Review of Sports & Fun Day 2024

The Sports and Fun Day has been a fixture in the life of the park for the last 10 years. The day is open to everyone and free. It is organised by the Friends committee with others assisting. The goal is for people to enjoy a sport or activity they know or try something new. Each year new connections are made and a fresh appreciation of the amenities that the park offers.

Sports Day was moved back to May this year to ensure there weren’t the 30+ degree temperatures of September 2023. There were the occasional spots of rain, but overall it was dry and comfortable to be outside.

On Saturday, at 9:00 the first activity up, with a gentle start, was an introduction to the basics of Tai Chi, run by Lee who lives locally on Downtown. Another practitioner is Yul who can often be seen practicing his routines on the top MUGA. It was a simple way to begin understanding this martial art and the body movement involved.

10:00 was when Junior Football kicked off. A variety of drills and exercises were set up. Tots tennis gives the opportunity for young children to begin to understand holding a racquet and timing with hitting a ball. Serious About Tennis with Dino and Rosena are committed partners with the park coaching tennis throughout the week, competing and leading the Lambeth youth teams.

By 11:00 at the Refreshment stand; squash, and hot drinks were on offer with cakes/doughnuts provided by The Hive. There was even the provision of Evan’s homemade elderflower cordial harvested from a neighbouring tree. 

Such a morning leaves many wondering if there could be a hatch within the depot building serving such refreshments. It remains a goal of the committee to explore this possibility with Lambeth who own and manages the park.

At this time the Allotment area was open for a treasure hunt. An opportunity to explore the plots, see vegetables growing and identify trees.

On the top MUGA walking football was underway with Tony and his band of touring fellow players. This is a super way to retain fitness and enjoy a game of football.

At the bottom of the hill, table tennis was being played with some games of round of the world. Adult tennis being played on Court 1. All the while the play park equipment being used by children as expertly installed by Kompan back in October 2022.

We had the pleasure of two local Met police officers joining us, chatting with those present and engaging with activities. One of them even assisted with the face painting. By lunchtime, suddenly there were Spidermen and tigers in the park.

Early afternoon Maths Explorers were set up by the pergola with its newly refurbished roof. Children got a mental workout as well as a physical one. It was as popular as any of the activities going on in the park.

There was a children’s entertainer that came to the park for those younger children, animals made from balloons, and a lot of fun for the youngest of park users.

2 pm Hope Pilates were set up in the dog-free area. You didn’t need to have done a class before or even have a mat to join in. Excellent class instructed by Hope who operates from the Hope Centre on Tierney Road.

At this time if lying on a mat you could hear what sounded like an army of giants marching towards the park, except it was basketball’s being enthusiastically bounced on the courts. Being coached in drills and games with Jarron from Brixton TopCats. Every day of the week these courts are used for practice, informal games and generally hanging out.

A little behind schedule the races began in the dog-free area at 3:30 p.m. There was a large number of participants so it was necessary to curtail and we missed out on the three-legged race, and sack races as we would have been going on til 7 pm. We did however manage to have the 25-yard dash followed by a series of egg-and-spoon races.

There was time for appropriately aged tug of war competitions, finishing with the adults in a final contest. This left everyone wanting more, with games of tag and throw and catch being played in the dog-free area.