This Monday, we meet the Edenbridge Piranhas after they narrowly survived closure earlier this year. PLUS: Bartholomew speaks all things cycling with the Tunbridge Wells Bicycle User Group.
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00:00 Hello and welcome along to Invicta Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:19 up all of Kent's sporting action. I'm Bartholomew Hall and here's what to expect on this Monday,
00:24 the 23rd of October. Angels ascend, Tunbridge triumphs despite controversy in five goal
00:32 thriller. Cycling concerns, Kent lags behind nationally in commuting bicycle users. Room
00:38 for improvement? And Piranhas bite back, Eden Bridge Swim Club makes waves after leisure
00:44 centre saved from closure. Hello there. Tonight let's begin with the football National League
00:50 South side Tunbridge Angels who went into the weekend looking to snap their seven game
00:55 winless streak as they hosted Bath City, who currently sit in third place. Meanwhile, Gillingham
01:01 looked to regain form as they hosted a high-flying Notts County. With that and plenty more, it's
01:06 time to take a look at this weekend's football action.
01:10 This week we kick off at Longmead Stadium where Tunbridge Angels pulled off an unlikely
01:14 win against third-placed Bath City. The Angels got off to a perfect start as they opened
01:19 the scoring through Jamie Fielding, who rose highest to head home from a corner. But the
01:24 Romans did get their equaliser minutes later. Cody Cook put the finishing touch on a well-worked
01:30 team move to pull the visitors level. Bath kept up their momentum and doubled their lead
01:37 four minutes later. Tom Parkinson mistimed his header which led to the ball falling for
01:42 striker Scott Wilson, who unleashed a cracking finish to put the Romans ahead. The Angels
01:48 looked to bring the game back on level terms just before the half and an injury time corner
01:52 led to a moment of controversy. The Angels appeared to have the ball in the back of the
01:57 net but instead of blowing the whistle for a goal, the referee blew for half-time. After
02:02 a chaotic few minutes, it appeared that the referee and assistant claimed the ball hadn't
02:06 crossed the line. But video evidence showed the ball was well over the line and Dan Greenside
02:12 even scooped the ball out of the goal with his hand.
02:15 Amidst the chaos, Bath City keeper Ollie Wright had to be withdrawn with a dislocated shoulder
02:20 and was replaced by full-back Joe Rains in goal. Onto the second half and Tunbridge continued
02:25 to be on the front foot and won a penalty after a low cross hit the hand of a sliding
02:30 Jordan Thomas. Lewis Gard made no mistake from the spot to pull the Angels level.
02:36 With the game set for a draw, there was yet another twist in the story. Tunbridge were
02:41 awarded a late penalty after Kieran Parcell wrestled fielding to the ground. The responsibility
02:46 fell to Lewis Gard who yet again made no mistake from the spot to give the Angels the win and
02:51 snap their seven-game winless streak. Angels manager Jay Saunders said the first half controversy
02:57 fuelled his side to the win.
02:59 "When the boys were gutted, it was like they felt like everything was going against them.
03:03 I just said, 'Use it, use that frustration, use that to go out second half and go and
03:07 win the game.' To be fair, it's taken two penalties but we went out and we had a real
03:11 good go at it second half."
03:13 Elsewhere in the National League South and Dover Athletic were denied their first win
03:17 in the league since matchday two. The draw means Dover remain in the bottom three while
03:21 Maidstone United remain within touching distance of the top.
03:25 Meanwhile in League Two and Gillingham face back-to-back defeats as they lost to high-flying
03:29 Notts County. The result means the Gills now fall to ninth in the league with three losses
03:34 in their last five.
03:36 And on to the National League where Epsfleet United held on for a draw against bottom
03:40 of the league Fylde. The result leaves the fleet at 17th on the table with one win in
03:45 their last five.
03:46 A controversial red card meant that the fleet played with 10 men for 30 minutes as manager
03:51 Dennis Kutry praised his side's mentality.
03:53 "Tucked deep together as a team, defended very well, come to some saves obviously yes.
03:58 But then we turned up and we had three good chances to finish the game off and obviously
04:02 I would be more happy with three points than one point. I don't want to be greedy, I take
04:06 the point away from home."
04:08 And finally coming to the Isthmian League Premier where Chatham Town bounce back from
04:11 defeat as the East Pass conquered. While Folkestone drop to 10th after a defeat against Kingstonian.
04:18 And that's your round-up of this weekend's football action.
04:22 Moving on, areas in Kent are among the lowest ranked for people cycling to work in the country.
04:28 A study on the latest ONS figures shows that commuting cyclists make up just 0.8% of the
04:34 population nationally, with Sevenoaks ranked 9th lowest and Medway ranked 35th lowest out
04:40 of more than 300 local authorities.
04:42 But just why are the figures so low here in Kent? Well, I've been finding out.
04:47 Just under 8,000 people cycle to work here in Kent. That's according to the latest figures
04:52 from the Office for National Statistics.
04:54 Based on how many cyclists there are per 1,000 people, the data shows an east-west divide
05:00 in the county. Those commonly known as commuter towns sit amongst the lowest in Kent for people
05:05 cycling to work.
05:06 Whilst lower than any city, Medway and Sevenoaks rank amongst the lowest in the country, with
05:12 just 1.99 and 2.86 people cycling per every 1,000 commuters.
05:19 Compared with the rest of the country, Merthyr Tydfil in Wales ranked as the overall lowest
05:23 local authority area, and Cambridge was the highest, with more than 75 people.
05:29 It's clear from this data that Kent sits well below the UK average over people who cycle
05:33 to work.
05:34 "Apart from just cycling to work, there's a lot of carbon emission we are emitting into
05:39 the air. It's not just affecting the person standing by the roadside, it's also affecting
05:45 you that is also driving that car or any other means of transportation that you are taking."
05:51 This is Matt, who runs his company All Bikes Servicing from his home garage in Chatham.
05:56 Even he says that he wouldn't choose to cycle to work if he had to go elsewhere in the area.
06:00 "I've been cycling all my life. It's great to get out in the fresh air, it clears your
06:06 mind, it's just a pleasant situation. When I used to work in Gillingham, which is the
06:13 closest I've ever worked in my life, which I think is about 4.2 miles, and I'd do a 12
06:18 hour day, and cycling to work, do a 12 hour day and then thinking about cycling home wasn't
06:22 a great prospect for me personally. I get that with a lot of people. But I think Medway
06:27 really, bearing in mind where it is based, with regards to London and those sort of areas,
06:34 I think a lot of people tend to get on the train and commute that way."
06:38 With the benefits of cycling for your health, for the environment and for your pocket clear,
06:43 why is it that in an area like Medway, the numbers are so low? Especially when there's
06:47 more than 80 miles of cycling routes through all five towns. Well, we've been asking those
06:52 who live here if they'll consider cycling to work.
06:55 "I would, but I think there definitely needs to be an improvement in cycling facilities
07:00 well around here, but generally through the country."
07:04 "When I worked in Medway, I cycled to work most days anyway, because I was near enough
07:09 to do that. If I needed the car, I used to cycle home and pick it up."
07:14 "I do cycle a lot and I would cycle to work if I think it's safe, and I don't think it
07:19 is very safe no matter where we are in the UK."
07:21 So with some considering taking up two wheels and others happy sticking with four, it seems
07:26 Kent's cycling stats are yet to hit top gear. Bartholomew Hall for KMTV.
07:32 One group which is well aware of Kent's cycling habits is the Tunbridge Wells Bike User Group,
07:37 which has recently been campaigning for a new cycling lane to be added between Tunbridge
07:41 and Tunbridge Wells. I caught up with the group's spokesman Paul Mason earlier today.
07:46 So Paul, thank you very much for joining us here today. Welcome to Invicta Sport. Now,
07:51 the statistics that we've been analysing show that 0.37% of Tunbridge Wells and Tunbridge's
07:58 overall population choose to cycle to work. Does that surprise you?
08:04 "Well, not really at all, Bartholomew, no. For most people, the very idea of getting
08:11 on a bike and sharing it with heavy, fast-moving traffic is – well, they just say, 'I'm
08:16 sorry, but I can't do it because it's too dangerous.' And that's why we've been
08:20 campaigning for segregated or dedicated cycleways, particularly just recently the focus of our
08:28 campaign has been the road between Tunbridge and Tunbridge Wells, the A26, which is a nice
08:36 big wide road. I know there are points on the road that are difficult to put a cycleway
08:42 on, but actually it's just a question of good design and most of it no major problems.
08:50 So no, that statistic doesn't surprise me at all, unfortunately."
08:54 Yeah, I think safety is one of the reasons people were talking to us on the street as
08:59 to why they don't cycle more than they do at the moment. Is that something that can
09:03 be simply solved with road layouts?
09:06 "Well, I mean, if you consider the case of Holland, anybody who's been to the Netherlands
09:14 will know that it's a sort of cycling paradise. And I mean, they were committed to the same
09:20 kind of society as we were in the 1970s, with more and more cars and buildings being knocked
09:27 down to enlarge roads and so on. And then they suddenly thought, 'Well, hold on a moment.
09:32 Is this what we really want?' And they did a complete vault fast on that, you know, for
09:38 a period of a decade or two decades. And since then, you know, they have prioritized pedestrians
09:46 and cyclists and so on and given them room. And, you know, I mean, Holland is a country
09:52 quite like ours in the sense that it's an overcrowded country with lots of people and
09:59 potentially a lot of cars. It's got lots of old medieval cities with narrow streets and
10:05 of course canals on top of that as well in Holland. But they have succeeded in retrofitting
10:11 a lot of really excellent, safe and pleasant to use cycle infrastructure. So, yeah, it
10:20 can be done, but it's a matter of political will, of course."
10:23 And you mentioned earlier, Paul, your campaign to add a new cycle route between Tunbridge
10:28 and Tunbridge Wells. And you've got quite an interesting way of doing that. You get
10:32 these sort of big mass cycle rides together. What was behind that idea?
10:37 "Well, essentially, if you're going to get cycling infrastructure built in this country,
10:44 you have to persuade politicians that the desire for dedicated cycleways is not that
10:52 of a sort of small entitled minority of middle class, middle aged people in Lycra. It's something
11:00 that lots of people want. So that's the idea really to have, you know, 200, 300 people
11:08 riding along the road demonstrates in a very public way, you know, that lots of people
11:14 would love to be able to cycle if it were safe and would be very willing to do so. So
11:20 that's really what's behind it. And so that was the purpose of our mass rides, to show
11:25 that it's not a minority interest. It's just lots of ordinary people who'd like to be able
11:30 to cycle, just as they did in this country back in the 1950s. You know, a third of all
11:35 journeys were undertaken by bike."
11:37 All right, Paul, thank you very much for joining us today.
11:40 "Not at all. It's a real pleasure."
11:43 Well, now we've reached half time, which means it's time for a break. But coming up, we'll
11:49 be meeting the Edenbridge Piranhas, the Kent Swim group now making waves after facing potential
11:54 closure earlier this year.
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15:08 Hello and welcome back to Invicta Sport live on KMTV. Now, a quick look back at the headlines.
15:15 Wasps Rugby Football Club has announced in the past hour or so its intention to move
15:20 into Kent with a new stadium, training ground and a hotel built in Swanley. It comes one
15:26 year after the club went into administration and was relegated from the Rugby Union Premiership.
15:31 The club says the move signifies a new chapter in its journey, reaffirming its commitment
15:35 to professional rugby. Sevenoaks District Council has described the announcement as
15:40 one in a generation opportunity for economics, sport, health, education, skills and cultural
15:46 benefits to the district. However, the council says there will also be a public consultation
15:50 as part of its next local plan process.
15:54 Still sticking with rugby, England were denied a fifth Rugby World Cup final after a late
15:59 comeback from South Africa in Paris on Saturday evening. Former Sevenoaks Rugby Club player
16:04 Ben Earle started for England who finished with 15 points, all of which were scored by
16:09 Owen Farrell and saw the underdogs lead for most of the match. However, a late charge
16:14 from the Springboks led to a match-winning penalty in the 77th minute for South Africa,
16:19 ending the game 16-15 at the Stade de France. England will now face Argentina in the third
16:25 place play-off on Friday.
16:30 Now moving forward and after months on end without a pool to practice in, Eden Bridge
16:34 Piranhas have finally found their sea legs again. The club's 80 young swimmers are relieved
16:39 to have their pool back after problems with a management company which left them swimming
16:44 wherever they could. Finn McDermott went to see how they were getting on.
16:48 What do swimmers do without their pool? This was the struggle facing the Eden Bridge Piranhas,
16:54 a swimming club in the east of the county, after their firm forced the shutting down
16:58 of their leisure centre after the company went into liquidation.
17:03 After using the pool for 30 years, it came as quite a shock to the Piranhas when they
17:08 were left in the dark, practically overnight, with little knowledge of how long the pool
17:12 would be closed. This meant that while it was, they had to improvise, looking for pools
17:17 elsewhere they could travel to each week, putting some strain on their ability to plan
17:21 sessions.
17:22 Thankfully, the centre was bought out by a new management provider and the team were
17:27 able to start practising again. I spoke to their head coach to see how the club was managing
17:32 after the struggle of not having a pool for so long.
17:35 "Yeah, when the pool was shut, everybody was basically devastated and wondering what
17:40 was going to happen. We're only a small club compared to others, we only swim at this venue,
17:45 but a lot of clubs swim elsewhere. So, it was great once we got the news that Active
17:51 Leisure were going to be taking over, well everyone active should I say, were going to
17:55 be taking over, and we could get back in the pool and they could start training again.
18:00 Everyone was really pleased with that."
18:03 Now that the swimmers are back, they're keen to show off their exercises, such as practising
18:07 their dives, which would give them an advantage off the mark in competitions, as well as the
18:12 cup exercise, where they balance a cup with some water inside on their foreheads. This
18:16 strengthens their neck and makes sure they are keeping their head far enough above the
18:20 water during backstrokes.
18:22 The club is also home to two members of the Kent Swim England Development Squad, which
18:27 is an association to give young swimmers a pathway to representing England in certain
18:31 aquatic disciplines.
18:33 The scheme is open to 51 clubs that practise a variety of sports, including diving, open
18:39 water swimming, para-swimming, synchronised swimming and water polo. Edenbridge Piranhas
18:44 is one such club, and after winning the Kent Junior League C Cup earlier this year, the
18:50 club are ecstatic to have their facilities back. I spoke to the Piranhas development
18:54 swimmers themselves about their beloved club and the aspirations they had for the future.
18:58 "Do you have any aspirations to swim professionally one day?"
19:02 "Yes, I would like to do that, but I would also like to get a job and do other stuff
19:07 like that."
19:08 "How did it feel when you heard that the pool would be able to be used again?"
19:12 "I was very, very excited because I hadn't been in the pool for so long."
19:16 "It felt amazing. I was so happy that we could train again and see all my friends again.
19:20 Also, knowing that you can go back to training towards your goals is really motivating."
19:27 Not only is swimming a good sport for health, fitness and competitions, it's also good for
19:32 safety, with the Piranhas swimming several times over the week and becoming stronger
19:36 swimmers every session. Looking at the Eden Bridge Piranhas now, you would not believe
19:41 that in March they had nowhere to practice. Now it seems to the parents and to the swimmers
19:46 that it was all water under the bridge. Finn McDermott for KMTV.
19:51 Well earlier today I spoke with Richard Mayo, treasurer of the Eden Bridge Piranhas, and
19:55 his son Christopher who swims there to look back on the journey the club has had over
19:59 the past few months.
20:02 So Richard and Christopher join me now from the Eden Bridge Piranhas. Welcome to Invicta
20:08 Sport first of all. Now talk to me about the sort of journey of the Piranhas over the past
20:12 year because it's been quite a mixed bag.
20:14 Yeah, it has. We certainly struggled during the Covid times as well. We lost a lot of
20:18 members but it felt like we were really coming out off the back of Covid. We were really
20:22 progressing well and then suddenly out of the blue earlier this year, the management
20:26 company that ran the leisure centre where we train at suddenly went into liquidation
20:29 almost overnight. So we were without a home. As committee members we had to go booking
20:35 other pool time at other places. We ended up with different pools in three different
20:40 counties so our swimmers became almost nomadic. We were schlepping around different counties
20:44 to different pools for training events. So it involved a lot of car sharing, a lot of
20:49 difficulties and then everyone active, the new management company, took over our leisure
20:54 centre in early summer. So we've been back there since and I think there's a real air
20:59 of positivity around the club now. We're really getting back into it and we're starting to
21:03 get some great results as well.
21:04 That's really good because I think a big part of it, we talk to lots of different clubs
21:07 and societies that have lots of people where logistics, like you mentioned, is really a
21:13 key part of organising things together. How was it through those months trying to kind
21:18 of, like you mentioned, the car shares, working things out week on week?
21:21 Yeah, it was difficult because we had to call different private schools locally to us to
21:26 try and see if we could get time in their swimming pools. We called different leisure
21:29 centres. So we got three different places that we went to for the few weeks that we
21:33 were out and then it was a case of us parents who have swimmers swimming in the club trying
21:39 to work out who's going to take to Monday night and who's going to take to Wednesday
21:42 night and who's going to bring home again. So it was difficult but I think the club is
21:47 a quite, it's a well-knit club. We're all good friends. The swimmers are great friends,
21:51 the parents are great friends. So we worked through it and we were very, very lucky when
21:54 Everyone Active came in quite quickly to reopen our leisure centre.
21:58 And it must mean a lot as well to the swimmers themselves. Christopher, talk to me about
22:03 being at the club. You must have quite a few friends there.
22:05 Yeah, so I really enjoy being at the club. It's a great community, great atmosphere.
22:13 We always have lots of fun at the swimming galas and stuff.
22:16 Yeah, and you're back up and running now and since reopening you've won the Kent Junior
22:21 League Cup.
22:22 Yeah, we were delighted to win that. It's the first time we've won a gala for a couple
22:25 of years. And again, I think it's real testament to our swimmers' commitment. They're desperate
22:30 to keep improving. They work really, really hard. And the fact that we've come away with
22:34 a trophy from a gala in Dover, I think that's a wonderful result.
22:37 And it's brilliant as well, swimming as well, you know, especially from such a young age
22:41 to pick up something that could be potentially life-saving further down the line as well.
22:45 Absolutely. I mean, it's a great skill anyway. I swam when I was younger and seeing our 80-something
22:51 members swimming sometimes five days a week, it's wonderful for their fitness. But it also
22:56 lends itself to so many other sports as well. If you're a great swimmer, you have that core
23:00 strength to be able to adapt to other sports when Christopher does several sports himself.
23:04 Yeah, and Christopher, you were telling me before that you've chosen swimming as one
23:07 of your GCSE options within PE. What was behind that?
23:11 Well, I think I'm quite a strong swimmer. I really enjoy swimming. It's really good
23:19 for my fitness. So I thought GCSE PE swimming would be a good option to do.
23:25 Something you want to take forward once you leave school as well?
23:27 Yeah, I think so. Yeah.
23:29 Fantastic. So tell me about the club itself then. What's going on at the moment? Are you
23:33 going towards any more galas?
23:34 Yeah, we attend several galas over the course of the year. The club's been around for 30
23:38 years now. We've got our 30-year anniversary in 12 months' time as well. So we're looking
23:42 forward to that. If we can get a few more results on the way to that, I think that'd
23:45 be a great way to celebrate.
23:47 And as well, you have two swimmers who we heard from in Finn's piece there who have
23:51 been selected for the Kent Swim England Development Squad. That's quite an achievement.
23:55 Yeah, it really is. And we're really, really proud of them. We've got another swimmer as
23:58 well who's number two in Kent and number 20-something in England. So we're very proud of her. But
24:04 that said, all of our swimmers swim really, really hard. We recognise that not every single
24:07 member is going to be the next Rebecca Adlington or the next Adam Peaty. Our coaches are really
24:13 committed to make sure the swimmers can be the best they can possibly be. So we're equally
24:18 proud of every single one of our members.
24:19 And it's got to be quite good, because you've spoken a lot about the community spirit that
24:24 you have there at the club, to have people of different abilities that maybe can act
24:28 as role models for others.
24:29 Yeah, absolutely. We've got our club captains who are wonderful ambassadors for the team.
24:34 We also have a thriving masters section as well. So our oldest swimmer is 68. He's swam
24:39 in European masters levels. So he's a real role model for the younger swimmers as well.
24:44 We're very, very lucky that we've got such a breadth of ages and experiences. And I think
24:48 it's just a wonderful, happy club.
24:50 And then just lastly, from both of you, are there any highlights over the years or the
24:54 year that you've been with the club that you can kind of remember that stand out for you?
24:58 I've enjoyed spectating all the galas. I do a team management role. I look after the swimmers
25:02 while they're waiting for their races. I just enjoy the camaraderie and having a good time
25:06 over there.
25:07 And then, any specific events for you?
25:09 I really enjoy all the galas and being able to cheer on everyone else in the club while
25:13 they swim. It's a really good team spirit, I think.
25:17 Well, fantastic. Thank you both very much for joining us here on Invicta Sport.
25:21 Now we've reached full time on Invicta Sport, but something to show you now from the team
25:25 that brings you the Kent Politics Show, and it might just take us into overtime. In this
25:29 special series, we've been sitting down and interviewing Kent politicians about the issues
25:34 that matter to you. At 7pm this evening, we'll hear from MP Damien Green about the potential
25:39 of Eurostar services returning to his constituency of Ashford, the future of local journalism
25:44 and the looming general election. Here's a sneak peek.
25:52 Start by having a chat with you about Eurostar. Obviously, very recently, one of the heads
25:57 of Eurostar was at Ashford Council giving an update, the news there that there'll be
26:01 no return of international services before 2025. On the 10th anniversary of Eurostar,
26:07 you said that there'd be no greater benefit to Ashford's economy than the domestic and
26:10 international services that that's brought to the area. How much of a blow is it that
26:14 those won't be returning?
26:15 I mean, it is a blow. It's not news in that they've been saying that ever since we came
26:21 out of the pandemic. And everyone who was at that meeting and who's been involved, as
26:28 I have for many years, in the last few years, trying to get Eurostar services back, reflected
26:33 that the tone was very slightly more positive than we'd heard from them before.
26:39 And that's the final whistle on today's episode of Invictus Spot. We've got plenty more available
26:43 for you at kent@kmtv.co.uk. I'll see you on Friday.
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