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54 Phonebox Magazine | November 2025LOCAL SPORT ROUNDUP NEW SEASON, NEW NAME FOR COLTSSome of you might have noticed an important change to our club name and badge, which has been made to refl ect who we are and what we stand for.Olney Town Colts Football Club is now Olney Football Club, and the removal of the word %u2018Colts%u2019 is to acknowledge and recognise the fast-growing number of girls and ladies that now play for our club and who bring skill, passion, and energy to the pitch every week.Over the years, our club has grown into something truly special. We%u2019ve become more than just a football club, we%u2019re a community that thrives on inclusivity, diversity and togetherness. Our teams now represent a wide and wonderful mix of players at every age group from U5s to U18s as well as ladies, men%u2019s and veterans teams.This season we have 34 teams and nearly 500 players registered with the club, and as well as participating in fi ve diff erent football leagues, we will soon be launching the FA%u2019s Comets programme, which is recreational, pan-disability football training for disabled (& SEN) boys and girls aged between 5 and 11. For 2025/26 we%u2019re continuing with our club referee mentoring programme, whereby we train and fully support new refs, and as ever, we desperately need more people to volunteer and gain their coaching qualifi cations so that we can continue to meet player demand. Most courses are online and costs are covered by the club.We already have over 60 FA qualifi ed coaches (including UEFA B badges), and we are also fortunate to have a very experienced female coaching mentor who not only has coached at Olney FC for eight years, but she is also a technical coach with Bedfordshire FA.If you would like to become a referee or a coach, contact www.olneyfc.co.uk.Thank you to all of our players, managers, coaches, referees, volunteers and sponsors.OLNEY & CLIFTON FISHING CLUBThis last month has seen many anglers reporting great silver fi sh action with double-fi gure bags being caught on diff erent stretches of our waters. I would recommend going out as much as possible to make the most of the current situation, as the fi sh are defi nitely biting, but the fear is that the seasonal fl oods are probably not far away.The club held our annual two rod match at the start of October. This match attracts both match and specimen anglers and gives prizes for both the biggest fi sh caught and the one that is the highest percentage of the club record, whichever species. Displaying his all-round ability to claim this year%u2019s trophy was popular ex-committee man Matt Farr.The Bedford Winter league has all started, but the fi rst match at Kempston being a write off for the Olney team. Last week at Willington saw an improvement with Paul Hodgson getting a deserved third place with a nice bag of quality fi sh weighing in at 7lbs 11oz. Showing the disparity between sections, I won my section by default with just 3lbs 15oz of small perch and gudgeon. The match winner came from the same section with nearly 13lbs of chub, so it proves you can only catch what is in your peg. Finally, a record-breaking note to end on. For the fi rst time in our history the club has over one hundred junior members. Let%u2019s hope that as many of them as possible start catching immediately and enjoy themselves enough to go on to become adult members.Next month I look forward to bringing you a report on the Royal British Legion open match and Olney hosting a round of the Winter league. Tight lines, DamonOLNEY BOWLING CLUBOBC Club Competition fi nals were held over the weekend 12-14 September with winners as follows:Men%u2019s Singles Championship: Colin CookMen%u2019s 2-Wood Singles: Mick RichardsonMen%u2019s Handicap Singles: JD Boshoff Men%u2019s Pairs: Colin Cook, Neil CliftonLadies Singles Championship: Liz MurdochLadies Handicap Singles: Liz MurdochLadies Pairs: Noriko Heyes, Wendy CollyerLadies 2-Wood Pairs: Liz Murdoch, Wendy CollyerMixed Pairs: Vicki Horton, Gerald WilsonScorpion Shield: Colin Millward, Liz MurdochOpen Triples: JD Boshoff , Howarth Munday, Colin CookOpen Rinks: Norman Crouch, Colin Millward, Lee Thomas, Gerald WilsonThe Hilary Brock one-day competition was held on Sunday 28th September with 24 pairs taking part in 2 groups, each pair playing 4 games. This was followed by semi-fi nals and then a fi nal. After fi ve exciting ends in the fi nal the eventual winners were Mike Thompson and Paul Megeary who defeated Claire Ridpath and Lee Thomas. Sandy Brock presented the trophy and thanks was given to the Brock family for sponsoring the day.The end of season President v Captains was held on Wednesday 1st October with the President%u2019s Team victorious 87-71. This was followed by a lovely meal sponsored by the President and a raffl e which raised %u00a3238 in aid of Macmillan Cancer.The rinks will have closed for Winter when you read this. We look forward to seeing some new faces at our next Open Day in April 2026.54 Phonebox Magazine | November 2025