THE man who started the Waendel Walk Weekend some four decades ago – set to draw crowds of visitors from around the world to the Wellingborough area in a fortnight’s time – has been busy inspiring people again, organising a hockey tournament for the over-75s.
Bill Greenwood (78) is a member of the England Veteran Grand Masters Hockey Squad and Kettering Hockey Club and, earlier this month, brought teams together at Wren School in Wellingborough to compete in the first-ever English Veteran Grand Masters Hockey Tournament.
It proved to be a resounding success – drawing teams from the East, South, Midlands and West of England whose ages added up to an amazing 3,000 years. Five teams played for the Veteran Grand Masters Trophy and displayed old-fashioned values of good sportsmanship and fair play.
With some of the older players in their early to mid-80s, this was a truly remarkable event. After two days’ competition, gruelling even for the comparatively youthful Kettering host team (which came fourth), the victors’ laurels were awarded to the team from the South of England and the trophy was presented by Bill Greenwood.
There was such enthusiasm for the competition and the interest was so great that the tournament will be extended next year with more teams wishing to enter.
Bill (pictured above) – who was the winner of a Life-time Achievement Award presented by Northamptonshire Sport for 2014/ 2015 – joined Kettering Hockey Club in 1975. He was largely responsible for starting the highly successful Kettering Hockey Festival and, using his contacts while working abroad, arranging visits to hockey tournaments in Belgium and Holland.
He also started the world-famous Waendel Walk and is one of only three British walkers to complete the Nijmegen walking event more than 40 times.
His heart bypass in 2009 slowed him down for a while, but in the last five years he has played for both the Midlands and England over-70 hockey teams and was part of the very first England over-75 squad.
The International Waendel Walk Weekend is now open for registration (book here: www.thecastle.org.uk/waendel) and takes place from Friday May 8 to Sunday 10th, featuring new and improved routes with choices from 5, 10, 15, 25 and 42km for walkers of all ages and abilities.