Join Bartholomew Hall with a roundup of Kent's sporting action: on today's episode, we're joined by judges from the Medway Sport Awards ahead of the big day!
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00:00Hello and welcome along to Invictus Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:20up all of Kent's sporting action. I'm Bartholomew Hall, here's what to expect on this Monday
00:25the 25th of November.
00:29Battling on, Dartford add another win as they battle through the rain.
00:34Medway's Finest as the annual sports awards draw closer will be joined by two of the judges.
00:41And Action Replay will show you the best picks and clips sent in by you, the KMTV audience
00:46taking part in sport.
00:50The first is always a round up of the headlines. A Maidstone-born cyclist, Matthew Richardson,
00:54has been given a lifetime ban from ever competing with Australia again after switching to Team
00:59GB.
01:00A statement from Australia's governing body, Oz Cycling, claims Richardson acted in a way
01:04which conflicted with the values of Oz Cycling, the Australian national team and the broader
01:10cycling community.
01:11The 25-year-old sprint cyclist was born in Maidstone but moved to Perth as a nine-year-old
01:16and holds a dual citizenship. It comes as he won the men's sprint and carrion finals
01:21at the Track Champions League event in France at the weekend.
01:26Next, a £50 million surf park and hotel for Betts Hangar Country Park near Deal has been
01:31given the green light.
01:34Planning applications for both developments were approved earlier this year by Dover District
01:37Council, although works are yet to begin.
01:40Campaigners who criticised the project due to what they said was a risk to wildlife have
01:44now dropped plans for a judicial review.
01:47The surf park will be the first of its kind here in Kent, able to create more than 20
01:51different types of waves and provide rides of up to 15 seconds long for all ages and
01:57abilities.
01:59And Holkham Hockey Club have ended Phase 1 of their Premier Division campaign with a
02:04sixth straight win.
02:06In the final round of Phase 1 fixtures ahead of the Super 6's indoor campaign, Holkham
02:10beat Beeston 4-2 at home. A quickfire double from Marcano put Holk's 3-1 ahead with 44
02:18minutes played, taking his season tally to 14 goals. Meanwhile, Holkham women had left
02:23it late to clinch a share of the spoils in their home game against the University of
02:28Nottingham.
02:29That one-all draw ended a run of three straight defeats for Brad Reid's side.
02:35Now let's take a look back at this week's football results as Gillingham return to League
02:382 action after a two-week break. Marc Bonner had some tough words after his side's performance
02:43at Priestfield. Elsewhere, Dartford went into the weekend on a high. They welcomed Lewis,
02:47hoping to go six games unbeaten in the Ithmian League Premier. Meanwhile, Storm Burt tried
02:52his luck to rain on the parade of many of our games this weekend.
02:57The fury of Storm Burt saw matches across the country postponed over the weekend. Not
03:01least for two of our Kent sides, Ebbs Fleet's National League fixture with AFC Fylde was
03:05cancelled with just over an hour to go, and it was a wasted 240-mile round trip for Maidstone,
03:11who were due to play Salisbury in the National League South with the same decision made.
03:16Back home, though, the weather wasn't enough of an issue to stop play from beginning at
03:19Prince's Park, where Dartford welcomed Lewis in the Ithmian League Premier. The Darts came
03:24into this one unbeaten in five, and that confidence showed early on, with the hosts dominating
03:29in the opening exchanges. Denzel Olapade tested the Lewis defence within a minute, but the
03:35first chance came when Callum Jones fired narrowly just minutes later. Despite Lewis
03:39pushing back towards half-time, Darts weren't giving up, as Callum Jones played a perfect
03:44through ball to Ollie Box, who slotted home confidently.
03:51One nil to Dartford, and it's half-time.
03:54The visitors came out strong after the break, with Danny Bassett rattling the crossbar early
03:59on, but soon after, a dangerous free kick from Samir Karuthas led to George Whitefield
04:04smashing home from close range and doubling Dartford's lead.
04:13Even with the Darts' victory well within reach now, the home side weren't holding back. Box
04:17came close to his second before Jones' header hit the woodwork.
04:24Lewis' afternoon went from bad to worse, though, when Ethan Kayser saw red after two quick
04:28bookings. In the closing minutes, Marsden and Whitefield combined to deny Lewis any
04:32consolation, ensuring a clean sheet and all three points for Dartford.
04:37Elsewhere in the Edmium Premier, Dover extended their lead at the top to five points, with
04:41a 2-0 win over Bowers, while Chatham demolished the bottom of the table Whitehawk 5-0, and
04:47Folkestone and Victor came away with all the points after beating Bognor Regis 4-1. Dartford's
04:51win leaves them 12th in the table, with Chatham one place above in 11th, Folkestone eighth
04:56and Dover firmly on top.
04:59In the EFL, Gillingham's return to League Two action ended on a downer, with the Medway
05:02side conceding advantage to lose 2-1 to Harrogate at home. Team Dieng broke the deadlock early
05:08on in the second half, but the Gilles' lead was wiped out with goals from Anthony O'Connor
05:12and Josh March.
05:13I thought we were disgraced when we went ahead, to be honest, and I think we've been ahead
05:17in four of our last, I don't know, six games, something like that, and not taken anything
05:21from the game. Probably a bit like everybody else in the stadium, I absolutely hated the
05:25last half hour, and it was as rubbish as everyone thought, so we deserve to be booed
05:30off because that is miles off a good team there.
05:33I'd say it has happened too many times, we all know that. We've got to try and find it
05:40within ourselves to put an end to that and try and hold on to the 1-0s or try and put
05:45teams to bed and try and score a few more.
05:48The result means Gillingham drop to 11th now, with just one win since September. But all
05:53eyes to their next game, where Gillingham are away to Bromley, where a historic south-east
05:58derby awaits.
05:59And don't forget you can keep up to date with all the latest football news by reading Kent
06:06Online, but you also can have your weekly digest of Gilles' news sent directly to your
06:11email inbox. All you need to do is search Kent Online email alerts and sign up on the
06:15website for all the latest written transfer news, match reports and interviews. And of
06:18course, if the Gilles isn't your cup of tea, there's plenty more email alerts to choose
06:22from including all the latest non-league football news too.
06:27Moving on to rugby now, where one club in Thanet has been on something of a comeback
06:31this season. After facing relegation before the summer break, Thanet Wanderers have bounced
06:35back this time, winning eight games in a row so far. Now despite that unbeaten run coming
06:41to an end at the weekend, the team remain positive about promotion on the first time
06:46of asking. Here to talk about it is Leon Doody. Leon, thank you very much for being here today.
06:51Welcome to the show. Tell me about what this season has been like, coming into the Counties
06:561 Kent, from the Counties 1 Kent into the Counties 2 Kent League. I suppose it's not
07:02how you wanted last season to end, but you've started so strong this season, so how have
07:05you kind of approached it as a team?
07:07Well, it's certainly not how we wanted last season to go, but it's transformative now
07:11looking at the team. I think to have that kind of relegation setback, we almost need
07:18it in a way to drive the club forward again, get back to winning, know what it feels like
07:23to win. Obviously this weekend was a bit of a disappointment, but we'll bounce back, we've
07:29done it before, we'll do it again, so it's all good.
07:31Absolutely. I think you see that sometimes across sport, when teams have that, when you
07:35get knocked back, even in individual sport as well, it's how you respond to that and
07:39how you come back. What have been some of the conversations you've had as a team going
07:43into this season about how you approach these games?
07:46Well, I think there's so much more fight now in the team. We as a club, as a side, have
07:52so much more fight and resilience to get the win. I think there's some games that anyone
07:57would tell you, last season we wouldn't have come back and won. I don't think we wouldn't
08:02have come back and scrapped for a win. The biggest sign of that was when we played Aylesford
08:08Balls, which was three weeks ago I think now, or two weeks. We went down 27-5, like
08:1545 minutes gone, and we came back and won 34-27. So that's the kind of fight that maybe
08:23we didn't have before, but now we have and we're all the better for it.
08:26And it's kind of looking forward. I know we're fairly early on still in terms of the season,
08:31what do you think about promotion then?
08:34Well, we very much like it. I'm careful being on here and jinxing myself. Obviously that's
08:42the ambition and that's what we're here for. We're here to win every game, we're here to
08:46test out every team. The big one is not this weekend, but the week after that when we come
08:53up against Old Ultamium, so we're really challenging with them to get promotion.
08:58Exactly, because you're currently second in the table, they're currently on top if I remember
09:01correctly. So it's quite a tight battle. What I quite like about some of these leagues
09:05where you are against these local sides is you tend to get some rivalries in there. Have
09:10you found that so far?
09:12Definitely, yeah. There's so much local competition, that's the thing. It's all within Kent or
09:17London, but there's so much competition and it really is a league where anyone can beat
09:22anyone and I think all the teams in the league know that now because there's been some shocks.
09:27Yeah, definitely. Tell me about your own journey then. How long have you been with Fanatec
09:31Wanderers?
09:32I've been with Fanatec Wanderers since I was about five and then a bit in and out, but
09:40mainly stuck with it all the way through to seniors and then I've been playing senior
09:44rugby now for about four years. Three and a bit years, sorry. Three and a half years.
09:53Because since five then, so you've stayed with this one team, clearly very loyal. What's
09:57it been like growing up through the club?
09:59It's been great. The thing is you meet all these different people. There's so many people
10:05in the club. It's incredible. You think a local rugby team, there's bound to be a few,
10:11but the amount of people we get up for every game. You meet so many people before the game,
10:15after the game, watching the game. You see them all and it's just a great place to really
10:23try out rugby and if you're thinking of getting involved, it's a great place to start.
10:27I was looking for new recruits as well. I love it. In terms of your inspiration, I'm
10:33assuming if you've done it since five, has family been there? Are they into rugby as
10:37well?
10:38Definitely. My family in particular are quite known around the club. My dad's played rugby
10:44as well. He didn't start Fanatec Wanderers but he moved to Fanatec Wanderers later on
10:50and he played there for a while. I've got two older brothers as well who both play rugby.
10:55They both still play rugby for Fanatec Wanderers, so that's good. And then obviously me. My
11:02family are very much known around the club. It's also just such a communal place.
11:08I suppose the club is kind of family as well, but how much you're close together. Tell me
11:13about you and your brothers then. Is there a bit of dynamic there? Do you ever get competitive
11:16with each other?
11:19My oldest is Callum. He's a scrum half like me. We try to fight out for who gets the number
11:29nine jersey, but it's only friendly. He's a great player and I think the team's all
11:36the better for having him. That's all we want, competition. It drives the team on and makes
11:40us all better.
11:41Well Leon, thank you very much for joining us today. Really good to have you on the show
11:44and best of luck for the rest of the season. Hopefully you get a bit of promotion in there
11:47as well.
11:49Time for a break now. Coming back, we'll be talking all things Medway Sports Awards.
11:53See you in a minute.
14:47Hello and welcome back to Invicta Sport live on KMTV. Now the countdown is on for this
15:16year's Medway Sports Awards. The night aims to celebrate all levels of individual and
15:21team sport throughout the towns, with bronze, silver and gold awards handed out to those
15:25deserving of recognition. With less than a month to go now and 11 awards up for grabs,
15:30those with the job of deciding who comes out on top have some tricky decisions to make
15:34and joining me now is two of those gold medal winning Paralympic skier Charlotte Evans MBE
15:39and Olympic gymnast Gary Smith. Thank you very much for being here. Welcome onto the
15:43show. Gary, I'll start with you if that's okay. Tell me a bit of the background to the
15:46awards. Those from the towns, those who are involved in sport know all about this.
15:51Yeah, so these awards have been going for many years now and now it's every two years
15:56so it's a real celebration of the local teams and the local sports people in Medway towns
16:04kind of coming together. So we're kind of looking forward to it, yeah.
16:06And 11 categories as well. Lots of decisions for you and your other judges to decide. Charlotte,
16:11tell me about how you got involved in the awards.
16:13Yeah, so I won it in 2014 and I think then they just kept asking me to come back and
16:18help out. But yeah, it's great. I love it. I literally, every year, it's the highlight,
16:23not every year, every two years, it's the highlight where we can really look at what
16:27Medway's producing and what sports are involved in. Every year there's different sports which
16:31is making it more exciting. It's no longer just the same sports or the same people, we're
16:35now getting a real range. So yeah, it's a great event. We love being involved in it
16:39and I definitely do anyway.
16:41This is my first year so yeah, it's a great team to be involved in and the process is
16:45amazing. Just seeing all the different sports and hearing those stories and how these people,
16:53their journeys, how they got to where they were.
16:55And of course, both of you having represented the whole country on the world stage, how
17:01much, when you are in those situations where you've got the country on your shoulder, how
17:07much are you thinking back to where you've come from as well, you know, thinking about
17:10the Medway towns?
17:11I think it's massive. For me especially, I still now do loads of talks in schools, especially
17:17around Medway and Kent. It's massive. I think the grassroots are so important and I think
17:21you always have to remember where you came from and my mum was a massive advocate for
17:25that of knowing to keep my feet on the ground at all times and I love it. I think it makes
17:30you feel like you've come home, it makes you feel proud to be part of it and also you're
17:33able to then thank all the people that supported you on that journey on the way.
17:37And I suppose yourself, Gary?
17:39Yeah, same. I mean, I still even now pop into my centre where I trained and, you know, when
17:45you're involved in sport, you're part of a family and it's just, I'd always go back there
17:50and the team and the people that I grew up with, it's just, yeah, I always think it just
17:58evolves and they're always there to support me so it's a great feeling to be back in Medway.
18:04And you've both got some difficult decisions ahead. There's been lots of sporting stories
18:08from this year, especially with the Olympics and the Paralympics. One name that kind of
18:14shot out to me was, of course, Nathan Howells winning the gold from Chatham in the shooting
18:18this year. How do you, when you go into these, when you go into your decision making, what
18:23are the type of things you're thinking about? What makes a great athlete?
18:26Oh, well, for me, I mean, there's so many factors but you're kind of just looking at,
18:31you know, you're looking at their journey, you're looking at, you know, what they've
18:34achieved in, especially in the two years. So, you know, like the Medway Sports Awards
18:39every two years, you're looking at that two-year window of what their achievements have been
18:43and obviously Nathan's achievement out at the Olympics was, like, phenomenal so, you
18:47know, it's great to have, you know, these amazing athletes in Medway and representing
18:52us so, yeah, it's, I mean, it's always a tough decision because there's so many, there's
18:57so many, like, nominations to kind of go through so it's, yeah, it's a process, yeah.
19:03Yeah, definitely and you said, what is it you're thinking about when you're in those
19:05judges conversations?
19:06Yeah, I think exactly what was said really, just you're trying to, you want to showcase
19:12everybody and you want to be able to really look in depth and we spend hours and I mean
19:16hours whether it's prior to judging and after and working out, like you said, what's the
19:22best person for the award but also looking at them sports that maybe don't get recognised
19:26all the time and understanding a new sport so, we were saying earlier, didn't we, how
19:30there's some sports we'd never heard of and we have to then do our research to find out
19:34what that looks like in their sport and so, yeah, I think we just, we spend a lot of time
19:38to try and make sure we can make the right decision for each person.
19:41Absolutely and as well, you know, think about different sports but different levels of sports
19:45as well, it kind of gives it that equal playing field in terms of, with the different categories
19:50of course, you've got the, you know, the unsung heroes as well as sports person of the year,
19:54I mean, you mentioned it before but grassroots, especially when we're talking about a local
19:58award, it's so important, isn't it?
20:00Yeah, it's massive, I think without grassroots you don't get your athletes at the top really,
20:04do you, because that's where it all starts and so, I think, yeah, we're really lucky
20:09that there's a massive range of awards that we're able to look at and kind of break it
20:13down into which section, the unsung hero, like you said, is always our favourite one
20:17to read because it's the people that are behind the scenes that never really get the front
20:21shout so, yeah, we've got some really great awards that we can kind of do.
20:26Yeah, and just to add to that, I think, like, grassroots in Medway is huge, you know, there's
20:30so many teams in Medway and, you know, that's where everything starts in that grassroots
20:36and it just gives the, you know, it gives the locals this opportunity to try any sport
20:41and that's what's great about that.
20:43And as well, just to add the junior categories too, you've got those senior and junior categories
20:47because just as important as grassroots, it's also important to get young people involved
20:51as well in sport and give them those aspirations for the future.
20:54Yeah, definitely.
20:55I mean, you know, like the juniors, you know, they achieve so much stuff and, like, just
21:02listening to some of their journeys already, they've got amazing futures ahead of them
21:05so it's, like, it's actually really exciting to see what that holds and, you know, to see
21:10what their journeys and, like, being a part of that in Medway, we can see their journey
21:14all the way through, really, so that's cool.
21:16Brilliant.
21:17So, just a final word then, how are you feeling ahead of the awards and about the decisions
21:20you've got to make?
21:21Yeah, excited.
21:22I can't wait.
21:23We'll make the right decision, I'm sure, so, yeah, I'm really looking forward to it.
21:27Yeah, me too.
21:28Super excited and it's just celebrating the past, present and future so that's what we're
21:31going to do.
21:32Absolutely.
21:33It's going to be a fun one.
21:34Thank you both for joining me.
21:36Thank you very much.
21:37Really good to have you on the show today.
21:39Now, it's time to remind you that you can keep up to date with all the latest sports
21:40news, interviews and features here from Invicta Sport by heading to our website, kmtv.co.uk
21:45and click on the Sports tab.
21:47And sticking with the theme of Medway sport, you can see videos like this one from when
21:50Olympic medalist boxer James Degale joined a group of youngsters in Chatham to share
21:54some of his boxing wisdom.
21:57While some Olympians are celebrating their achievements in France, one former gold medalist
22:01is giving something back to the boxing community.
22:04Back in 2008, James Degale represented Great Britain in the middleweight boxing event beating
22:09Cuba's Emilio Bayot, 16-14.
22:13Now Degale is teaching his sport to eager youngsters and those wanting to break into
22:17the boxing scene.
22:19I was a bit lost.
22:20Because after I retired, you're thinking, right, what can I do now?
22:23So I retired at 32.
22:26And you just revert back to what you know.
22:28That's boxing.
22:29I've boxed my whole life.
22:30I left school when I was 15.
22:32I got exposed.
22:34So I was very, very lucky and privileged that I had something that I was good at.
22:40And boxing's not just all physical, the majority of it's up there.
22:43So you're exhausted by thinking of the combinations, by thinking about, oh my God, a punch is coming.
22:49Let me get out of the way.
22:51So it's all mental.
22:52The majority of it is.
22:57Degale, also an MBE, gave the young boxers advice on their footwork, guard placement
23:02and the tactics of the sport, such as when to throw a jab, a cross or a body shot.
23:07The class, which saw the boxer give one-on-one advice as well as answer questions in a Q&A
23:12session and give out photos, was all to help raise money for Leilani.
23:16Leilani was born with a rare heart and lung condition.
23:19She needs surgery to correct her arteries and some of her lung removed.
23:23Her condition means she's in and out of the hospital and needs to be fed every two hours around the clock.
23:29Yeah, so we're fundraising for my daughter Leilani.
23:32She's got a rare heart and lung condition.
23:34We've had James Degale down here today, obviously supporting, doing boxing with the children
23:38and also adult classes.
23:40So people coming together, contributing and fundraising for the surgery that she needs.
23:45Oh no, it's been fantastic.
23:47The local community have got behind us on various events.
23:50Yeah, so they're here today supporting, contributing towards the fundraising cause.
23:55Their GoFundMe page is halfway to the £250,000 needed to be raised in order to fly the family
24:01out to Boston, Massachusetts for the surgery.
24:04For more fundraising, Canterclubs and Ultimate Masterclass are putting on a raffle, with
24:08the main prize being a signed Tyson Fury boxing glove and runner-up prizes of vouchers for local restaurants.
24:14Two-time former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua also donated a signed glove for Leilani's cause.
24:20It's fair to say that the boxing community are all in her corner.
24:24Finn McDermott for KMTV in Midway.
24:27Now we've reached full time on today's episode, but there's just a few minutes of extra time
24:31to take a look at this week's Action Replay.
24:33It's the segment where we take a look at clips and pictures that you, the KMTV audience,
24:37have sent in of you taking part in sport.
24:39So let's see what we've got in store on this week's Action Replay.
24:43First up on tonight's Action Replay, Imogen Amos from WAI places third overall in the
24:4916-24 age category at HIROX in Birmingham.
24:53HIROX is a fitness competition combining running with workouts.
24:57Amos competed in an impressive one hour, five minutes and four seconds.
25:03We wish Imogen the best of luck in her future HIROX events.
25:07And next, Hempstead Valley came out victorious 3-1 against Palmerston Athletic in their Midway Area Sunday League.
25:15Left winger Will scored a hat trick to help the team secure their win.
25:19This leaves Hempstead sitting ninth in the league.
25:22A big congratulations on their win.
25:25And finally, last weekend the University of Kent softball team competed in their first
25:30indoor game of the season against the University of Reading.
25:34Despite many of the team never playing indoors, they quickly adapted to the new conditions
25:39and won one of their games, putting up a good fight throughout the competition.
25:44We wish the team the best of luck in their upcoming matches.
25:48That's it for this week's Action Replay.
25:51Don't forget, it could be you in next week's edition.
25:54Just send your pictures and videos on social media or to sport at kmtv.co.uk
26:02Thank you very much, Etalee, for those.
26:04And thank you, Finn, for sending in your pictures of you taking part in sport.
26:08Brilliant cameo there from Finn from the KMTV team.
26:11And if you want to join him, you absolutely can.
26:13As Etalee said, just send in your pictures and clips to us on our social media at kmtvsport
26:19or to our email sport at kmtv.co.uk.
26:23Well, that is really full time on today's episode of Invictus Sport.
26:26If you want more from KMTV, you can head over to our website, kmtv.co.uk,
26:30where all of our special shows are available to watch back on demand.
26:33And don't forget to follow us on social media.
26:35We're available on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
26:38And if you have a story that you think you want us to be telling,
26:42just get in touch and we'll do exactly that.
26:44See you next time. Bye bye.
26:53Invictus Sport.