Stoolball recognised by Sport England

Sport England, the government agency responsible for advising, investing in and promoting community sport, has recognised stoolball as a sport. This decision follows six years of work by everyone at the National Stoolball Association, and in particular by the chairman and secretary, John and Kay Price. Recognition supports stoolball’s recent inclusion in the National Curriculum for schools and means stoolball clubs, villages and sporting groups can apply for more funding.

Sport England issued the following press release:

Medieval game of stoolball - mainly played in Hampshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex - is officially recognised as a ’sport’

The 14th century game of stoolball, generally accepted as being the ancestral forerunner to modern day cricket and baseball, has been officially recognised as a sport.

The National Stoolball Association has welcomed the decision by the Sports Councils* which agreed that the historical game meets the criteria needed to be recognised as a sport in the UK.

Stoolball’s medieval origins are believed to date back more than 500 years in England, where it was traditionally played during religious festivals. The sport is still played today by an enthusiastic following of between 3-4,000 players of both sexes at local league level in Hampshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex. The National Stoolball Association has also developed a programme with University College, Chichester that has so far helped train over 250 Stoolball coaches.

It is hoped the decision will give stoolball more prominence across the UK and generate more participants within communities and schools beyond the South East of England.

National Stoolball Association’s chairman, John Price, said: “We are delighted with our new status which is the result of six years of hard work and lobbying. Stoolball already appears in the National Curriculum and we are hoping that our new found recognition will generate further uptake within schools and the creation of many more clubs across the country.”

The sport is played using similar equipment to cricket on a grass pitch with the wickets pitched 16 yards apart. The scoring and rules are similar to those of cricket, however the wickets are 1ft square wooden boards on stakes and the willow bat is shaped like a table tennis bat but with a longer more substantial handle. A team is made up of 11 players and a match is won by the team scoring the most runs within an agreed number of 8 ball ‘overs’.

Lisa O’Keefe, from Sport England, said: “It is a great achievement to be recognised as a sport and we hope this development will raise the profile of stoolball, enabling its popularity to spread beyond the South East.”

Editors’ Notes:

For an interview with John Price, National Stoolball Association’s chairman, call 01403 252419 or e-mail:  [email address available when you sign in]

To contact Sport England, call Alex Russell on 020 72731866 or email: [email address available when you sign in]

For action shots of stoolball, contact Brett Butler on 01825 840758 or email: [email address available when you sign in]. [All images printed must be attributed to Brett Butler.]

* The Sports Councils are non-departmental governmental public bodies comprising Sport England, Sport Northern Ireland, sportscotland, Sports Council Wales and UK Sport.

Official website of the National Stoolball Association: http://www.stoolball.co.uk/

Tags: sport england