Sport in Gowerton

The village of Gowerton has a proud history for the playing of sport. The Gower Road cricket club, one of the oldest in South Wales, was founded in 1880 by Sir John Roper Wright, a local benefactor who was instrumental in the development of the Elba steelworks and thus, in bringing the process of steelmaking to the village.

Sir John was also a founder member of the rugby club in 1884 and at that time he purchased the lease of a parcel of land that today forms the majority of the Athletic Ground that is now home for the Bowls, Cricket and Rugby clubs.

Tennis was established at the ground in 1899 and the Bowls club was founded 13 years later. The playing of tennis at the ground has since lapsed but the other clubs continue to provide the sporting opportunities for all ages within the community that the recent pandemic has helped us to realise are so important to our physical and mental well-being.

The closure of the steelworks in 1965 meant that the owners, Richards, Thomas and Baldwins, who had secured the ground as a result of the rationalisation of steel in 1946, sold the playing elds. At that time, the sports clubs were unable to a ord the £5,000 purchase price and another local businessman Arthur Roe purchased the ground and the sports clubs set up Gowerton Athletic club to oversee the management of the ground.

Arthur Roe decided to sell it in 1984 and the Athletic club purchased it, at a cost of £60,000. A grant of £20,000 was received from the sports council of Wales and the balance of £40,000 was raised by a mortgage from a local Brewery and tied to the barrelage output of the Rugby Club over a ten year period with the mortgage repayments being met by the three constituent clubs. Those mortgage repayments were a signi cant nancial burden on the three clubs between the mid-80s and mid-90s. However, the vision and hard work of the committee members of all three clubs at that time, secured the ground that the residents of Gowerton bene t from today.

Gowerton Bowls Club:

The Bowls club was formed in 1912 and initially played in the Welsh Private Greens league. In the 1980s, with membership on the rise they were able to form a second team and that side joined the Llanelli league.

The pavilion built in the early days of the club was starting to show its age by the late 1980s and the club demolished it and constructed the building that serves as their home today.

Three members of the club have achieved the distinction of representing Wales: S. Hurley (1931-2), W.R. Davies (1936-46) and Cli Williams (1979-82). The club has received the xtures for their two leagues, and they get underway in late April early May.

This year, matches will play under a modi ed format and will be 12-a-side rather than the traditional 16-a-side to allow them to comply with the COVID restrictions.

The Chairman and captain of the club is Phil Davies and Martin Symes is secretary.

New players of any age or gender are always welcome and anyone interested in playing can contact Martin on mobile: 07970 674 737 or email: martinsymes0@gmail.com

Gowerton Cricket Club:

With the onset of the spring, and the relaxation of the COVID restrictions the cricket club which has ourishing junior, senior and veteran’s sections is looking forward to getting out onto the pitch.

The club has a rich tradition of achieving success on the eld. Currently, they have 3 senior teams playing in the South Wales Cricket Association. The 1st XI play in the rst division, a competition they have won on 4 previous occasions.

It’s been in the cup competitions where they have enjoyed their most signi cant successes. SWCA league cup winners 12 times-twice as often as any other league club. Champions of Wales twice in 1993 and 2002 and most notably Haig National village cup winners at Lord’s in 1975.

The village competition evoked great interest in Wales and when the team travelled to Lord’s, the iconic ‘home of cricket’ for the nal in 1975, the majority of those in the crowd of 5,000 had made the journey from South Wales.

A photo taken at Gowerton’s quarter nal Haig village game against Grampound Road (Cornwall) in 1975.

Junior cricket is also strong in the village. The club has 11 junior teams from under 9 to under 19s including girls’ teams at under 11 and under 13. They also run All Stars sessions for 5-8 year olds and Dynamos sessions for boys and girls groups aged 9-11.

Junior training restarts in the week beginning Monday 19th April. The rst session for All Stars and Dynamos is on Friday May 7th.

An All Stars session for 5-8 year olds taking place on a Friday evening.

For those interested in playing junior cricket, the table below lists the teams and their managers. If you are interested in more information or playing, contact the junior organiser; Dean Mason on mobile: 07976 056 733 or email: dbmason@btinternet.com

Team SWJCL competition

Other competitions Manager

Sam Phillips (Under 9 most improved player 2020)

Morgan Bond (Under 9 player of 2020).

All Stars (5-8yrs) N/A

Dynamos (Boys 9-11s) N/A

Dynamos (Girls 9-11s) U11 Girls’ league

Under 9s Festivals

Michael Davies

Dean Mason

Dean Mason

Adam Bond

Under 10 Reds U10 league

Under 10 Blues U10 league

Dominic Kennedy

Michael Davies

Under 11s U11 league

Under 11 Girls U11 Girls league

Mat Spillets

Sue Davies

Under 12s U13 plate Welsh U13 Cup Dean Mason

Under 13s U13 league ECB U13 Cup

Welsh U13 Cup

Under 13 Girls U13 Girls league

Chris Burton

Sue Davies

Photo on the left: Hardest triers: Izzy Jones (left) and Ella Drew (right) with coach Sue Davies (centre) Photo in the middle: Most Sporting Player: Lauren Mason. Right: Gowerton’s All Star who tries the hardest: Ava Williams

Back row (left to right): Ken James, Mark Whittaker, Rob Samuel, Bill Sterio, Simon Rowlands, Malcolm Sterling and John Morris. Front row (left to right): Bryn Phillips, Mat Carroll, Billy Abramson, Robert Evans (cap-tain), Adam Hitchcott, Howard Rees, and Roland Davies.

The club also has a Veterans (Vets) team who play weekly xtures on Wednesday evenings and select from a squad of about 20 players.

The Vets were started by Robert Evans around 30 years ago. Robert was a former player who captained the team on their rst visit to Lord’s in 1973, he taught in the local comprehensive school for over 30 years and was a much-respected man in the community. He sadly died in 2010 but his legacy of sportsmanship, hard work and good humour lives on both in the village and the Athletic club.

Vets games are an experience and it’s an enjoyment to see the players of yesteryear plying their skills, albeit a little more slowly.

New members are always welcome, and anyone interested should contact John Morris: mobile: 07971 581 945 or email: johnymorris@yahoo.co.uk

The photo below shows a Gowerton Vets team in 2001.

MOTs • Servicing • Timing Belts • Clutches

Exhausts • Discount Tyres • Diagnostics - £15 Brakes • Suspension • Carbon Cleaning

Pay Only

£35

For your next MOT No retest fee 24 HOUR SERVICE

01792 884 744 INTRODUCTORY OFFER! 50% OFF RETAIL PRICE WITH THIS ADVERT! Reduces Emissions Improves Fuel Economy MOT - SERVICE - REPAIR www.pontardulaismotcentre.co.uk Restores Lost Performance DPF Cleaning113 Bolgoed Road, Pontardulais, SA4 8JP

BUDGET, MID-RANGE &

BRANDED TYRES AVAILABLE

www.pontardulaismotcentre.co.uk mot@pontardulaismotcentre.co.uk We are now a quali ed Hybrid Vehicle Service and Repair Centre Worcester-Bosch Accredited Installers

BOILER COVER FROM £11.99 PER MONTH!

Boiler Servicing Landlord Certi cates Emergency Plumbing General Plumbing Maintenance Blocked Drains & Drain Cleaning NEW BATHROOMS

01792 348210 0800 002 9490