ALMOST 100 sport clubs have signed up to be in a new Winchester directory.
A total of 97 clubs are included in Sport Winchester's list, from cricket to croquet and martial arts to table tennis.
The directory lists the name of each club, website, contact and description. It includes large clubs such as Winchester & District Athletics Club, Winchester City Flyers and Winchester Rugby Club, as well as smaller ones such as Littleton Bowling Club, Winchester Wing Chun Kung Fu and Winchester Eagles Volleyball Club.
Sport Winchester chairman Andy Eymond said: “Winchester and the surrounding areas are a great place to live and bring up a family. This, together with excellent rail links to London, means the city has seen a significant influx of families into the area pre and post-pandemic, many wishing to live active lifestyles. This desire for residents to be active, healthy and participate in sports and leisure is seen across all age groups and demographics, young to old, student, unemployed, working or retired.
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"As a result, all Winchester's local sports clubs and groups are continuing to experience high demand, but do not have access to enough facilities - or in some cases any facilities - of a required standard to meet this and future demand. That is not to say we have no facilities, the replacement leisure centre is a great example of a high-quality facility, however it was a replacement for an old tired facility and more are needed.
"With a local plan focused primarily on housing development and city centre regeneration, a mindset of commercial interests and economic return appears to take priority over the social return and interests of residents who want to be able to safely participate and enjoy an active lifestyle.
"Demand for sport and leisure will continue to grow housebuilding and development continue at a pace, however high quality social infrastructure to enable safe participation in sport and leisure is lagging behind."
Sport Winchester is engaging with local councillors and housing developers to put forward the case for sport and leisure facilities. This includes Sir John Moore Barracks, Bushfield Camp and Manor Parks.
Vice chairman Amanda Watkinson said: “We all know that access and participation in sport and leisure is a key component for everyone's physical and mental health and can be a cornerstone for community health.”
For more details about how to become a member of Sport Winchester and to feature in next year's directory, visit sportwinchester.org/club-directory or email mail@sportwinchester.org.
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