Taunton - Sport

Sport

Taunton is home to a number of sport clubs and venues.

Taunton Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club that is based in Taunton, Somerset. They currently play in National League 2 South, having achieved back-to-back promotions in 2009 and 2010.

The County Ground was originally home to Taunton Cricket Club, which was formed in 1829 and played at The County Ground until 1977 before moving to Moorfields, Taunton in conjunction with Taunton Vale Hockey Club, after which it was solely used by Somerset County Cricket Club. Somerset CCC was formed in 1875, but the club did not achieve first class status until 1891. The County Ground has a capacity of 6,500 and the ends are called the River End and the Old Pavilion End, and one of the main stands is named after Ian Botham. The ground houses the Somerset County Cricket shop and museum, which also has various conference rooms. It is the current home of the England women's cricket team.

Taunton Town F.C. are a football club, who play at Wordsworth Drive in the town. They were formed in 1947 by a few local businessmen as Taunton F.C., changing to the current name in 1968, and played their first friendly fixture in 1948. For most of their history, Taunton were members of the Western League. They spent a six-season spell in the Southern League from 1977, and after a further period in the Western League, returned to the Southern League in 2002, after winning the FA Vase in 2001. After the latest re-organisation of the English football league system, the club are currently members of the Southern League Division One South & West.

Somerset Vikings are a Rugby League Club who were formed at the beginning of 2003 as part of the Rugby Football League's plans to develop the game further beyond the traditional areas in the north of England. Initially the side was made up of a mixture of Royal Marines based in Taunton and Exeter together with a number of local rugby union players keen to try the 13-man code. The Vikings play at Hyde Park which is the home of the Taunton R.F.C., a rugby union club, which was formed in 1875.

The Taunton Tigers is a semi-professional basketball team competing in the English Basketball League Men's Division 1. The team play all their home games at Wellsprings Leisure Centre, which has a capacity of 500 seats.

Taunton Racecourse is close to the Blackdown Hills and about 2 miles (3 km) from the centre of Taunton. Although racing had been held in the area previously, the first race at the present site was held on 21 September 1927. The stands are called the Orchard Stand and the Paddock Stand which provide catering facilities and are used for meetings and conferences on days when racing is not taking place.

Volleyball Taunton are a local volleyball club that have played for a number of years, more recently in the Exeter & District League. They train and play their home games at Wellsprings Leisure Centre.

There is an oval motor racing circuit at Smeatharpe which is close to the Somerset/Devon border, it is frequently referred to as the Taunton Banger racing circuit although it is around 11 miles from central Taunton.

Local skateboarders raised £183,000 for a replacement skatepark at Hamilton Gault Park which opened in May 2010.

Taunton Freeriders is a community mountain bike project in partnership with the Forestry Commission who are developing a series of northshore and downhill (DH) style mountain bike trails just outside of the town. Run by volunteers from the local close-knit riding community and funded solely by kind donations, they are also involved with the redevelopment of the "Norton Dirt Jumps".