1 month ago
AFC Wimbledon have signed goalkeeper Joe Bursik from Championship side Portsmouth, and defender Freddie Simmonds from Premier League side Brighton, both on loan for the rest of the season.
Bursik, 26, returns to Plough Lane, where he joined the academy as an eight-year-old before leaving for Stoke City aged 16.
He kept seven clean sheets in 16 Championship games for the Potters in 2020-21 before going on loan to Telford, Accrington, Doncaster and Peterborough.
Bursik signed for Pompey in September 2025, making 10 league appearances and starting against ***** nal in their 4-1 FA Cup third-round defeat at Fratton Park.
He told the Dons website: "It's great to be back. It's a bit of a full circle moment. Good feeling, good memories."
#wimbledon #portsmouth #freddie
Bursik, 26, returns to Plough Lane, where he joined the academy as an eight-year-old before leaving for Stoke City aged 16.
He kept seven clean sheets in 16 Championship games for the Potters in 2020-21 before going on loan to Telford, Accrington, Doncaster and Peterborough.
Bursik signed for Pompey in September 2025, making 10 league appearances and starting against ***** nal in their 4-1 FA Cup third-round defeat at Fratton Park.
He told the Dons website: "It's great to be back. It's a bit of a full circle moment. Good feeling, good memories."
#wimbledon #portsmouth #freddie
1 month ago
A 100-year-old county chess competition is marking its centenary with a special tournament to crown its greatest living player.
The annual county championship organised by Shropshire Chess ****** ociation is open to all residents, who compete across seven rounds for the Ernest Groom Trophy, first presented in 1926.
Chris Lewis is from the ****** ociation and said it had invited former champions from across the decades to compete in a one-off tournament in October, to find the "champion of champions" and celebrate the event's 100-year-history.
The winner will receive a £200 prize fund and a new trophy, with the Ernest Groom prize reserved for this year's county competition.
Lewis said the ****** ociation, which started in the 1800's, also organised three leagues across the county and included players from Shrewsbury, Telford, Church Stretton, Newport and Oswestry.
#groom
The annual county championship organised by Shropshire Chess ****** ociation is open to all residents, who compete across seven rounds for the Ernest Groom Trophy, first presented in 1926.
Chris Lewis is from the ****** ociation and said it had invited former champions from across the decades to compete in a one-off tournament in October, to find the "champion of champions" and celebrate the event's 100-year-history.
The winner will receive a £200 prize fund and a new trophy, with the Ernest Groom prize reserved for this year's county competition.
Lewis said the ****** ociation, which started in the 1800's, also organised three leagues across the county and included players from Shrewsbury, Telford, Church Stretton, Newport and Oswestry.
#groom
2 months ago
It may have started as a relative unknown but the sport of padel has become bigger and bigger across the UK.
According to the Lawn Tennis ***** ociation, more than one million people across the country have played the sport on one of the UK's 1825 courts.
The sport has got some traction in Shropshire, with two pay-to-play centres opening and many more due to appear, as they work their way through planning applications for towns like Albrighton, Telford and Morville near Bridgnorth.
Players told me there is a need in the county as they are finding it hard to book courts because of how popular padel has got.
The game is played in doubles on an enclosed glass court using solid racquets and at tennis ball.
#sport
According to the Lawn Tennis ***** ociation, more than one million people across the country have played the sport on one of the UK's 1825 courts.
The sport has got some traction in Shropshire, with two pay-to-play centres opening and many more due to appear, as they work their way through planning applications for towns like Albrighton, Telford and Morville near Bridgnorth.
Players told me there is a need in the county as they are finding it hard to book courts because of how popular padel has got.
The game is played in doubles on an enclosed glass court using solid racquets and at tennis ball.
#sport
2 months ago
Grassroots sports clubs across Shropshire say they are struggling to keep their pitches alive because of the hot, dry weather.
Telford Hornets Rugby Club are one of many who said the pitches they play on are dying because spending to irrigate would cost them thousands of pounds, money which they do not have.
Since 15 June, most of England has recorded less than 10mm of rain, which has meant many clubs are praying for a sustained downpour.
The club's chairman, Neil Thomas, said they have had to learn strategies to keep their pitches in as good condition as possible, so they can continue playing on them.
As many sport teams return from their off-season, players are faced with the prospect of playing on hardened pitches, which physiotherapists say increase the chances of soft tissue injuries.
#many #keep #telford #Rugby
Telford Hornets Rugby Club are one of many who said the pitches they play on are dying because spending to irrigate would cost them thousands of pounds, money which they do not have.
Since 15 June, most of England has recorded less than 10mm of rain, which has meant many clubs are praying for a sustained downpour.
The club's chairman, Neil Thomas, said they have had to learn strategies to keep their pitches in as good condition as possible, so they can continue playing on them.
As many sport teams return from their off-season, players are faced with the prospect of playing on hardened pitches, which physiotherapists say increase the chances of soft tissue injuries.
#many #keep #telford #Rugby
