Sports and Recreation
Penarth Cricket Club was founded in 1851 and is possibly the oldest cricket club in South Wales. It plays in the South Wales Premier League. They originally played their home matches at the site where the Masonic Hall now stands on Stanwell Road. The club have now played at their current site at The Athletic Ground on Lavernock Road since 1924 when the site was gifted to the town by the Earl of Plymouth and shares the facilities with Penarth Rugby Club, Penarth Hockey Club, and in recent years, Penarth Lacrosse Club. The cricket club operates 4 regular league sides on a Saturday. The first XI currently plays in the South Wales Premier League. A number of current and former players have played for Glamorgan CCC, and Wales MC, and there have been many players who have gained junior representative honours.
The once-renowned Penarth Rugby Football Club is based at The Athletic Ground, Lavernock Road, Penarth, where it played Wales' and the West Country's premier clubs until the creation of the Welsh League system in the early 1990s. It has had somewhat of a renaissance in recent years, and in season 2006-07 won promotion to Division 3 South-East of the Welsh National Leagues by finishing runner-up in Division 4 South-East. Penarth RFC used to host the world-famous Barbarians Football Club each Easter Good Friday, until 1986. This fixture was the start of the "Baa-Baas" annual South Wales tour from the team’s spiritual home of Penarth, which also encompassed playing Cardiff on the Saturday, Swansea on Easter Monday and Newport on the Tuesday. On the Thursday before Good Friday, the Barbarian rugby squad would be allowed free use of the Glamorganshire Golf Club, when they would play a match amongst themselves using only two golf clubs. On Easter Sunday, the Golf Club held its annual tournament for club members for a trophy titled the Barbarian Cup. The grand (but now demolished) Esplanade Hotel, formerly located on the seafront at Penarth would host the gala party for the trip. Penarth has a second and more recent rugby union club Old Penarthians RFC, originally formed out of 'old boys' from Penarth County Grammar School, but no longer applying that restrictive membership criteria.
Penarth currently has two football (soccer) clubs. The longest established is Cogan Coronation AFC, known locally as the 'Coro' that was founded in 1960, playing their home games at the Penarth Leisure Centre recreation fields. The senior team currently features in the South Wales F.A. Senior League 1st Division and their best season was 2000/2001 when they finished the year in second position. The club fielded eighteen teams at various age groups in the 2007/2008 season. Cogan Coronation players Mark Eley, Liam Beddard and goalkeeper Stewart Owadally have been selected to represent the Football Association of Wales on a number of occasions. Penarth Town AFC was founded only a handful of years ago and currently plays in Division 2 of the Vale of Glamorgan Senior Football League.
Glamorganshire Golf Club is located in Lower Penarth and is considered to be one of the finest golf courses in the Principality. The course was established in 1890 and, in 1898, the club was the testing ground of Dr Frank Stableford’s revolutionary new Stableford golf scoring system still used all over the world today.
Penarth has two tennis clubs. Windsor Lawn Tennis Club is situated in Larkwood Avenue in a residential area. It has 7 hardcourts and a grass court area. Penarth Lawn Tennis Club in Rectory Road is the oldest tennis club in Wales (established 1884) and has 3 hard courts plus grass court area. Both clubs compete regularly in the Tennis Wales South Doubles Leagues and have junior representation in the National Junior Club League and Vale of Glamorgan Mini Tennis Club League.
Penarth has a Mens (established 1911) and Ladies (established 1896) Hockey Club. The Men's first team were promoted in both the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons to play in their highest ever league. The Men's first team play in North Division 1 of The Davis Wood Hockey League (2011/12) Both Ladies teams compete in the South Wales Premier 1 division (2011/12).
Cogan Leisure Centre is a modern leisure centre sports venue that provides the town with a full range of sporting facilities including a leisure pool and extensive playing fields. The new Cardiff Sports Village is just under two miles (3 km) from the town centre.
Penarth Sea Cadets are located in the town.
Cardiff Morris perform traditional dances from Wales and England and feature several members from the town. They are the prime performers of Morris dances from the Nantgarw tradition. They meet and rehearse weekly throughout the year, alternating between The Anchor in Taffs Well and the Windsor Arms public house in Penarth. In recent years the group have performed in locations across the UK. Of particular interest are their renditions of genuine Welsh morris dance as collected by Margaretta Thomas in the village of Nantgarw in Taff Vale, the key dance being Y Gaseg Eira (The Snow Mare).
Penarth Amateur Boxing Club now meets in Station Road, after the closure of their club at St Pauls Church.
Penarth Bowls Club is located on Rectory Road at a bowling green built on what was once a deep limestone quarry.
South Wales Comedy Writers Society is based in Penarth.
Read more about this topic: Fairfield Primary School Penarth
Famous quotes containing the words sports and/or recreation:
“The whole idea of image is so confused. On the one hand, Madison Avenue is worried about the image of the players in a tennis tour. On the other hand, sports events are often sponsored by the makers of junk food, beer, and cigarettes. What’s the message when an athlete who works at keeping her body fit is sponsored by a sugar-filled snack that does more harm than good?”
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)
“Playing snooker gives you firm hands and helps to build up character. It is the ideal recreation for dedicated nuns.”
—Archbishop Luigi Barito (b. 1922)