Well its getting near the end of another year and I have just realised that I have not written a blog update for some time.  Unfortunately Cambridge parkrun at Milton country park just didnt rematerialise.  For those runners that still want their 9am Saturday fix, there are now a few options around Cambridge, its just that I have not visited them...yet.

In May I made a trek to Ramsgate for a Kite Surfing Competition having enjoyed watching a few people from the Mersea club the previous year.  Unfortunately the wind would not participate though so it was really a bit of a write off so far as photography was concerned.  Later that month, I had an outing to Burghley House but all I managed there was a little high jump fun...

In July I didnt do any sport as I was involved with other things  (I enjoy studio photography when Im not doing sport) but in August I had a trip to Wyboston Lakes for a Jet Ski competition.  Where you could go round the lake was very restricted but I feel I still managed to capture a few good images from the outing.

August and I was at Tough Mudder (Midlands).  What a wonderful friendly event, both from the organisers and indeed the competitors points of view.  Many teams went out on the course and did indeed get very muddy and wet most with a smile on their faces.  Getting electrocuted just before the finish line though was the master stroke!

At the end of August I was back to Silverstone for the motogp and a probable farewell to Rossi, the multi world champ.

Whilst there I had to take a look at a cycle display team giving a demonstraton...(Dont look down!!)

September and I was back at Gransden show doing the equestrian arenas.  This event was cancelled in 2020 and whether that effected the crowds this time I wouldnt like to say, but it was certainly very well attended.  I shall be back in 2022 if they will have me.

November and it was a trip to Brands Hatch.  I was invited along by a good friend and it seems I may well be following her and the CMMCS around the UK in 2022.  Brands Hatch was very dull and wet.  There was an unpredicted downpour halfway through the meet that had all of the teams dashing to change tyres but there were some spectacular spins throughout the day.  Because of the poor weather, the racing continued well into the dark.  Racing around Brands hatch in the dark at the sort of speeds these cars were doing, must have been quite an experience for the drivers and it was also quite a challenge getting images.

There was just one final sporting event in my diary before Christmas but it was a good one...The British Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield.  Keep a good lookout for these at the Olympics next year...

Happy Christmas everyone and I'm looking forward to photographing some more good sport in 2022.

John

Well what a last 14 months.  The family issues I spoke of back in January 2019 was my mother being ill.  Unfortunately she died the following month.  I guess its a mixed blessing that she was not effected by the Covid crisis that got started just a month later with the first of the lockdowns.

Obviously, with Covid going on there was no sporting events for me to attend, indeed my camera stayed firmly packed away for the main part.  I did manage a few wildlife and other shoots during the summer but most events remained closed and quite frankly I was not that keen on leaving home anyway.  Looking at my library of images, the total number of images taken in 2020 was around 20% of the amount I had taken in each of the previous 4 years....so it has been quite a dramitic change.  I have now received my first vaccination and am feeling a little more optimistic about being able to get out and about later in the year. Whether it will all return to how it was, well obviously I have no idea.  A chance meeting with someone at Milton Country park last weekend who expressed how excited she used to be looking for parkrun photos has encouraged me to at least start updating the website ready, should we eventually return to sport later in the year.

First however, I promised many months ago to share my successful LRPS panel from 2019, so here it is: -

I am looking forward to seeing you all out there in June and maybe my first outing will be to parkrun, where it all started.

Keep safe and well

John

Its been a long time since I did a blog post and in fact I did wonder whether to continue them.  What got me thinking about putting a new one up was the fact that recent visits to my website have included visits to my old blogs.  I do not however anticipate that regular blog posts will be re-introduced, at least not anytime soon.

Since July 2018 and the last blog post, I have taken my LRPS assessment twice.  The first time I failed as some of the prints were deemed to have some bronzing (a printing defect).  I was however offered a re-submission and this happened in November 2019.  This time, with a few different images, I passed so in photography circles I am now John Wilderspin LRPS.  This has led to me being asked to do a couple of demos (although these were on studio photography, another passion of mine) and a couple of talks.

In preparing for the LRPS assessments I needed to evaluate my sports photography and become a bit more focused on what I wanted rather than doing photography largely for the competitors.  As a result I have done far less of the type of photography I had been doing.  I still however covered the Waterbeach running festival, Gransden show (horse rings) and a few parkruns, although no longer in an official capacity.  I also retained my membership of the Silverstone racing club and have enjoyed many days at the track.

So here we are at the start of a new decade and it kicks off for me with a new sport...fencing.  I shall be covering both days of the Cambridge Winter Tournament on 4th and 5th January.  Unfortunately, however, I have been asked by the organisers not to show the images openly, so all the resulting images will be hidden and password protected, something my website enables me to do quite easily.

Due to family issues and work commitments, I will probably not be doing much sports photography then for a few weeks.  I would however like to add my LRPS panel and generally update the website, so that will probably need to be my target for a few weeks until both those things settle down. 

Regards

John    

I was at Caldecote cross country festival on the opening day of the month.  It was quite well supported for a very hot day and I hope that it is an event that will continue for many years. Below is the winner of the 10k.

On the following Wednesday (4th) I went to Wilberforce Road in Cambridge for an evening track and field meet (Eastern Masters League).  There was a very friendly rivalry between a good number of teams and the closest finish was the relay for women (4 x 200m).

I then had three days in the heat at Silverstone for the Formula 1 Grand Prix.  Unfortunately I was not an official photographer but never the less still managed to get some quite good images.

The following weekend all my plans fell apart.  The Motorcross didnt happen and whilst I went over to a friends yard for some horse photos, I took no photos able to be shared here.  On the 19th I fitted in a short gym photo shoot with the trainer that helped me do my initial Ironman training...was it really 10 years ago that she first introduced me to a treadmill? 

 Then on the 21st I was back at Silverstone for the classic meet.  As you can see I wanted to experiment with a little zoom blur... However I also managed to get on the pit lane.

On the 25th I went to the final local Team Cambridge Cycling Club time trial of the year...the year is passing so quickly!

My final sporting event for the month was the women's world cup hockey tournament.  I managed to secure a couple of tickets for the last England group game against Ireland which England won 1-0.

Looking forward, August is a much quieter month.  I have another trip to Wilberforce Road in Cambridge planned for a Southern Athletics League fixture on the 18th and I may well go along to a Cambridge parkrun at some point.  I may be back at Silverstone for the MotoGP and I cannot forget that football will be starting again.   Whilst August could well be fairly quiet, September is certainly not.  I have athletics in Bury St Edmunds on he 8th, grass track racing on the 9th, Silverstone again on the 15th and a pony club hunter trial on the 16th. Gransden Show on the 29th will round off the month where I shall again be doing all three horse rings.

John

I then went off on a short break.  Couldn't resist a quick visit to the local football stadium though...

It was then down to the river bank for a quick view of the university bumps.  Unfortunately I am so busy with my day job at the moment, I couldn't spend the normal amount of time taking photos.

The following day (16th) I thought I would try something different...archery.  This is clearly more popular than I imagined.   I was made very welcome but was quite rightly asked not to get in front of the archers...  Its a very technical sport and one I should imagine is highly addictive.  It also seemed very sociable and really worthy of a return visit.

The following day I went back to my old sport of triathlon at Stewartby lakes near Bedford.  I had hoped to get some swimming shots as I had a couple of years ago but they chose to move the swim start which didn't give me the opportunity to get level with the swimmers.  I was therefore left with just  taking some cycling photos and honing my panning skills

Monday the 18th saw me trying to get some Gym shots for a project and taking photos of a 4 week old foal at my friend Jo Gummers yard.

it was back to cycling with a 25 mile time trial near my village on the evening of the 20th.  Yet more panned shots for the project. 

The 40th birthday celebrations I had been booked to photograph got moved.  As a result, I could no longer attend...shame as it would have been a different challenge.  My next outing was therefore on the 24th to Gosfield Lakes in Essex to have a look at another sport I had never taken photos of...water skiing. 

I managed to get to one final cycle time trial before the end of the month (27th), this time a 10 miler again run by Team Cambridge.

I have Caldecote cross country festival next week.  Its the second time the event has been held and my first visit.  It features races at 3K, 10K and half marathon.  I would encourage as many people as possible to support the event which is being run by Caldecote primary school. 

Here are the events for the next few weeks that I am planning to attend, either officially or unofficially. 

July 1st - Caldecote cross-country festival

July 4th - Eastern Masters Athletics League at Cambridge

July 6th to 8th - British Grand Prix at Silverstone

July 14th - Motorcross in Swanley, Kent

July 16th - Equestrian photos at my friends yard.

July 21st - Silverstone Classic motor racing

July 29th - World Cup Hockey

August 18th - Southern Athletics League at Cambridge

John

In the last month I've had a brief trip to Bremen where I took in a football match on the 5th.  For photography however, I was limited to a few mobile phone shots...it was my sons stag do after all!

The Waterbeach Running Festival took place on the 12th May and again the event continues to grow.  It was the third year that the event has been held and I have been there each year.  I hope that the numbers will continue to grow in the future although the prospect of development on the site does cast some doubts about just how long the event can continue.  A flat hard surface which is traffic free...there simply cant be too many of those around these days. Below are the winners of the 10k.

But as you can see, everyone had fun.

The grass track racing on the 13th that I planned to attend was cancelled.  The overnight rain simply meant that the track would have been rendered unusable for later in the year had it taken place.

It was a fairly cold and windy evening on the 16th which may have accounted for only 6 riders turning out for the Team Cambridge Cycle time trial in my village.  On speaking with one of the riders however, he assured me that the cross wind wasn't as bad as was expected.

My next event was the Southern Athletics league meeting on 19th May.  Whilst the photo below is nothing special, it is significant.  It was a clearance of 2.55m...A British record for over 65 females.

The following day I went to Silverstone for a series of races, the feature race being the Blancpain GT Endurance cup.

It was quite a chilly evening again on the 23rd for another Team Cambridge Cycle time trial and a few more attending this week.

It was a warm evening on the 25th however when I went to Elsworth for a motorcycle trial being run by the Cambridge Matchless Motorcycle Club. 

My last sporting trip of the month was the following day.  A visit to the Cycloparc near Gravesend for some BMX riding.

Here are the events for the next few weeks that I am planning to attend, either officially or unofficially. 

June 2nd - Cambridge Parkrun

June 15th - University May bumps

June 16th  - Netherhall Archers

June 17th - Stewartby Lake Triathlon

June 23rd - 40th Birthday party - studio shoot.

June 24th - Water skiing at Gosfield Lake. 

June 27th - Team Cambridge Cycle time trials

June 30th - Cambridge parkrun

July 1st - Caldecote cross-country

July 4th - Eastern Masters Athletics League at Cambridge

July 6th to 8th - British Grand Prix at Silverstone

July 14th - Team Cambridge Cycle time trial

John

I went to Cambridge parkrun on the 31st March, my first visit since the previous September and received a warm welcome.  I will be returning but perhaps not on the monthly basis that I have done in previous years.  It was very wet underfoot and there was a fine drizzle throughout...far from ideal conditions for me but it seemed that the runners had fun.  

In the afternoon, I went over to Horseheath for some point to point racing.  From the photography point of view, I must say that it was far better than Cottenham as you could get closer to the action and there were no distracting adverts on the fences.  I will be returning towards the end of the year.

On the 11th April, I raced home to catch the first of the local cycle time trial events of the year only to find that it had been cancelled.  Hardly surprising really as you could barely see more than 100 yards, so it would have been far from safe.  There are a few more similar events during the course of the summer so no doubt I will catch at least one of them.

I had a "Film noir" style studio shoot on the 20th April and then on the 21st April I had a trip down to Lee Valley White water centre for world championship qualifiers in extreme canoe slalom.  An interesting and exciting event with men and women competing on level terms and in 3's or 4's over a knockout competition.

The Cambs Hunt pony club hunter trial on the 29th April was postponed until September as there were fears that the large quantity of horseboxes would result in many of them getting bogged down in the mud.  However hard standing for a smaller number allowed  a rally to be held instead.  It was another grey April day but at least it didn't rain.  As for the participants, some had a chance to practice over the fences whilst for others it was a chance to take their ponies through water, perhaps for the first time.

Here are the future events I am intending to attend either officially and unofficially.  Nothing next weekend as I am away but then I hope the weather improves for you can see I have quite a busy time ahead.

May 12th - Waterbeach Running Festival... I also have some prints exhibited at the Bottisham and Burwell Camera Club annual exhibition this date.

May 13th - Cambridge Autograss Club meet at Stretham.

May 16th - Team Cambridge Cycle time trial

May 19th - Southern Athletics League meet at Cambridge

May 20th - Blancpain GT Endurance cup at Silverstone

May 23rd - Team Cambridge Cycle time trial.

June 15th - University May bumps

June 16th  - Netherhall Archers

June 17th - Stewartby Lake Triathlon

June 23rd - 40th Birthday party - studio shoot.

July 1st - Caldecote x-country

July 4th - Eastern Masters Athletics League at Cambridge

July 6th to 8th - British Grand Prix at Silverstone

John

Its been a while since I did my last blog entry so I had better start with an explanation.   My confidence took a massive hit last September when I failed to get a distinction from the Royal Photographic Society.  Couple that with some abuse received at both Cambridge and Wimpole Junior parkruns together with work commitments and I actually didn't pick up a camera after the Gransden Show until earlier this year.  Anyway, I am back to taking photographs now and have been booked for a number of events during the year.

So...going back to last year here are a couple of photos from Gransden show...

This year I went to Chatteris to watch Comberton United.  Very much split loyalties on the day as I personally know the new Chatteris Town manager.  Pleased that he got his first win, just not so happy it was at Combertons expense.

I have had my first trip to Silverstone for the Hankook 12 and 24 hour races.  However, this was really an exploratory trip for outings there later in the year.

Finally, this last weekend I had a short session watching Cambridge City Mens Hockey team. I shall return, without a doubt.

Looking to the future I already have the following events in my diary for the next few months: -

March 31st - I am considering a return to Cambridge Parkrun in the morning, but make no promises.  Horseheath point to point in the afternoon.

April 11th - Team Cambridge Cycle time trial

April 17th - Studio shoot.

April 21st - Horseheath Hunter Trial

April 29th - Cambs Hunt Pony Club Hunter Trial

May 12th - Waterbeach Running Festival

May 16th - Team Cambridge Cycle time trial

May 19th - Southern Athletics League meet at Cambridge

May 20th - Blancpain GT Endurance cup at Silverstone

May 23rd - Team Cambridge Cycle time trial

June 23rd - 40th Birthday party - studio shoot.

July 1st - Caldecote x-country

July 4th - Eastern Masters Athletics League at Cambridge

July 6th to 8th - British Grand Prix at Silverstone

John

 The following day (13th), since it was nice and sunny again and the foal show wasn't until the afternoon, I decided to go to Wimpole for the junior parkrun.  I understand there were around 120 happy faces running....along with their parents.

The foal show was at a good friends. A number of lovely young Hanovarian horses were on display and there was great hospitality too.

It was back to football on the 16th.  The first league game for Comberton United in the Kershaw Premier league and a tough start to the campaign with last years runners-up Great Shelford the visitors.  The game ended up 2-2.

The next weekend it was track and field (19th) with the Southern Athletics league at Wilberforce Road.

On the Sunday I decided to have a day away from sport by going to the Ramsey 1940's weekend.

But on the 2nd September it was Cambridge parkrun in the morning and then Comberton Vs Chatteris in the afternoon.  Unfortunately Comberton suffered their first loss in the league to a very good Chatteris team 4-2.

The 10th September was again a very busy day with the second Hardwick playparks fun run in the morning and inter-counties athletics in Stevenage in the afternoon.

So...what about the future. I have Gransden Show on the 30th September where I am covering all three horse rings.

On the 8th July I went to Cambridge parkrun.

On the 16th I was invited to the 3rd anniversary of the Cambridge Junior parkrun.  I freely admit to loving the taking photos of the juniors and it was good to experience an alternative junior event.  There was a large turnout and some some very keen athletes...so many approaching the finish so very concerned with their times...At their age, I do hope they will not lose enjoyment from running in the effort to go faster.

After a very brief, as their were so few riders, session in my village taking photos of the latest Team Cambridge cycle time trial, it was back to Wimpole for the junior parkrun on the 23rd July.

This time, probably due to it being the school holidays and the fear of a downpour, not many children attended.  However, the rain did hold off and I understand the boy shown above broke the course record with a time of only just over 7 minutes.

On the 4th August I was in Fulbourn for the final of a pre-season tournament (Terry Wilson Memorial cup).  The match was drawn 2-2 with Fulbourn winning on penalties.

My final trip out before writing this blog was to London and the World athletics Championship.  I was hoping to see Bolt winning in his last individual race but that sadly didn't happen.  It was good to see Laura Muir and Jess Judd in the 1500m however...Laura progressing to the final.

Looking forward, I am still planning on going to Cambridge parkrun on the 12th August but I will be delaying my visit to Wimpole for the junior parkrun until the 20th as I am taking some photos of a foal day at a friends on the 13th.  I will be at the Southern Athletics League meet at Wilberforce road, Cambridge on the 19th and will try to take in a cricket match somewhere on the 26th.  I am with the Cambridgeshire Hunt Pony Club for the Gosling Cup on the 27th. The local football season kicks off in August and I note that Comberton are playing at home on the 15th, 22nd and 29th August.  I will probably not go to all three matches but I shall go to at least one.

Looking even further ahead I have the following dates pencilled in my diary for September and I will make a special mention about the 10th September.  The Hardwick playparks fun run is taking place for the second time on that date and I am looking forward to seeing a good number of the local and park runners there...Entries are now being taken!  

2nd   Cambridge parkrun and Comberton v Chatteris (football)

3rd   Cambridge Autograss club at Stretham

9th   Comberton v Linton (football)

10th Hardwick playparks Fun run

16th Comberton reserves V Haverhill A (football)

17th Royal Photographic Society Assessment day - If I am successful, I may issue an extra blog showing my panel.

23rd Comberton V Cherry Hinton (football)

24th Wimpole Junior parkrun

30th Gransden Show - Horse section

John

I also managed to get roadside for the Team Cambridge cycle time trial on the 24th May.  The previous weeks event having been called off due to the weather.

A couple of days later I had to go into Cambridge so I thought I would try to finish my Cambridge Bridges project.  It has been incomplete on my website for ages but I really wanted to get it out of the way before I pressed on with my Royal Photographic Society panel project.  Whilst I was able to capture images of most of the missing college bridges, Kings College bridge is still needed before I can finally say that the project is complete.  Below is the Bridge of Sighs (St Johns College).

My next trip out was to Ireland, or more specifically the "Ring of Kerry," for some land and seascape shots...Whilst the weather wasn't great the scenery certainly was! 

 I was then at Cambridge parkrun on the 10th June when, as usual, over 500 runners of all ages took part.

The following day I went on a day trip to the Camden Lock area of London with a camera club.

and then it was back to sport with the Wimpole junior parkrun on the 18th June.  What a really hot day!!  No doubt that was why numbers were down from the norm.  This however was a shame because the National Trust gave out medals to each runner and there were some additional sports for the children to try out after the run.  The photo below shows some runners getting wristbands.  These are awarded when they have completed a certain number of runs.

The trial sport above proved to be very popular...orienteering!  Other sports available for the children to try on the day were tennis, archery and horse-riding.

To round off this blog and June I went to Birmingham on the 24th to watch and take some photos of the Aegon WTA tennis.  I had tickets to the semi finals and below is Petra Kvitova, who was the eventual winner of the event.

Looking forward. I am planning to watch some motor racing at Stretham tomorrow (2nd July).  I have not been approached about taking photos at the Wimpole Belts 10k or Girton 5k, both of which take place during this week and for whom I took photos last year.  As a result i am not sure if I will be going to them or not.  Anyway, next weekend will be my parkrun weekend (8th and 9th July)...I have also pencilled in the 12th and 13th August for the following one.  There are some more Team Cambridge time trial cycling coming up and I have some tickets for the World Athletics championships on 5th August. There is a Southern Athletics League meeting in Cambridge on the 19th August and I shall be with the Cambridgeshire Hunt Pony Club on 27th August for the Gosling Cup (a large one day type event for all the eastern region clubs).  Like last year I shall be taking photos at the Hardwick playparks fun run on 10th September and I shall be covering all three horse rings at Gransden Show on 30th September.   Although I don't have any actual dates sorted, I am still wanting to take some cricket photos this summer and I also need some more photos for my Royal Photographic Society project, as the assessment date (17th September) is drawing ever closer.

Already a few amendments.  I could not get to Stretham, Wimpole or Girton events and my planned parkrun weekend has also now changed.  I am still planning on going to Cambridge parkrun on the 8th but Wimpole junior parkrun has been cancelled for two weeks due to other events taking place at Wimpole.  As a result, I am now planning on going there on the 23rd. I  have also been invited to Cambridge junior parkrun on the 16th.

John

My next event was a football cup final at Histon FC between Comberton United and Orwell, having been invited there by Comberton.  Comberton won the match 4-1 which resulted in joyous scenes as you can imagine...

The following weekend Comberton secured the league title (Kershaw 1A) to go with it.  They won the match 17-1 against a weakened Burwell team.  Next year they will be in the same league as my own village, so I guess I may have split loyalties when they play one another.

The 6th and 7th May made up my parkrun weekend.  Cambridge had 576 runners on Saturday...difficult on quite a tight course but the popularity seems to be forever growing.  With quite a large running event taking place the next day a number of the regulars were missing so I can only see numbers going past 600 on a regular basis in the future.  I have to say its difficult to cover such large numbers in the way I would like, but I continue to do my best. I simply love the parkrun ethos and am happy to promote it.

Sundays Wimpole junior parkrun also had a lot of runners...195, which I believe is a record.  There have since been comments about parents over encouraging their children.  Sometimes the fact that it is a run not a race gets lost with talk of PB's etc but I have to say it is generally a real pleasure to take the children's photos as they show so much emotion and most do come through the finish with smiles.

Saturday 13th May saw me at the Waterbeach running festival.  Its a busy event with 4 races...100m toddler dash, 2k, 5k and 10k.

10k and 5k events are popular with the adults and are well supported with numbers rising on last year (First year).  The festival was however a little smaller with fewer stalls...perhaps the poorer weather in comparison with last year had something to do it.

Here is the 5k start...won again by last years winner.

and here is the 10k winner...

The 100m toddler race I have to say is probably the hardest race I have photographed.  So many children (and parents) and because the distance is so short there are no gaps.  It really is a situation where you just point, shoot and hope for the best.

For obvious reasons the galleries containing the 100m and 2k photos are protected so no other photographs of these events will be shown openly on this site.  So that's Waterbeach Running Festival done for another year...unfortunately I was not well after the event, indeed I wasn't feeling particularly good the  day before and during it.  Anyway that resulted in the photos being uploaded rather slower than I would have done normally.  I apologise for this but hope that the organisers will be happy for me to come back next year.  Its really a great local event and one that could well continue to grow and grow.

In other types of photography...of the two portrait shoots that were planned when I wrote my last blog; one didn't happen as the model was involved in a car accident and spent the day in hospital.  The other was labelled a boudoir shoot and I think the model would agree with me that we got some good results.  I have no more studio shoots planned now although an outdoor session could be arranged for later in the year....that is unless anyone out there wants some photos taken? 

At the beginning of June I will be off to Ireland to take some land and seascape photos and then to London for some street type photos.  Hopefully I will get some good results from these that I will be able to use in September for my distinction panel with the Royal Photographic Society. 

So whats to come...well the local cycle time trials start in my village again this coming Wednesday evening (17th May) and I would like to wander down to take some photos at least a couple of times during the summer.  Next weekend (21st May) I hope to be on the river bank taking photos of the Champion of the Thames rowing club eights.  Many college crews use it as a warm up for the bumps so it has some good racing.  Last year I recall there was some really nice weather so it would be good to have the same this year.  After I get back from Ireland and London I will be back to sport and would like to cover a few more cricket matches, some tennis (I am off to Birmingham for the WTA tournament) and some more equestrian sports....and of course more road running and athletics.  My next time at Cambridge parkrun is likely to be the 10th June and I am planning on being at Wimpole junior parkrun the following Sunday (18th). 

John

I went on holiday in early February so the first event that I covered was Cambridge parkrun on 18th February.  Here is the event director giving the pre-run talk.  I was trying to show the level of support that Cambridge now receives...

The following day I was at Wimpole for the junior parkrun..

I returned to Cambridge parkrun on the 1st April

and to Wimpole on the 2nd April..

and I have to say thats all the sport I have been able to cover the last few weeks.  I have done a few other shoots in the interim (landscape and some studio portraiture) but that's it.  

In the next few weeks I should be back!  I will be at the Southern Athletics League meeting at Wilberforce Road, Cambridge on the 29th April.  Looking further ahead, I have been invited to be at Histon FC on the 1st May for Comberton Vs Orwell in a football cup final.  I will try to have my next parkrun weekend on the 6th and 7th May and then its the Waterbeach Running festival on the 13th May.  It will be back to rowing on the 21st May with the Champion of the Thames RC 8's.  During the next fortnight I also have 2 further studio shoots arranged (one boudoir).

During the summer, whilst I will be doing some sports photography, I will also need to do other genres of photography as I am trying to get a distinction from the Royal Photographic Society in September.

John 

It may seem a long time ago now but on New Years Day I was at Cambridge parkrun.  Whilst I normally enjoy photographing parkrun, I have to say that this time the weather made it rather unpleasant.  A drizzle at the start gave way to steady rain by the time the last few runners got to the finish line. A big well done to all the volunteers that gave up their time in such bad weather...and on a bank holiday too!  

On the 5th I had a studio session arranged for some portrait photos.  I don't get to do that sort of thing too often and certainly not in my own home using my own studio equipment, so I found this really enjoyable.  If anyone else would like some portrait photos taken, you are most welcome to contact me.

On Saturday the 7th it was back to sport and I decided to take a look at my local village football team.  My village, Hardwick, had a good win (7-1) over Foxton in a league match.

The following day I was at Priory Park, St Neots for busy day at the Cambridgeshire cross country championships.

 On the 13th I had a much anticipated visit to a studio near Kings Lynn.  The  theme of the shoot was rock chick but I took the opportunity to also experiment with lighting gels. The lovely model, Althea Valentine, was a fan of Dolly Parton (hence the tattoo) so it seemed right to make the colours like a "Dolly Mixture" sweet.

I was originally going to go to Cambridge parkrun on the 21st but hearing that it was the 7th anniversary the following weekend, I decided to delay my visit by a week.  I did however go to Wimpole on the 22nd for a very cold junior parkrun.  Despite the freezing weather there was a great turnout.

So on the 28th I went to the 7th Birthday of Cambridge parkrun... Another 500+ runner turnout and some great fancy dress.

My camera will be going on holiday for a couple of weeks in early February but I am hoping to have a "parkrun weekend" on the 18th/19th.  Cambridge on the Saturday and Wimpole juniors on the Sunday.  For the final weekend in February I have the Horseheath point to point and Cambridge Hockey pencilled in.  That said, it is also Wiggle "no excuses" cycle sportive so I am not sure which to cover at the moment.  Lent Bumps start on the 28th February so I will try to spend some time on the river bank.  Looking further ahead there is the Cambridge half marathon on the 5th March.  I have another portrait session arranged and there are Champion of the Thames RC Junior Sculling races on the 19th March.  Still further ahead, I am the photographer once more for the Waterbeach running festival on the 13th May.  They have a 100m toddler race together with 2k, 5k and 10k races.  (http://waterbeachtoddlerplaygroup.org.uk/event-details) 

John 

Right, now on to the best bits....

The Fetcheveryone event on the track at Wilberforce road was very popular.  There were certainly more running there than when I took part.  In addition to the one mile races,  there were also 800m, 400m, 200m and 100m races but who could forget the mince pie 4 x 100m relay.  Unfortunately only one mince pie got round complete so the final team over the finish line, were actually the winners.

The following day, I went to Hinchingbrooke park in Huntingdon for the 3rd round of the Frostbite league.  The weather was much better but the previous day's rain made for some true cross country running.

Monday concluded a long weekend of photography.  This was a studio session with a lovely model...Lottii Rose.  Whilst I spent quite a lot of the time available doing portraiture, there were a number photos taken that are not suitable to be shown here (but have been added to my adult gallery).

I went to see Cambridge Vs Rosslyn Park on the 17th December.  A reasonable introduction to photographing rugby since the ground is not too far from home.  Cambridge were well beaten on the day but I may well return at some point.

On the following day, it was Wimpole Junior parkrun with many of the juniors (and some adults) dressing up as Elfs.  A foggy and damp day made photography difficult but the important thing is that the children had fun.

On Christmas Eve I was at Cambridge parkrun and there were some great costumes on display, from the adults this time.   It was also a record attendance with a total of 558 runners.  I returned on the 1st January but I will talk about that in my next blog post.

My final event of the year was at Ely...well just outside, for the Ely New Years Eve 10k.

...and that's it for another year.  Happy New Year to my followers...I wonder what 2017 will bring.

As for future events, I am at Cambridge parkrun today (1st) but will talk about that in my next blog.  I have a studio session booked at my home for the 5th (portraiture only).  I am planning on taking some football photos of Hardwick playing Foxton on the 7th and I shall be at the Cambridgeshire cross country championships on the 8th.  I have another studio session booked for the 13th on a "rock chick" and "adult" theme.  I have pencilled in the 21st and 22nd for my next parkrun weekend...Cambridge on Saturday and Wimpole juniors on the Sunday.  I have to say however that this may be subject to change with the tax return deadline fast approaching in my full time job.

John

On Saturday 19th, I was out taking photos of trees (at Milton Country park - I was about 3 hours too late for parkrun but I just cant keep away HaHa)... Actually this was for a Camera club competition.  On Sunday 20th I went to Abbotsley  for the St Neots Half marathon.  Since I was not an official photographer I wanted to take the opportunity to experiment creatively.  Whilst I got a few shots that are very different from my normal ones, the ideas are very much a work in progress, so I will not be showing them here, or at least not for now.  For those interested, I was panning with a slow shutter speed. The result is a crisp focus on the face, but legs, arms and background all show movement.   I also tried to photograph just runners legs, again using slow shutter speeds...with some of the bright socks on display, it made for some quite interesting abstract photos.

I had to have a little move around in my schedule as I was no longer available for photography on the 3rd December.  As a result I moved the Cambridge parkrun shoot forward a week and a misty morning gave a different feel to the photos this week.

Sunday the 27th November saw me at Cottenham for the first point to point meet of the year.  It was cold and threatening rain at times, even though the picture below shows a blue sky.  Anyway there was a good crowd and plenty of opportunity for some interesting photos.

Although,  I could not take photos at Cambridge parkrun on the 3rd December due to work commitments, I did manage to get to Wimpole on the 4th for the junior parkrun.  A really cold and crisp day greeted the slightly smaller number of runners but there were plenty of smiles on show.

I have quite a number of things pencilled in for the next few weeks...  Fetchmile at Wilberforce road on the 10th, followed by a Frostbite League run at Hinchingbrooke Park, Huntingdon on the 11th.  I have a studio shoot booked for the 12th (portraiture and possibly some more "adult" photos for the portfolio).  Rugby featuring Cambridge vs Rosslyn park on the 17th and then Wimpole on the 18th as the Junior parkrun will feature many of the runners dressing up as elfs.  I will be at Cambridge parkrun on the 24th December and 1st January.  I may try to take some photos of the piper and runners at Ely NYE 10k on the 31st December.   As for the new year, I have pencilled in football as Hardwick take on Foxton on the 7th January and I will be at the Cambridgeshire Cross Country championships in St Neots on the 8th. 

John

The two photos below did actually come from Fridays racing at a place called Sweet Lamb.  This for the main part is set in a bowl with viewing areas around it.  It had good parking and unlike the other days, is not a forest stage.  It was however very wet from fog that persisted the whole day.

On the Saturday, I had my first experience of racing within forests and I have to say it was very exciting.  Below is a photo which actually includes my son...bit of a dodgy position but he did get some good photos.

Moving on from motor sport, the 5th/6th November was my latest parkrun weekend.  Cambridge parkrun on Saturday once more had a large turnout...

Sunday proved to be also busy with 100 juniors running at Wimpole.  On a personal level, this was important as my grandson completed his first parkrun that day.  I hope it is the first of many...

I am still not sure exactly where I will be next weekend (12th/13th) but I did notice that Cambridge are at home to Fylde in rugby, so I guess that may be a possibility.  The following weekend is the St Neots half marathon and I may be tempted to cheer on some of my friends in Abbotsley whilst taking a few unofficial photos.  The 27th will hopefully see me at Cottenham point to point and the first weekend in December (3rd and 4th) has been marked down as my next parkrun weekend. 

John

I skipped the town and gown 10k as there were too many things to sort out ready for my trip to Wales at the end of the month but I went along to the final Cambs Hunt pony club rally for the year which incorporated annual presentations and a BBQ.  It was lovely to meet up with many people I knew from my sons involvement with the pony club many years ago and it will be good seeing them again next year.

OK, so next weekend...indeed from next Thursday, I will heading to Wales for the Wales GB Rally, a 4 day festival of motor sport.  This is something new for me but I am excited to be doing some more motor sport photography.  Obviously I am not an official photographer so will not be able to sell any images but I hope to put up a small gallery and add some photos to my motor sport portfolio.  

The following weekend (5th and 6th November) is scheduled to be another parkrun weekend...and of course I hope to take some firework photos too.  I am not sure what I will be doing on 12th/13th at the moment but I would like to cover some rugby and hockey at some point over the winter, so perhaps one of those will be my target.  On the 19th November I have pencilled in a trip to Huntingdon races and the 20th will be St Neots half marathon.  I have run in this myself a few times and no doubt I will be in Abbotsley cheering on a few of my friends up that lovely little hill!  Cottenham point to point is on the 27th, so it looks as though I may be doing a few equestrian shoots. over the next few weeks.

December is looking a little sparse at the moment but I will certainly be doing another parkrun weekend and I also have a studio session booked with a model, so no doubt that will add to my "adult" portfolio. 

John

Cambs Hunt Pony club put on a good display at lunchtime with some games and I'm hoping to do some more with the pony club in the future.

It was a shame that only three teams registered for the Kessingland Tug of War Festival but they looked like they were having fun anyway.

 Its a parkrun weekend for me next weekend.  On Saturday I will be at Cambridge and Sunday I will be at Wimpole for the Juniors.  Wimpole promises to be quite lively as its also 10 mile and half marathon day.  The following weekend, I may well go along to try and spot some of my friends at the Cambridge town and gown 10k.  On the 23rd I will be with Cambs Hunt pony club at Trumpington Hall.  They have a training session followed by their annual presentations.  The final weekend will be spent driving round Wales as I shall be trying to get some photos of the Wales Rally GB.  Looking further ahead, I have already pencilled in a trip to Cottenham for a point to point meet on November 27th.  

John

On Sunday I was at the first Hardwick play parks fun run.  Being in my home village I was pleased that it turned into a really nice family event.  It was run over fields but the day was blessed with good weather after the previous days rain which probably did just enough to soften the ground...perhaps ideal conditions.  Anyway, the event went well and it seems that it may well turn into an annual event.  Obviously I would like to see the event succeed in raising funds so I am donating all profits from photo sales to the cause.

The weekend of the 17th and 18th was all about parkrun.  It was good to be back at Cambridge on Saturday after a few weeks away doing other things and being on holiday.  Some of the "regulars" were absent but there are so many running events going on locally at the moment, that is hardly surprising.  Since I last took photographs there, dogs have been banned...shame as I used to enjoy seeing them but understandable as there are so many runners there now each Saturday and safety must be considered.  Chris, pictured below had returned from a good "Great North Run" and once more came home ahead of the rest.

Sunday was the turn of Wimpole juniors and there was a bumper turnout.

Looking forward, I may consider going to Gransden show on the 24th...if only to see if they get larger numbers of horses attending than Ashwell a few weeks ago.  This was another regular on my calendar when my son was riding so it will be interesting to see how this has changed over the years.  Then we are into October.  On the 1st I have pencilled in a trip to Kessingland on the east coast for a tug of war festival although I would like to spend a little time on the coast too.  On the 9th there is a half marathon and a 10 mile race at Wimpole.  Since I have not been asked to attend, I may or may not go to this.  I may instead make the 8th and 9th my next parkrun weekend with Cambridge on the Saturday and Wimpole juniors on the Sunday.  At the end of the month I am off to Wales for a few days as I have tickets for the Wales rally GB.

Above is a photo I took at Ashwell show...yes really...its a portable rock face!  Rock climbing seems to a fast growing sport and of course it has been listed for inclusion at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games.  The show also had some archery...it was mainly aimed (excuse the pun) at youngsters, but I was given some information about local competitions so I may be tempted to take some photos of a proper competition in the next few weeks.  In the main arena, the big feature was a stunt exhibition by the Stannage Stunt Team.

No sports for me on the 3rd and 4th September..apart from some falconry at Dover Castle.

Next weekend is Aiki Extensions (Aikido) all day on Saturday (10th).  I will then be in my home village on Sunday where I am hoping to see a good turnout for the first Hardwick 5k funrun.  I have it in mind to go to Cambridge parkrun on the 17th and Wimpole junior parkrun on the 18th.  Beyond that I guess I will need to start looking at the start of some of the sports that take place during the colder months of the year whilst keeping a close eye on local running events...

John  

The following day I was up at silly o'clock for a trip to Stewartby Triathlon.  I was hoping to photograph a good friend but she had to pull out through injury.  Again, not being the official photographer, I just took a few photos for my portfolio.  I particularly wanted to capture a few open water swimming ones before the triathlon season finishes.

Aikido was my next adventure.  I knew this would be a challenge as I had been warned that the dojo was quite dark.  However, with some studio lights I managed to capture some good shots...or at least I think so.  The problem is that I am a great believer in the need to understand a sport if you are to capture good photos.  Watching some Youtube videos in advance is perhaps not the best way to fully understand something but the club must be fairly happy because I have been invited to take more pictures at a big Aikido event taking place next month, more about that later.

The following weekend saw me return to parkrun as planned...and actually it was a full weekend of it.  Saturday was Cambridge parkrun (featuring a slightly changed course and a false start?).  Sunday was Wimpole juniors.

And so to the future...

Next weekend there is a bank holiday.   Right now i'm not sure what I will be doing on the Saturday or Sunday but I have penciled in a trip to Ashwell show for bank holiday Monday.  The 10th September is the big all day Aikido shoot "Aiki Extensions" and the following day I shall be in my village for the first Hardwick 5k funrun.  I am wholeheartedly supporting this as they are trying to raise funds for playground equipment...something the village is in desperate need of.   There are lots of keen runners around so I really hope that this can turn into a good addition to the local running calender.

Looking further ahead I may try to get a few shots at the Wiggle cycle sportive based in Brampton on the 17th September and of course I will need to schedule further trips to parkrun...both Cambridge and Wimpole.

John

I did however go to Wimpole junior parkrun on the 24th July and what a very friendly bunch they are!  Taking photos of juniors is always a joy...they are so full of expression.  I hope to return to this weekly event in a few weeks time.  I don't think it would be wise to take photos there every week even if I wanted to, as it would be an idea that could quickly go stale.  The photo below is of the children (and their parents) warming up before the run.

Having decided not to go to Histon the previous weekend, I was still keen to get some football photographs.  So, on the 30th July I went along to Histon for their pre-season cup game against old rivals Cambridge City.  I must say after seeing my team get beaten (again) I feel that it could be another long season.

I was going to go up to Cambridge Triathlon in Mepal on July 31st but in the end work pressures got in the way.  I would however still like to take some triathlon photos so with a friend going to Stewartby lake, I may go there instead on the 14th August. 

The day before I have pencilled in a trip to Horseheath for a BE event...This is a one day equestrian event (dressage, cross-country and showjumping) at novice level.  Its been a few years since I went to one of these...my son used to compete in them and I had 10 years of being a stable boy, so there may be a bit of reminiscing going on.

I have finally managed to set up my Aikido shoot for the evening of 16th August at Burwell Aikido club.

The planned return to Cambridge parkrun on the 6th has been postponed as the event has been called off for a couple of weeks.  My next visit is likely to be on the 20th.  I am actually hoping to make it a full weekend of parkruns as I am hoping to go back to Wimpole junior parkrun the following day.

In other news: I have taken delivery of an A3 photo printer, so I can now do prints myself rather than having to send photos off for printing.  Sending a file off, in my opinion, is always risky as you don't know whether the colours that I see on my monitor will be matched in the print that gets sent out and of course I don't get to see the print, so I have no idea how accurate the end result really is.  I can only assume it has been OK up to now as I have not had any complaints. Whether I will eventually take over all the printing is to be determined, in the meantime I have quite a learning process to go through.

John

This week I have been very busy in that on Wednesday I visited Wimpole in the evening for the Wimpole Belts 10k...

and today (Thursday) I was once more taking a few pictures of a local cycle time trial, this time run by Cambridge Cycling Club.

The complete the month, I will doing some football photography on Saturday 23rd and then am looking forward to returning to Wimpole on Sunday 24th for the Junior parkrun. The final weekend of the month will see me at the Cambridge Triathlon on the 31st.  I am not the official photographer so I will just be taking a few photos for my triathlon gallery.  Never the less, it will be good to go along and watch an event that I took part in a couple of times and one that inspired my triathlon journey all the way to iron distance a  few years ago.

Ok, I admit that I am not behind the camera in the two photos above. They show me taking part in Ironman Wisconsin, the first of the two iron distance events I completed.

Looking further ahead, I have a few events pencilled in...I am interested in taking a few photos on the 10th September of the Cambs & Dist Bowls finals day and the Dragon boat festival.  I would also like to take some photos of some showjumping and I am still to arrange the Aikido shoot and finish the "Cambridge bridges" project.  I will be taking photos at the Wales GB Rally in October and hope to be back at Cambridge parkrun on 6th August.

John  

The following day, was an "adult" session but not in a studio which made it a different type of shoot.  Since the website is really all about sport and features juniors on a regular basis I felt it was only right to move this particular aspect of my photography into a gallery that would be not seen by the people that are visiting my site for sporting reasons.  For those that are interested, there is still a "Glamour" gallery...indeed it now has over 150 images in it, and it features 3 models, but you will need a password to view it.

The end of June concluded with being asked to cover Girton 5k as a late replacement photographer.  Its a lovely local event and very well run so I was more than happy to go along.  Again the problem of Juniors (in the fun run) cropped up but in this case the organisers were happy to take my gallery and deal with the any requests for photos themselves.

Its now the beginning of July and I returned to Cambridge Parkrun on the 2nd after a gap of several weeks.  A smaller field this week (just over 400) as there are lots of other events going on at the moment.

And so for the rest of the month...  I have a note that there is a local cycle time trial on the 16th and a track and field competition on the following day.  The Wimpole Belts 10k takes place in the evening of the 20th and Cambridge Triathlon is right at the end of the month.  I am also hoping to get my "Cambridge bridges" project completed and I'm trying to arrange a session photographing Aikido which could prove quite difficult technically as I am led to believe that the dojo is quite dark.

  The Holiday was my first experience of the Pembroke coast and it was truly beautiful...we were also blessed with good weather.  The part in which we were staying (Fishguard) is not that sporty unless you include hiking.  I did see some Kayaks on the sea but at too great a distance for photographs.  We also didn't manage to get to Tenby where they have an Ironman race later in the year.  I did however join the throng of "Birders" by going to Skomer Island and came back with some nice pictures of puffins and various other birds.  Just not sure I could be converted into a wildlife photographer...

Yesterday I managed to get my fix of Bike porn by taking photos of the Team Cambridge 25 mile Time Trial

 We are now coming to the last weekend of the month.  This Saturday I will be at Wilberforce Road again for the East Anglian Athletics Championships. Taking photos at the event has given me small headache in that the age groups go from under 13's through to Seniors.  I could split the photos putting the under 20's and Senior photos in a normal events gallery leaving the Junior races hidden and passworded for child protection reasons.  On the other hand I could just put them all in a hidden gallery.  If anyone has any views on this, let me know.   It is my intention is that the password will be given to Noel Moss of Cambridge and Coleridge, in much the same way as I did for the recent Young Athletes League.  On Sunday I am taking some "Adult" shots, some of which may eventually find their way onto the website but then I will back to Cambridge Parkrun on the 2nd July.  Its been a few weeks since I last went to Milton Country Park and I look forward to catching up with my friends.

John 

The weather for the second Southern Athletics League meeting proved to overcast and cool but certainly not as bad as the first one in April.  Since then I have attended the Eastern Young Athletics League meeting, where the weather was glorious and I have also arranged to be at the Eastern AA Championships later in the month.

 Rowing wise, it was the Champion of the Thames RC head of the river for 8's.  Clearly an event being looked at by the colleges as a warm-up for the bumps.

I also took some photos of the "getting on" races...qualification races for the bumps.  The crews may not be the fastest to grace the river but that is more than made up for by the effort they put in.

 The photos I took of the rowing seem to have been well received but I have to say it has resulted in me having to adjust my website.  It became very apparent that photos could be downloaded...something I was told could not happen.  As a direct result, I felt I had no choice but to watermark all of the photos on the website.  Whilst I love taking photos and I'm not looking to make money from photography  (you can tell by the amount I charge for photos), at the end of the day there are costs associated with having a website.  In these days of social media, if anyone who purchases a photo wants a copy of the relevant JPG file, I will be happy to send this to them on request.   

I now come to parkrun.  I attended Milton Country park again on the 28th May and 4th June.  The latter being a special day for Michaela and Mike.  Michaela is very often the volunteer co-ordinator and Mike a run director.  They are well loved by the Cambridge parkrun community and they ran in the event before the actual wedding ceremony later in the day.  Congratulations to them both...

OK, so looking forward to later this month.  Firstly I hope to be on the towpath again for at least some of the May bumps but then I am on holiday.  On my return, I see there are some cycle time trials with Team Cambridge in my village on the 22nd and 29th June.  There are the Eastern AA championships on the 25th and I have a studio session arranged for the 26th.  Unfortunately it doesn't look as though I will be able to get to parkrun until July 2nd.

John 

Last weekend proved to be very busy with the Waterbeach Running Festival on Saturday and Snetterton stage rally on Sunday.  The Waterbeach event seemed to be a great success and I hope the organisers make it an annual event.  They should be applauded for their hard work in putting on more than the one race and thus attracting entries from all age groups in a safe traffic free environment.  

I have to say I was slightly disappointed with Snetterton.  I know safety is important but it was quite difficult to get close to the action and with nearly all of the racing being done on tarmac, I was struggling to get the action shots I was hoping for.  Again I have added a couple to my portfolio but I am hoping that the Wales Rally in October will yield far better results.

I finally managed to get to Histon Tennis Club to take a few photos of the Mens first team as they played David Lloyds first team last Monday.  I was made to feel very welcome at the club and although I was having a few problems with a recently purchased tele-converter during the shoot, I managed to get a few acceptable shots.  

This weekend, I am at Wilberforce Road in Cambridge for the next round of the Southern Athletics league.  Judging from the weather forecast it may well be wet at times again  It cannot possibly be as cold this time though...can it?  Sunday afternoon will see me on the towpath of the River Cam for the Champion of the Thames rowing club head of the river event for 8's...I understand that there will be quite a few college crews taking part so no doubt there will be some very quick boats.  Looking further ahead I hope to be at Cambridge parkrun on the 28th May and 4th June before going back to Wilberforce Road for another track and field event on the 5th.  On the whole, June will be much less hectic for me as I am on holiday for two of the weekends.  I am hoping to return with at least a few bird photos...but that's not exactly sport photography, so I shall need to keep an eye out for some local sport whilst we are away.

John

There were over 500 again at Cambridge parkrun last weekend, probably as a result of the really nice weather.  Some of the regulars were not running however as there was a big event the following day.  I can therefore only see that the attendance record is going to be broken again in the not too distant future.  I shall not be there for the next two weekends as I am going to other events, but am hoping to be back on 28th May.

So where am I planning to take a camera in the next few weeks?

Team Cambridge Cycling Time Trial 11th May

Waterbeach Running Festival 14th May 

Snetterton Stage Rally 15th May

Histon Tennis Club 16th May

Southern Athletics League Track and Field 21st May

Champion of the Thames RC Rowing 22nd May

Cambridge parkrun 28th May

John

Getting back to sport, Saturday was all about Cambridge parkrun once more.  There seemed to be many new faces and quite a few of the regulars were away doing the London Marathon.  I love this weekly event and will happily continue to post fully downloadable files to my facebook site as well as on here.  The number of albums on my Facebook account was however getting out of hand so I shall be removing them after 3 months...the albums will however remain on here.

I was hoping to catch some moves from some people on a skateboard park yesterday, but unfortunately none were up to the level of doing jumps...maybe another time I will be more fortunate...

The coming week is a busy one... Wednesday evening I hope to be doing some photos of Team Cambridge Cycling time trials as they start and finish only a few hundred metres from my home.  Next Saturday, parkrun (hopefully)...I am taking photos at Histon Tennis Club later so I need to ensure that I have enough time to set myself up properly there.  Now an early plug for an event I am covering...May 14th is the first Waterbeach Running Festival.  Its in aid of a good cause and there are 4 races...100m toddler dash...I guess there may need to be more than one race seeing the number of entries, 2000m, 5k and 10k.  Hope to see you there.

John

It has already been a very busy month with Cambridge parkrun, Viking Kayak club and a private shoot of an equestrian nature.  As for the rest of the month, I am hoping to do more to my "Cambridge Bridges" project, at least one more Cambridge parkrun and I shall be taking pictures of the Histon Tennis clubs mens first and second teams as they go into their first summer league match of the year.

John