Sport in Worthing
A wide variety of sport in Worthing has been played, which has a long and interesting history.
Current sports
Worthing's location between the sea and the downs makes the area a popular location for outdoor recreation. The town's five miles of coastline and its wide open water makes it a popular location for watersports, especially
Previously home to
A range of
Sports teams
The main sports teams representing Worthing are shown below:
Name | Nickname | Sport | League | Home | Founded |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Worthing Cricket Club | Cricket | Sussex Premier League | Manor Sports Ground | 1855 | |
Worthing Football Club | The Rebels | Football | Isthmian League Premier Division
|
Woodside Road
|
1886 |
Worthing Hockey Club | Field hockey | Kent/Sussex Div 1 | Angmering School | 1896 | |
Worthing Rugby Football Club
|
Raiders | Rugby union | National League 1 | Roundstone Lane, Angmering | 1920 |
Worthing United Football Club | The Mavericks | Football | Sussex County League Division 1
|
Robert Albon Memorial Ground | 1988 |
Worthing Thunder | Thunder | Basketball | English Basketball League
|
Worthing Leisure Centre | 1999 |
Worthing Swimming Club | W.S.C. | Swimming | Sussex League/ Speedo League | Splashpoint, Worthing | 1890 |
Worthing S.C. Water Polo | Green & Black | Water polo | B.W.P.L./ Sussex League/ South East Regional Trophy | Splashpoint, Worthing | 1890 |
History
18th century
The first recorded sport in Worthing was cricket, which is recorded as having been played on Broadwater Green in the 1720s. Broadwater Cricket Club was the first club to be formed in the modern borough of Worthing. Founded in 1771, the club's first game was also in 1771 when they built Henfield by 30 notches to 15.[2]
19th century
Cricket continued to be the area's main sport in the 19th century, although other sports soon grew in popularity. In 1837 Broadwater hosted a match on Broadwater Green between a Sussex XI and an England XI.[2] As the town of Worthing grew separately from Broadwater in the 19th century, Worthing Cricket Club was formed in 1855, Goring Cricket Club in 1877 [2] and Chippingdale Cricket Club in 1897.
In the 19th century
The Scarlet Runners were Worthing's first rugby club, who were in existence by 1883, changing their name to Worthing Football Club (RU) shortly afterwards. Together with Brighton and Hastings they were founder members of the Sussex Rugby Football Union. The club folded in 1895.
1886 proved to be a particularly significant year for sport in the town. Worthing's main football club was formed in this year as Worthing AFC (later renamed Worthing FC).[4] Also in 1886, the West Worthing Club opened at Downview Road, West Worthing with tennis and croquet grounds for the new town of West Worthing.
Worthing Swimming Club formed in 1890 at the YMCA Rooms in Warwick Street, with swimming taking place in the sea and at West Worthing Baths (formerly the site of MGM Assurance in Heene Road).[5] In 1898 the club's water polo team appeared in one of the Britain's earliest films.[6] This was one of a number of films made by pioneer William Kennedy Dickson on a visit to Worthing.[6] Also in the 1890s, Worthing got its first bowling green, in Homefield Park.[2]
Worthing Hockey Club formed in 1896 and in 1899 were one of seven founder members of the Sussex County Hockey Association forum.[7]
20th century
Worthing FC were founder members of the
In 1920,
In 1932, Worthing’s International Easter Hockey Festival started when 11 teams participated, including Old Cranleighans, Beckenham, Brighton and Trojans, later increasing to over 50 teams.[7] The festival moved to the Manor Sports Ground in 1939. The Manor Sports Ground, also the home of Worthing Cricket Club, was used for an annual County Championship match for Sussex between 1935 and 1964.
In 1969 Worthing hosted the start of the opening stage of cycling's Milk Race (now the Tour of Britain). Starting at Montague Place, this stage of the race ran along the seafront and on to Swindon, a distance of 164 km.[8] The success of the event was overshadowed by the death of Zdeněk Kramoliš, a cyclist from the Czechoslovakia team, who collided with a lorry.[9][10] This stage was won by the Polish rider, Kazimierz Jasiński.
In 1969, 1970 and 1974 Worthing's Hill Barn Golf Club on the South Downs played host to the
In 1972, Beach House Park in Worthing hosted its first World Bowls Championships, with people from 16 countries competing.[2] Welshman Maldwyn Evans won the Singles championship, while the England team won the Fours. Twenty years later, in 1992, Worthing again hosted the World Bowls Championships, this time with people from 28 countries competing.[2] The 1992 Singles event was won by Tony Allcock, who as of 2011 was the Chief Executive of Bowls England, also based in Worthing. The Fours was won by the team representing Scotland.
In 1974 the West Worthing tennis club moved to a new site in Titnore Lane and its grounds in West Worthing were sold and demolished. In 1982 Dr John Bull of
21st century
The Worthing Triathlon started in 2004, and is a standard distance
Worthing's first major kitesurfing event, the Big Air Open Kitesurfing Classic will take place on 14 July 2012 as part of the 2012 Olympic Torch Relay weekend in the town.[11][12]
In August 2012, the new cyclosportive known as The Devil in the Downs will take place, forming part of Worthing Excelsior Cycling Club 125th anniversary celebrations.[13] Made up of three events, there will be a ride of 125 km (78 mi) known as the Devil in the Downs, a ride of 85 km (53 mi) known as the Little Devil and a ride of 50 km (31 mi), known as the Little Imp.[13] The event replaces Worthing's first sportive, known as the Worthing 125, which had courses of 125 miles and 125 km.
Famous sportsmen
Facilities
Facilities include the
See also
References
- ^ "Three Forts Challenge". Threefortsmarathon.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Elleray & 1998.
- ^ "-- Club History --". Archived from the original on 7 March 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
- ^ "Worthing Football Club | 2010-11 Season - History". Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
- ^ "History - Worthing Swimming Club". Worthingswimmingclub.org. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ a b "BFI Screenonline: Water Polo - Worthing Swimming Club (1898)". Screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ a b "About :: Worthing Hockey Club". Archived from the original on 12 April 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ "Milk Race". Cyclingarchives.com. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ British Pathé. "Newsreels, video, archive, film, footage, stills - British Pathé". britishpathe.com.
- ^ "Cycle Race Start of the Milk Race is Marred by Death of Cyclist Footage - WPA Film Library". www.wpafilmlibrary.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "What's On". Visit Worthing. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
- British Broadcasting Corporation. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
- ^ a b "The Devil in the Downs Sportive - 12th August 2012". Worthing Excelsior Cycling Club. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
Bibliography
- Elleray, D. Robert (1998). A Millennium Encyclopaedia of Worthing History. Worthing: Optimus Books. ISBN 0-9533132-0-4.