Supported Teams Blog

On Sunday 23rd of March Ventnor Cricket Club (B team) played at the Isle of Wight indoor cricket league against the Isle of Wight Prison Officers cricket club. The youth team was led by Ben Fry this season who led them to win 6 out of 7 games which took them to league championship. The game on Sunday was no different where Ventnor Cricket Club B won by 81 runs. Finishing with Ventnor Cricket Club (B team) 19 – 2 IW Prison Officers.

A great finish to the season!

Ventnor 1st XV 26 - 45 Andover 2nds XV

With only 13 players to start Ventnor Rugby Club offered Andover a friendly match. Within the current Hampshire RFU rules, this meant that Ventnor forfeited the points but did not have penalty league points deducted. However, in the end Ventnor managed to gather 16 players for their squad but despite this the game remained a friendly.

Andover scored early following a tap penalty and a drive by their forwards, but it was Ventnor who then turned on the style with a great showing from Louis Wyatt. Ventnor continued to probe, and their energy was beginning to tell on the Andover squad. This left the scores at 26 – 21 at half-time.

The home side (Andover) scored early in the second half and Ventnor were down to a fourteen-man squad. Andover were able to use this advantage of their superiority in numbers to score again to take the score out to 40 – 21. They finished off their friendly game with Andover 45 – 26 Ventnor Rugby Club.

The Red Funnel Moment of the Match: Jason Coltham

Adam from the Isle of Wight Squash Team recently represented England in the Transatlantic Masters Squash event held in Dublin, playing matches against competitors from Ireland, USA and Canada. 

Getting off to a great start, he won his first match 11-3, 11-3, 11-9, while also beating Canada 11-5, 11-4, 11-2 - contributing to two England victories.

Congratulations Adam!

The Starlight Academy travelled to Havant to compete at the Hotshots Dance Competition. Starlight came away a very decorated team, winning 9 golds, 5 silvers and 5 bronze medals in different dance disciplines - as well as getting six special mentions, like Callum Yates winning the Senior Choreography Challenge and members also placing within the top 10 in other dance challenges.

Congratulations everyone!

For the Panthers in March – Harvey and Dom who have been training to make the Team GB squad this year had their first international fight representing team GB at the WAKO World Cup in Jesolo, Italy! With nearly 4,000 fighters competing over three days, it’s said that the atmosphere was electric, and the level of competition was unparalleled. Harvey placed 2^nd in his group taking home a silver medal. While Dom placed 3rd in his group taking home a bronze medal!

Well done to you both!

Ventnor 1st XV  18 – 19 Eastleigh 2nd XV

Another home game for Ventnor Rugby club at Watcombe.  Eastleigh started strongly against the home team with just two changes from the previous week.  Lewy Morton led the tackling numbers with Ben Cooper, Alec Bulpitt and Jack Gilbey not too far behind. For some time, Eastleigh’s dominance of possession and territory was weakened. 

Ventnor came back even stronger and followed a period of play where they sent in attacks from all angles. The Islanders pounded the opposition line with relentless aggression which sucked in defenders and allowed Souter to get the ball wide where super-quick hands from Ottley, Cooper and Bulpitt put Louis Wyatt for a fabulous try in the corner so that the half-time score was 5 – 14.

Ventnor began the second half on the front foot, Ventnor were truly back in the game with the score at 12 – 14.  Ventnor kept up the pressure so that the Islanders took the lead for the first time. Eastleigh then had a second player yellow-carded, and Crews took another three points with the clock almost in the red. Eastleigh kicked for the corner and – despite a massive effort in defence – forced their way over for a try to take the win as the whistle blew for full-time.

Despite the loss, Ventnor gave a performance with grit, spirit and determination!

The Red Funnel Moment of the Match: Tom Smith

A few updates from the club. So far this year, Alison Heywood has qualified for the British Dressage National Championships with her freestyle to music programme at Elementary level. Julie Hoskyns has qualified for the summer Pet Plan Area Championships and has also been attending a training camp in February at Sparsholt College. Members are also confirmed to be attending the Summer Area Festival at Sparsholt College and The Riding Club Area Eventing in late March.

Vectis have also planned a training clinic on the Island in April with Mark Corbett, an International Event Rider and British Eventing Accredited Coach.

Solent 42 - 29 Ravens Crest

As Solent Netball Club approaches the end of their season, teams are fighting for points to stay out of the relegation positions which makes games tougher.

Ravens Crest and Winchester are currently battling to stay off the bottom and Solent Netball team still have both teams to play. 

Playing Ravens Crest first, there were lots of contact calls made against Solent, with a warning issued and one player was spoken to about persistent obstruction after only one obstruction had been called against her. Despite this, they remained in control of the game and ended a challenging first quarter 10-7. 

Going into second quarter, Solent made a substitution due to the warning that had been given and with this it took a bit of time to adjust and settle back in. During this time, the Ravens scored three or four goals on the bounce which quickly refocused Solent, who began to get the ball through to their shooters again who were working hard and scoring well.

Although they were in a comfortable position early on, things can change quickly. Every member of the team played hard and competed for possession to try and pull away further. With three games left until the end of their season, Solent Netball Club put on a great team performance winning 42 - 29 Ravens Crest.

Player of match: Charlotte

Isle of Wight 24-34 Fareham Heathens

In their final home league game of the season, IW were defeated by Heathens in a close contest. Wearing their new kit and watched by a large crowd in the spring sunshine, IW played well in the first half but unfortunately lost as the match went on, with injuries also interrupting their momentum.

IW have not been renowned for starting well in home games this season, but the opening seconds were particularly disastrous on this occasion, as IW looked to clear from the kick-off but were charged down. IW put this behind them quickly. They built a strong spell of possession, before Ian Puzey burrowed over from close range, levelling the scores. Confidence started to build and IW were next to score: strong scrummaging provided the foundation and a break by centre David Blackman was supported by his brother Luke for a fine try. George Huish converted both scores and IW led 14-7 at this juncture.

Scoring dried up in the second half by comparison, and IW were forced on the defensive as Heathens pressed. Fareham took the lead with a well-crafted cross-kick finished by their winger. 

The victors finished on the attack and scored a converted try towards the end, taking the losing bonus points away from the Islanders. While disappointed to lose, IW had played well in parts and left everything on the pitch. 

Well done everyone. The Isle of Wight Rugby Club play Petersfield next!

After receiving his black belt the previous week, Harvey competed at the Kickboxing GB tatami nationals on the weekend! Unfortunately no medals this time round but competing against the highest level in the UK is a success in itself!

Next up another event for Harvey and Aaron at the Hastings Kombat Academy fight night on the 22nd of February. Harvey won by dominating for 3 rounds with a great display of kicks, sweeps and boxing.

After 2 years out of the ring, Aaron fought in a very well matched bout against the home fighter. Unfortunately, after 3 rounds he didn’t get the decision. Despite this, both boys fought really well!

Well done Harvey and Aaron.

With several players travelling with the 1st XV team to Portsmouth, skipper Jack Rushton was forced to shuffle his pack. Despite this, Ventnor started strongly with the spine of the team defining the play to put the team on the front foot. Chichester came back strongly and the vocal crowd then witnessed the spirit and determination of the Ventnor team as they held out against a furious assault on their line exacerbated by several close-in penalties. With this good stream of possession the Islanders were able to stay on the front foot. Ottley restored the artistry of rugby with a pin-point kick ahead for Wood to sprint in and just beat the defence for his second try. 

The second half began with a fightback from Chichester where both of their wingers were able to get around the Ventnor defence and score tries. Ventnor went back on the offence but an opposition forward was injured and Cooper had to leave the field to even up the teams at fourteen versus fourteen. Unfortunately this was just about the last of the action as two more Chichester players took knocks whilst trying to stop yet another Broomfield charge and the referee blew for time early to end an entertaining game in which the spirit and growing self-belief of this Ventnor team were on full display resulting in the final result of Ventnor 29 - 12 Chichester. 

The Red Funnel Moment of the Match: Olly Wood and Jack Rushton

Ventnor 2nd XV v Fareham Heathens 2nd XV

Fareham Heathens came across to Watcombe with a strong team, some fleet-footed backs and a set of powerful forwards. Ventnor were on the defensive from the first whistle, but it was a task they were more than prepared for with Nathan Frampton, Luke Steele, Ben Cooper and Tom Smith leading the way. Despite this effort the Heathens were able to get round the edge and score a couple of early tries.

From this unpromising position, the Islanders began to make progress with Skelley and Harvey Wheeler leading the charge. Ventnor put on the afterburners which hoisted the opposition front-row skywards. From the resultant penalty, Harris flicked the ball to Will Bloomfield and the big farmer skittled the defenders and touched down for an outstanding try. Ottley calmly slotted the extras so that the halftime score ended up an encouraging 7 - 12.

Unfortunately for the vocal crowd at Watcombe, the Heathens were able to increase their lead with a couple of tries when Ventnor attacks broke down but the home team showed plenty of ambition. Then in the final move of the match, Bloomfield picked up at the base of yet another dominant scrum and kicked ahead. Harvey Wheeler was first to the resultant breakdown and Broomfield was back on hand to crash over for his second try. Once again Ottley slotted the extras to bring the final score to 14 - 29.

Although this was a defeat, it once more marked another step forward for this developing team in which the team spirit is indomitable.

The Red Funnel Moment of the Match: Will Bloomfield

Early in the month, Adam Dominey from the Isle of Wight Squash team competed in the Quarter Finals of the British Nationals against his England Team mate Paul Boyle. The final score resulted in a loss for Adam however it was an exciting game with incredibly close scores! 

Well Done Adam!

Members of the Isle of Wight Kickboxing Club recently travelled to the Basingstoke Kickboxing Organisation (BKO) Fight Night, where team members Sali and Isaac competed. Sali took a win, which was a big moment for him after a few tough losses, but he’s now back and better than ever. Fellow Panther Isaac was fighting a level up, the competition being his first time under the lights on a fight night. Unfortunately, he lost but gave a great performance, scoring high level techniques throughout the match. 

Well done Sali & Isaac, a great start to the year!

Continuing into their 2024 - 2025 season, Ventnor Rugby Club travelled across the water on the weekend with their 1st team playing Romsey on Saturday and their 2nd team playing the Tottonians at Watcombe Bottom on the Sunday.

It was a tough day at the office for Ventnor’s 1st XV. The team hadn’t played for five weeks and it showed as the first twenty minutes with errors made by both teams. Even so, the Islanders’ forwards were competing well with Jewy Jones, Dan Lythgoe and Ben Savill leading from the front. Early pressures led to a penalty and Romsey were first to get the scoreboard rolling with a try on their first foray into the Ventnor twenty-two. Ventnor were still competing well until Romsey scored a second try that the home team managed to impose their game plan.

After returning to the fray, Teague suffered a serious knee injury resulting in the game being moved to another pitch to allow him to receive medical treatment. This brought a change in Ventnor’s fortunes and they finally and deservedly crossed the whitewash after another crunching tackle by Alec Bulpit shook the ball loose and  Cory Turner picked up a bouncing ball to race under the posts from thirty metres for a try, which was converted by Ed Blake. Romsey scored one more try with the last play of the game.

Despite being on the receiving end, Ventnor worked hard throughput and this was commented on by the opposition’s supporters.

For Ventnor Rugby Club's 2nd team they won a hard-fought victory against Tottonians 3rds in their Hampshire Premier South league match.  

Ventnor continued on the front foot with a series of penalties and saw Warren Riches take a quick tap. Morton flung out a long pass and Luke Steele darted over. Despite some extreme pressure from their opponents, it was Ventnor who scored again and again which led them to power into and through the opposition ranks.

Receiving this win meant that Ventnor Rugby Club have lifted themselves to sixth in the league with a series of home games still to come!

1st Team - Final score Romsey 53 - Ventnor 7

2nd Team - Final score Ventnor  33 - Tottonians 22

In mid November Ventnor Cricket Club 2nd XI winners of The Hampshire Cricket League Division 3S  finally for their hands on the 2024 League trophy!

Another trophy the cricket club picked up was comes from their indoor team who has succesfully defended their 2023 title by winning the Isle of Wight Indoor Cup 2024, beating Northwood by 96 runs in the semi-final followed by a 3 wicket win against St. Helens.

Well done everyone, amazing achievements at the end of the year!

Ventnor Rugby Club’s new kits are in! 

To commemorate their 50th Anniversary, Ventnor Rugby club have unveiled a new kit for the 2025 season. The past couple of months have been a very busy start to the supported club’s season starting in late September - their first team playing in the Counties 3 Hampshire League and their second team playing in the Hampshire Premiership South League.

We’re looking forward to seeing those new kits on the pitch and Ventnor Rugby Club’s achievements as their match season continues into the new year

Our team of cyclist at NAUT have had another busy season in 2024, with members racing and taking part in events and rides all over the country and further afield both on and off road.

Members of NAUT Cycling and Race team have taken part in the Isle of Wight Randonnee,Ride London, Dorney Lake Triathlon, Road & Closed circuit racing in Goodwood, Isle of Wight, Hampshire, Dorset and others including the Juniour Nationals and Cotswold 100 to name a few.

The club has also taken their members on cycling trips to various destinations including; Slovenia, Italy, France, Switzerland and Mallorca.

It's great to such a variation of people racing together, travelling and experiencing the world through cycling.

Well done to all at NAUT Cycling Club & Race Team!

It's been a fantastic year for local Kickboxing Team, the Isle of Wight Panthers, with more exciting events coming for the end of the year.

In October Harvey will be competing in the Bristol Open Tournament and some of the team will compete at Cimac Super league Tournament. In December, Dominic will represent Team GB at the European Championships. And finally towards the end of the year, members of the Isle of Wight Panthers will be competing in the WKO Ring sport tournament on the mainland.

Good luck everyone!

Starlight Academy have had a fantastic year, competing at several regional, national, and international dance events.

They were named as ‘Best Overall Dance School at both Hotshots and So You Want to Dance. They also took home the teacher’s award at Supreme Wiltshire and competed at the ‘Global Dance Open’ for the first time.

This year, two members of the Academy’s senior team have successfully gained places in professional full-time education in performing arts. To add to this, four students were awarded scholarships for prestigious mainland dance courses, while other Starlight dancers were recognised with awards and prizes for stand out performances at competitions.

The dance academy travelled to Kent to compete in national heats, where five junior dancers were to represent England across 12 events. The girls from the Isle of Wight came away with two 4th place trophies, one 3rd and one 2nd. Two young students, Lily and Diwata, came away as World Champions in under 10s lyrical duets.

England came 6th overall during a great week of dancing in the Netherlands, not only did the girls get compete at a global level, with were also privileged to train with world renowned choreographers during this year.

Incredible achievements for the students of Starlight Academy!

East Cowes Vics have had an unbelievable start to the season. As of 25th September Vics are top of Wessex League Div 1 with 7 wins from our opening 8 games. In October they'll be heading up to Gloucestershire to play Fairford Town FC in the FA Vase 1st Round.

East Cowes Vics will also be playing US Portsmouth FC in the Wessex League Cup 2nd Round after winning 4-3 on penalties against island rivals Newport FC, when the game ended 2-2 at Beatrice Avenue.  

Well done and Good luck!

As Ventnor Rugby Club begins the celebration of their 50th Anniversary, they kicked off the Hampshire League with the 1st XV home game against Andover & Fleet and their 2nd XV game away at Chichester. Ventnor Rugby Club has had excellent summer not just with their games but within their training and doing their bit for their local community.

Ventnor Rugby Club will be  introducing their new 1st and 2nd XV rugby kit in the next coming months commemorate their 50th Anniversary.

The IOW Panthers have been keeping busy this year.

They took part in the GB Nationals, coming away with two gold medals and two bronze medals.

The Panthers held their first interclub competition at the Panthers Dojo, which was a huge success and a great experience for many junior fighters.

They also travelled to Wales to compete with a team of 11 fighters, who all placed with medals!

Next up, the team have another Interclub comp planned, as well as tournaments towards the end of the year.

Panthers team member, Harvey Abbott will be representing Team GB at the World Championships this August!

Well done team, and good luck, Harvey!

The Vectis Equestrian Team recently travelled to Dorset to compete at Morton. 

The Senior Group won their section, and even qualified for the British Riding Clubs National Championships that will be held in Lincoln in September.

Junior rider, Mollie Sheath also qualified for the same competition in her junior class.

The team took home plenty of ribbons from this competition.

Dressage rider, Julie Hoskyns, a competitor, and committee member of Vectis Equestrian Club, travelled to Sparsholt College in Winchester to take part in the preliminary level competition at British Dressage, riding her horse Severine.

They placed 2^nd and 5^th and managed to qualify for the Pet Plan Area Festival in August. 

Severine is a 5-year-old Chestnut Oldenburg mare and is only just starting her competitive journey. This was only her second event on the mainland, and she has a lot to learn but shows great potential.

This year for Severine is a ‘training’ year which means they are going to different venues to gain experience. Their next outing will be the two-day show at "The Festival of Dressage" where Julie hopes to qualify Severine and her mare, Pauldary's Amaretto for the dressage to Music Area Festival, before going on to do Riding Club qualifiers for dressage and showjumping at Moreton in Dorset in July.

Well done Julie and Severine, we can't wait to see your progression!

Over twenty members of Ventnor Rugby Club including players, management and supporters travelled to the Midlands last month to play in a charity rugby event for The Nags Charity Barbarians.

The Nags are a charity rugby team that have been playing biannually for ten years, raising much needed funds for Cancer Research UK. To date, they have managed to raise over £210,000! This was the first time that Ventnor RFC had been represented at such an event, not just on the playing front.

All the layers played with fantastic commitment and proudly promoted the playing standard at the club.

The event at Tewkesbury RFC managed to raise over £30,000 pushing them ever so close to the quarter of a million milestone.

What a great event to be a part of and an amazing amount of money raised for a fantastic charity!

It’s been a busy few weeks for Ventnor Rugby Club, supporting the community and local events at their ground. 

The club recently entertained several mainland mini-rugby clubs totalling over 1,300 kids and parents enjoying themselves at Watcombe. The clubhouse, car parks and bar saw frenzied action but thanks to their hard-working band of volunteers, everyone got their fair share of bacon rolls and cups of tea. Despite the touch-and-go weather, the club received excellent feedback from the families who are already looking forward to next year!

Later, 3000 lycra-clad cyclists came by on the Randonnee for a pit stop to use the clubhouse as a marshalling post and feeding station. With a samba band adding to the colourful spectacle.

A great effort from everyone involved with will allow the club to donate to the Luke Orton and Team Teddy charities!

Junior Vectis Equestrian Member, Freya Jones and her lovely pony Bleu, recently travelled to the Riding Club competition held at Moreton EC.

Frey and Bleu placed 1^st in their class in the Area Combined Challenge!

Well done both!

A member of the IOW Panther Kickboxing team, Harvey Abbott has been selected to represent Team GB for the second year!

Harvey will be heading to Budapest in August to compete at the World Kickboxing Championships in the Full Contact division! The standard does not get higher than this!

Harvey is a great role model for the club showing hard work, respect, and discipline!

Good luck Harvey!

It was a busy weekend for Ventnor Cricket Club with three senior teams representing Ventnor on Saturday and on Sunday, competing in the second round of the Venous Village Cup, a national competition with the chance to play at Lords in the final!

Unfortunately, the game was cancelled but with three other senior teams representing Ventnor, there was more than enough to watch!

Ventnor won with the second XI playing a home game at Steephill against Ellingham by 9 wickets.

Ventnor’s third XI playing a home game in Arreton against an IOW team, Freshwater, won by 5 wickets.

And finally, playing an away game in Northwood against another Island team, Northwood, the fourth XI, Ventnor lost by 6 wickets.

On Sunday, Ventnor’s first XI won against Sarisbury by 9 wickets with some impressive performances, taking them to the third round of the Venous Village Cup!

Well done Ventnor, we can’t wait to see what you do next!

Exciting times for Ventnor Cricket Club as they welcome back Dineth Thimodya, an overseas player for the 2024 season.

“I’m really happy to be back. I’ve loved my time playing for Ventnor over the years and can’t wait for the season to start”

Unfortunately, the British weather put a halt to their recent 1^st Xi fixture, but we’re excited to see what they get up to now the weather is picking up!

On Good Friday, the East Cowes Vics Football Club played Newport IOW in a Wessex League 1 match.

East Cowes Vics won 1-0 with the goal scored by Jez Conway in the first half!

This was the first league victory against Newport in over 30 years! To top the win off, the game was played out in front of the league's biggest crowd of the season with 565 people filling out Beatrice Avenue, home of East Cowes Vics.

Five young girls from The Starlight Academy have been chosen to represent England in the very prestigious dance competition, the Global Dance Open Finals in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, this summer!

Aged just eight and nine years old, the five girls will travel to the competition this July to compete in Ballet, Jazz, Street and Acro sections.

Auriella, Aria, Imogen, Diwata and Lily will go up against dancers from all around the world, including Italy, Spain, Australia, Canada and South Africa after qualifying in a previous competition, in Sevenoaks, Kent.

Well done girls, this is an amazing achievement, we can’t wait to hear how you get on in July!

NAUT Cycling took part in their first road event of the race season!

Over 50 riders turned up for this event with NAUT members featuring in four teams. A damp and overcast morning for the first time trial event of the season: a 3-up effort along the Military Road, on the Pearl 10 course. Two team members, Eric Wiliams and James Heng had a particularly impressive ride, finishing 6th overall, being the highest placed team of junior riders! One team, featuring Chris Till, wasn’t so lucky, having pushed hard to post the 2nd fastest time, they lost a rider to a mechanical and was disqualified. Alex Paul, Martin Piper and Steve Taylor pulled together to take 7th Place! The trio, including Martin Jackson, took the 13th fastest tie of the event!

Well done, team! We look forward to hearing more!

Vectis Equestrian Club recently sent over three of their members, Paige Richards, Amelia Collins and Charlotte McCoullgh to compete at the British Riding Clubs Area Winter Dressage, held at Crofton Manor.

Paige Richards placed 2^nd in her senior section, with Charlotte placing 2^nd in the juniors! This was Amelia’s first time competing with Vectis, finishing in the top ten in her class!

Well done, girls!