the main thing is about salsa,
24:22 especially as a beginner, just to meet new people, get out and socialise, do a bit of exercise and have fun.
24:27 Prepare to have some fun. I'll keep that one in mind.
24:29 Vanessa, thank you very much for joining us on Invicta Sport today.
24:33 Thank you.
24:35 Now, we've reached full time on today's episode,
24:37 but there's just a few minutes of extra added time for us to take a look at this week's Action Replay.
24:41 Here's Abbey.
24:43 Starting off this week, we have what could be an English football all-time record-breaking goal,
24:49 which took place in Chatham.
24:51 Jack Lyons scored this screamer from the centre spot,
24:54 opening the scoring for Rustle FC for what would go on to be a dominant youth FA Cup match
25:00 for the Tunbridge Wells side over Chatham Town.
25:03 The eager 15-year-old then scored twice more, sealing himself a well-deserved hat-trick.
25:09 The clip has since gone viral on social media, with many suspecting the goal,
25:14 which happened just four seconds after the first whistle, to be the quickest in English football history.
25:21 Next, in this pair from Ashford have taken on an astonishing one-million-step challenge,
25:26 all to raise money for the East Kent Hospital's charity.
25:30 Danielle Bryant and Ruth Maguire smashed their target and completed the challenge.
25:35 Danielle, who has multiple sclerosis, says the 400-mile feat was definitely a challenge,
25:41 but overall saw lots of benefits for their own health and wellbeing too.
25:46 Whilst Ruth, who suffers from fibromyalgia, says she was very grateful for all the support
25:51 in raising more than £700. A very well done to them.
25:55 And finally today, another sporting star who's overcoming adversity is Keith Turner,
26:01 who works as a public advisor for the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Applied Research Collaboration.
26:07 Keith is blind and this weekend is attempting to take on the Great North Run.
26:12 Using nothing but some bells from his guide, Keith will take on a world-record attempt
26:18 as he becomes the first to run the distance with no physical directional support.
26:23 And that's it for this week's Action Replay.
26:26 Make sure you send in your clips and pics for a chance to appear here next week.
26:31 And that's it, that's full time on today's episode of Invictus Sport.
26:39 If you want more from KNTV, you can watch all of our programmes at kntv.co.uk.
26:44 I'll see you later.
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