EDITORIAL � 01892 616103 www.kentnews.co.uk for all the news and sport WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 15, 2009 sports I 85
FOOTBALLERS from Pembury could have
been forgiven for feeling exhausted before
kicking a ball in anger in the old days.
"They used to have to jog to and from
games because the changing rooms were
so far from the pitch," chairman Andrew
Rice-Tucker explained. "They were about
one-and-a-half miles apart, so it was an
early version of the pre-game warm-up."
That has to be some kind of record,
though in 1945 Pembury went to even
greater lengths just to play a game, when
they fetched their goalposts from
Lamberhurst, where they'd resided during
the war and carried them six miles back to
the village.
They duly played the same afternoon
and won and they traditionally had a repu-
tation for being difficult to beat.
Rice-Tucker, described as a "Martin Jol
lookalike" by the club's entertaining web-
site, is writing a book about Pembury,
which he hopes to complete around this
time next year.
The club, who play at Woodside
Recreation Ground and feature in the Kent
County League, were officially affiliated to
the KCFA in 1908, although they played
friendlies in the Tunbridge Wells & District
League in the 1907/1908 season.
It took them 13 years to win a trophy, the
Division Two title in 1919/20, and since
then they have experienced the usual
highs and lows.
In 1996 the club merged with the Sunday
side Pembury Rovers and a much-needed
pavilion was built two years later.
PEMBURY FACTFILE
FORMED: Formed: 1907
MEMBERSHIP: Around 80
HOME GROUND: Woodside Rec, Pembury
CLUB COLOURS: Black and white (first
team), Blue (reserves)
CHAIRMAN Andrew Rice-Tucker
CLUB SECRETARY: William Baker
MANAGER: Martin Brown
LEAGUES: Kent County, Tonbridge & District,
West Kent Sunday
AGES: Senior
CONTACT DETAILS: c/o the BlackHorse
Public House, Pembury
WEBSITE www.pemburyfootballclub.co.uk
Club in
PEMBURY FC
focusGilliat-Smith puts her
career before country
Sevenoaks move to make life easier for trainee teacher
CATHY Gilliat-Smith admits it
was a difficult decision to leave
Canterbury for Sevenoaks, but felt
it was the only way to accommo-
date changes in her career.
The 28-year-old left Polo Farm this month
after more than four years with the county's
top women's side.
Despite voluntarily turning her back on
Premier Division hockey, the forward feels it
was the only thing to do after starting a
teacher training course in
September.
She said: "It was a difficult
decision. I didn't want to leave
Canterbury but it got to the
stage with my course it was the best decision
to make. I left on good terms; it's just one of
those things.
"It's something I've been thinking about for
a while. The course started in September
and I gave it a few weeks to see how it went,
but it didn't quite work out this time."
Travel
Dropping down a division to Sevenoaks in
the Conference East means far less travel on
match days.
Close to Gilliat-Smith's home and work, it
also means reduced commuting time and
has offered a chance to return to the club she
left 10 years ago for university.
Gilliat-Smith has already made an impact,
scoring one goal and setting up another on
her return to the Oaks side in a 3-1 win at
Northampton Saints last weekend.
Although the move away from the top
flight is likely to make the chances of adding
to her 64 international caps more remote, it
is not the priority at the moment.
She said: "I'd love to be back involved
[internationally] but I'm not in the system at
the moment. It's more about me enjoying my
hockey, being part of a good team and con-
tributing week-in week-out."
Elsewhere, Ashley Jackson has been
included in the England hockey squad for
the Champions Trophy later this month.
The 22-year-old from Chatham, who
played at Tunbridge Wells Hockey Club, is in
Jason Lee's 18-man squad for the high-pro-
file annual tournament. England will face
the top five teams in the world at the compe-
tition in Melbourne, Australia, starting with
Germany on November 28.
Jackson is in great form for the national
side, notching 24 goals in 33 games. He was
instrumental in the team's gold medal-win-
ning performances at this summer's
EuroHockey Nations Championships and
was named player of the tournament after
scoring in every game.
The midfielder now plays his club hockey
in the Netherlands with HGC.
IN AND OUT: Cathy Gilliat-Smith's England
career is on hold but Ashley Jackson's (right)
rise will continue in the Champions Trophy
By DAVID PRITCHARD
ENTRIES are now being taken for the annual
Paddock Wood half-marathon, which takes
place on Sunday, April 11, next year.
The event, now in its 21st year, has become
one of the biggest such races in Kent, helped
by its traditional slot in the calendar, just two
weeks before the London marathon, making it
an ideal warm-up event.
The course is almost entirely flat, with just
40 metres of climbing over the entire 13.1-mile
circuit,which starts and finishes in EldonWay,
off Maidstone Road.
"Last year we had 1,942 finishers," Paddock
Wood Athletic Club chairman Des White said.
"We usually have a few who enter but don't
turn up and about 25-30 people who drop out
because they haven't trained properly, or
they've pulled a hamstring. If the weather's
hot there'll be a few more."
Formed in 1986, PWAC now have more than
200 members from the age of eight upwards.
Training takes place every Tuesday and
Thursday night all year round, from 6.30pm at
MascallsSchool,MaidstoneRoad,PaddockWood.
Senior athletes usually do a run of between
five and six miles, while the juniors practice
indoors during the winter months.
� You can find out more and enter the
half-marathon online via www.paddock-
woodac.co.uk.
Get in shape to make half-marathon effort
Picture:GETTYIMAGES
Picture:ADYKERRY
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