Sport No need to sit on the sidelines There are many ways you can take part in sport and improve your fitness in Tower Hamlets. Our listings include everything from cricket to yoga and aerobics to taekwondo. see page 33 Box clever Four Repton boxers fought their way to the final part of the senior Amateur Boxing Association championships. see how they did at www.gbboxing.org.uk Bowled over by new league BY PETER FAULKNER VICTORIA Park is to host another cricket league this season following the success of a pilot run by Capital Kids Cricket and London Tigers. The Middlesex Community Cricket League, initiated by Middlesex Cricket Board and London Tigers, will start next month with 12 teams from Tower Hamlets plus teams from Southall and Paddington playing on Sundays. The aim is to provide a competitive and affordable playing opportunity on the doorstep and to give young people a structured sporting activity. It is hoped this will have a positive impact and the most talented players will be directed to higher level training. The league was launched last week and league shirts were presented to the sponsors, Canary Wharf Group and Bangla Town cash & carry in Hanbury Street, Spitalfields. The cost of entering a team is £650, but the league is subsidising £350, reducing the entry fee to only £300 per team – the lowest in London for a league providing a neutral umpire, match balls and pitch. The Middlesex Cricket Board is the local governing body for cricket and affiliated the league. Shahidul Alam, development manager for Middlesex Community Cricket League and Capital Kids Cricket, presents a shirt to Rafique Haider of Bangla Town cash and carry THE Victoria Park Community Cricket League has started its summer programme and the draw has been made for each of the seven groups. Dynamite Ducks, winners of the league title for the last two seasons, will be trying to complete the league and cup double they last achieved in 2009. The mid-week league was formed more than 20 years ago to provide a wide range of people with access to competitive cricket. Some are more competitive than others, but the aim is that games are played in a friendly and welcoming spirit. Men and women of all abilities are welcome. All matches are played at Victoria Park with two competitions – the league and knockout cup – and each team consists of eight players, with a maximum of four overs per bowler and batsmen retiring at 50. May matches Conference Group A – round 3 May 16 – Contenders v Chinatown; Old Fallopians v Number 10. Conference Group B – round 2 May 15 – Bengal Tigers v Bradgate; May 16 – Dynamite Ducks v Victoria Lounge. Group B – round 3 May 23 – Bradgate v Victoria Lounge; Bengal Tigers v Dynamite Ducks. Conference Group C – round 2 May 1 – Rose and Crown v Mad Moraccas; May 2–West Ham Bengali v Junoon. Group C – round 3 May 19 – Mad Moraccas v West Ham Bengali; Junoon v Rose and Crown. Conference Group D – round 2 May 2 – Tawheed v Masiha; Nightatchman v Tower Cavaliers. Group D – round 3 May 19 – Nightwatchman v Tawheed; May 21 – Masiha v Tower Cavaliers. Conference Group E – round 2 May 13 – Sky v Homerton; May 13 – New Boys v Best Nationals. Group E – round 3 May 20 – Homerton v Best Nationals; New Boys v Sky. Conference Group F – round 2 May 13 – London Tigers v Wrong ‘Uns; London Fields v Regents. Group F – round 3 May 20 –Wrong ‘Uns v Regents; May 21 – London Fields v London Tigers. Conference Group G – round 2 May 14 – Island Community v Martians; Tower Hamlets v Crossrail. Group G – round 3 May 21 – Tower Hamlets v Island Community; May 23 – Martians v Crossrail. Repton four chasing ABA title glory FOUR Repton boxers are through to the final part of the senior ABA championships, taking place as East End Life went to press. The quartet are Harvey Horne and James Branch with Team GB reps Charlie Edwards and Sam McNess. Horne, competing at 49kgs, got byes to this stage of the competition, while Branch, 91kg, won his two contests in the North East Divisional championships, and two contests in the London semi-finals and finals to get to this stage of the competition – an impressive performance for a first-time entry in the senior ABAs. Initially the British Amateur Boxing Association named ten English members of the GB boxing squad to be seeded in the quarter-finals of England Boxing’s National Senior Elite Men’s Championships 2014. The ten boxers will join the tournament for the final stages, which will be held over three days at Echo Arena Liverpool. The ten seeded boxers include seven members of GB Boxing’s Podium Squad and three from its Podium Potential group. They include World and European Championship medallists and six former winners of the Elite National Championships. One of the biggest names is 2011 European Championship bronze medallist, Repton’s Charlie Edwards, boxing at flyweight. WESTHam Boxing Club trainer Mickey May has died aged 75. He leaves behind some great memories and an endless list of champions. I knew him well during my years as an east London boxing writer and he was the sort of man who commanded respect and got it. His greatest saying was: “I don’t want the members to like me, just respect me.” Finding another trainer with Mickey’s golden touch will be difficult. It was fitting that after 30 years as Hammers trainer, Mickey, who produced more than 100 champions, was named Coach of the Year by ABA England in 2012. PF REPTON Boxing Club is set to pay host to old rivals Belfast Dockers at a dinner show in The Brewery in the City on May 16. The club recently returned from the away match in Belfast having enjoyed a 5-3 win, but the Irish team won 5-4 when they came to London last year. Tickets for the black tie or suit and tie function are £100 each and can be booked at 7739 8567 or 07939 034445. Basketball IT wasn’t a very memorable Easter for London Lions basketball fans, their team first crashing to a 102-94 defeat to Plymouth University Raiders at the Copper Box Arena on Good Friday and then suffering a 97-86 defeat at the hands of Manchester Giants on Easter Sunday. Although Rod Brown opened the scoring for Lions in Stratford, the Raiders took the initiative as two quick threes and a breakaway dunk from Nick George saw the visitors going up 23-13. With four minutes 13 seconds remaining, Chez Marks had made it 87-83, but the visitors held their nerve to claim victory and give them a lifeline for the playoffs. It took a superb fourth-quarter performance by Manchester Giants after the Londoners made it a one-point game early in the final period. The Lions were due to play the two legs of the playoff quarterfinal against Worcester Wolves as East End Life went to press. Hockey WAPPING Hockey Club has been shortlisted for two England Hockey awards – chairman Stuart Burnside for club volunteer of the season and the Polar Bear Patrol for marketing campaign of the year. Burnside said: “This is a wonderful recognition of the hard work that our many volunteers have put in to make this season one of the most action-packed in the club’s history. “As our 25th anniversary approaches, Polar Bear Patrol is a way to communicate what this club is about – a community in itself, but very much a part of the community of Wapping too.” Rugby MILLWALL Rugby Club has changed the date of its annual meeting because the season ran later this year. It will now take place on May 31 at 1pm. The season over-ran because of the bad weather that caused pitches to be flooded, wrecking both the rugby and football fixture list. 28 APRIL – 4 MAY 2014 N E W S F R O M TOWER HAMLETS COUNCIL AND YOUR COMMUNITY 35
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