No. 7: Sports stars of the year – eight of the district’s bestWhy the Stray Ferret is now covering sportPlans resubmitted to build two padel tennis courts in HarrogateGrants awarded to 11 Harrogate groups that promote physical activityRipon TikTok influencer wins darts championship

A Ripon man with more than 290,000 followers on TikTok has won the first ever Modus Super Series influencer darts championship.

Charlie Murphy defeated a fellow influencer known as Pieface in Portsmouth on Sunday (April 28).

Mr Murphy started creating videos on TikTok over a year ago about his weight loss journey and his passion for Manchester United.

He now also makes videos on darts, featuring his catchphrase ‘easy now’, which led to him being invited to the tournament. He also plays darts in the local pub league in Ripon.

In total, his videos have received almost 10 million likes on TikTok.

In a TikTok video posted before Sunday’s event, he said:

“I’m really looking forward to it, really nervous but I am just going to enjoy it and give it my all.

“I don’t know how I’ve gone from throwing darts in my bedroom shouting ‘easy now’ to being invited to play here in a tournament with other influencers and professional darts players. What a fantastic place.”

The event was Mr Murphy’s first tournament in front of a crowd and the most viewed Modus Super Series livestream ever.

@charliemurphy50

Modus Super Series is a weekly darts competition streamed on YouTube involving non-Professional Darts Corporation card holders which includes an influencer/creator charity event.

The event raised more than £1,400 for the charity of Mr Murphy’s choice, which was Cancer Research UK.

See below to watch Charlie Murphy win the championship

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Last chance for Knaresborough Golf Club’s incredible taster offer

Logo of Knaresborough Golf Club.

This story is sponsored by Knaresborough Golf Club.

One of the Harrogate district’s best golf clubs is urging newcomers to take up its winter taster membership before an expected influx of new members in the spring. 

Throughout the winter, Knaresborough Golf Club has been offering a discounted membership rate which is now £125 from February until the end of March.

Anyone taking up the offer who then renews their membership in April, gets the fee discounted from their annual subscription.

The club has three tiers of membership – Gold, Silver and Bronze – which determine when members may play. 

For example, the Bronze annual membership which allows play seven days a week after 12.30pm starts at just £270 for 19 to 23 year olds!

Club general manager Jason Thornton said: 

“We always see a spike in new members in the spring, so now is a good time come along before the rush – the offer only lasts a few more weeks.

“Golf is seeing renewed interest from female members, and we’ve also been getting more enquiries from younger people interested in playing.

“There’s been a real upswing in people joining since the end of lockdown – it’s a great way of exercising and socialising in a socially-distanced way.”

The club has three tiers of membership – Gold, Silver and Bronze – which determine when members may play.

Knaresborough Golf Club was founded in 1920 and for over 100 years has remained true to the original aim of a club run on “modest, unpretentious lines and devoid of class and clique distinction”. 

Its vibrant clubhouse hosts regular events, such as tribute nights, quizzes and games, and diners are drawn by the popular Sunday carveries and “Around the World” evenings, where members get a restaurant passport and “travel the world” through food. 

Jason said: 

“It’s notoriously difficult to get catering right at clubhouses, but now that we have, we are absolutely delighted. Our catering team, led by Gavin and Amie Farrar, do a fantastic job.”

Get that hole in one feeling with the membership taster offer.

Knaresborough Golf Club has recently been carrying out improvements to both its clubhouse and course – which includes one of the longest holes in Europe – all with sustainability in mind.

Single-use plastics are being phased out, new wildflower meadows will allow insect and bird life to flourish, and the club is working towards GEO certification, putting its environmental and social responsibility on a par with world-famous courses such as Gleneagles and St Andrews. 

Jason said: 

“We’ve got a stunning course, a fabulous clubhouse, and a range of affordable membership options.

“Whether you’re brand-new to the game or already smitten by it, the offer at Knaresborough Golf Club isn’t matched by any other club in the area.” 

Find out more:

If you’d like to try out Knaresborough Golf Club’s Winter Taster membership offer, or if you’re interested in annual membership options, visit the club’s website at www.knaresboroughgolfclub.co.uk or call 01423 862690.

 

Harrogate’s Rossett School could swap three tennis courts for 3G pitch

Rossett School is planning to remove three tennis courts and replace them with a new artificial 3G football pitch.

The school has submitted a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council that would see football facilities improve at Rossett Sports Centre.

There is currently a high demand for 3G pitches in the area, particularly since Harrogate Town were forced to remove theirs after promotion to the English Football League two years ago.

Last year, the school raised £10,000 through a fundraiser to replace its current 3G pitch.

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3G pitches are a way for schools to make extra income by hiring out the facility to local teams.

St Aidan’s Church of England High School has planning permission to build a new 3G pitch, which is set to open from 6pm to 8pm for community clubs to use.

St John Fisher Catholic High School also has a 3G pitch available for hire and Ashville College has an astroturf pitch.

The Stray Ferret asked Rossett for further details on its plans but a spokesperson declined to comment.

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Harrogate’s roller derby team seeks new recruits

The Spa Town Roller Derby Team is on the lookout for new recruits after covid took its toll on numbers.

The team, which was set up in 2012, is Harrogate’s only roller derby league team and has 19 players.

It is made up of men and women putting on their skates and taking to the floor at Harrogate Ladies’ College each Sunday.

Roller derby is a contact sport played by two five-person teams skating counter-clockwise around a track. In each team there is a jammer and four blockers.

The jammer scores points by lapping members of the opposing team. The teams attempt to hinder the opposing jammer while assisting their own jammer, in effect playing both offence and defence simultaneously.

The team sometimes competes and is currently at tier 4 of the British Championships. In 2016 to 2020 the team competed in the championships each year and without the disturbance of covid the team could have moved to tier 2.

Gemma Wilson has been a member from the start. She started after the birth of her son when she was living with post-natal depression and said being part of the team “saved” her:

“When I put my skates on I was able to forget everything and just laugh, sweat and learn alongside the team. Some say it’s cheap therapy!

“I am one of millions of people who were saved by the crazy, fast paced sport full of some of the most supportive and incredible people the world has to offer.

“During my time skating I have competed all over the country, travelled abroad, tried out for Team England, have some hilarious after party stories and have made lifelong friends across the globe.”

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Ms WIlson is encouraging people of all ages and abilities to sign up. They began recruiting six weeks ago and are in the middle of teaching new members the basics of contact.

The hope is with more members they can add another session in each week. She added:

“People really can take from it what they want as some just want to have a little slice of time for themselves or get fit whilst having fun, but if players want to then they can compete in scrimmages and bouts against other teams.”

To find out more about joining click here.

Harrogate architecture firm expands to Leeds city centre

Harrogate-based S&SA Architects will be expanding the company to Leeds city centre.

The architect practice, which operates out of a head office in Harrogate, will open its new office at Park House in Park Square in April.

The company had continued to grow during the pandemic and received several notable commissions in the healthcare and residential sectors, which created a demand for its expansion.

Inside the new office at Park House

Inside the new office at Park House Credit: S&SA Architects

It plans to recruit people in roles at all levels, including in apprenticeship and senior positions.

Chris Paraskos, associate architect at S&SA Architects, said:

“We’re incredibly excited about this expansion. The office location is easily accessible for our diverse London and Leeds clients, being only a few moments’ walk from the station.

“It also offers all our staff the ability to work flexibly at home and across both offices. It will encourage collaboration between teams and better wellbeing, which is a part of our cultural response to the changing world of hybrid work post covid.”

S&SA Architects specialises in residential, retail, logistics, healthcare, sports and leisure sectors. Clients include Tesco, Keepmoat, Exemplar Healthcare and Broadacres.

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The sport ‘anyone can play’ that has exploded across the Harrogate district

A mashup of tennis and squash that originated in Mexico, padel has been described as one of the world’s fastest growing sports.

It is played between four players on reduced-size tennis courts. Competitors use paddle racquets and can bounce the ball off walls.

Since November 2020, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has been the national governing body for the sport when it was officially recognised as a discipline of tennis. This has opened the door for greater recognition, support and funding.

Admittedly, I had never even heard it until around a year ago and since then, it seems to have exploded across the Harrogate district.

Ahead of the curve

Harrogate Sports and Fitness Centre, on Hookstone Wood Road, was ahead of the curve, launching its first outdoor padel court in 2019, followed by a second glass-enclosed court in 2021 due to popular demand.

The only courts of their kind in the region, they saw people travel from Hull, Liverpool and Manchester to play.

 Padel tennis at Harrogate Sports and Fitness Centre.

The club’s manager James Gaston said:

“It has grown in popularity very quickly and we have approximately 250 padel players.

“It is popular because it is very easy to play compared to tennis and it is great fun as doubles and close together on the court.

“It’s a great game and everyone should try it.”

James Gaston outside Harrogate Sports and Fitness Centre.

Then in January Surge Padel, the largest indoor padel tennis centre in the UK with six courts, opened its doors at Hornbeam Park. The International Padel Federation is already considering it as the potential host of its European Championships.

Plans for eight new centres

CEO Stuart Perrin said it had already proved to be so successful in Harrogate, he was now planning to launch minimum of eight additional centres in the UK this year.

One of the padel courts at Surge.

Speaking about why he chose Harrogate to locate his first padel centre, he said:

“There are two reasons really.

“Firstly, I’m a local resident and know the local health and fitness market well. Operating in the town with success previously meant I had a path once trodden that could be replicated and improved on.

“Secondly, the demographics of Harrogate really lend themselves to those of racket sports, giving us a head start on the education piece, with padel being a relatively new sport to the UK.

“It has exceeded all expectations so far with no signs of stopping any time soon.”

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Mr Perrin said the club currently had more than 820 members, with half of those using it on a weekly basis.

He added:

“We anticipate this number to grow to north of 1,000 members by the end of June.

“I think it has been so popular as we have delivered the UK’s largest premium indoor padel tennis centre and we are unaffected by the weather.

“Being underpinned by a brand like Coach and associated with Adidas has also cemented us as the market leader within the sector very quickly.”

Surge at Hornbeam Park is the largest indoor padel tennis court in the UK.

Next month, two new padel tennis courts will launch at Ripon Tennis Centre following a successful crowdfunding campaign, which saw more than £30,500 raised in 28 days thanks to the support of residents and businesses.

Membership boost

The project was put forward to help boost the club’s membership in the wake of the pandemic and will see the new courts, plus canopies and flood lighting, built at the centre on Park Lane.

Additional funding has also been provided by Sport England alongside a loan from the LTA.

Carol Tetlow, the club’s honorary secretary, said:

“It’s all very exciting and we can’t wait to get playing.

“Fingers crossed, our courts should be up and ready for play by the end of April. There will be two courts, one with a roof, guaranteeing all year round play.

“Covid-19 took its toll on Ripon tennis club, like many other sporting venues, and we saw membership numbers drop by a fifth and also lost a lot of income.

“Our centre manager, Diane Hutchinson came up with the great idea of not simply trying to recoup our losses but seize this opportunity to expand the centre with a new venture – padel tennis.”

Ripon MP Julian Smith visiting the padel site at Ripon Tennis Centre, with Diane Hutchinson (left) and Carol Tetlow (right).

Ms Tetlow put the sport’s rapid growth and popularity down to it being easy to play and therefore accessible for all ages and abilities.

A game for everyone

She said:

“Even beginners can go on court and enjoy a game, unlike some sports where techniques have to be acquired and learned.

“The less mobile players who find it difficult to get around a tennis court can have challenging games.

“At the other end of the scale, highly experienced players can amaze spectators with their agility and skill.”

Ms Tatlow said the club had recently taken on a new coach, Christopher Stanford, who will coach padel, as well as tennis.

She added:

“We’ve had lots of enquiries as the word has spread and as a result of our crowdfunding campaign. Membership is growing again and I’m sure padel is one of the reasons for this.

“With the nearest courts in Harrogate and Middlesbrough, Ripon has to be the ideal place for more courts.”

‘Really social’

Stuart Jones, from Harrogate, has been playing padel for two years after picking up the sport while on holiday in Spain, which has more than 20,000 padel courts. Behind football it is the country’s second-most-popular sport.

He said:

“I really enjoy the competitive nature of the game, the fact it’s doubles and really social.

“I started to play at the courts at Harrogate Sports and Fitness Centre and now also play at Surge, where they also have coaching for adults, as well as juniors, which is perfect for me as my eldest son also enjoys the game.”

Here are ten facts you might not know about padel tennis, from the LTA: