“It’s a really fun way to keep fit” - Think rounders is just a sport played at school? Halifax Rounders Club may make you think again

But at Halifax Rounders Club, their friendly and inclusive approach has helped dozens of women in Calderdale rediscover the sport.

The club was formed in December 2019 with the merger of the Halifax Hornets and the Queen Bees, based in Queensbury, which had been set-up by Sophie Rayner and Marie Palmer in March last year.

“It was very popular through the summer,” says Marie, “but by winter the numbers started to drop, which left us with our regular, dedicated team members.

“We’d been training together as a team for around six months when we felt ready to compete but we soon realised there were no other teams in our area, they were all around the Leeds area so I set-up the Halifax Hornets.

“The Halifax Hornets really took off and we soon found we had some very keen and dedicated ladies who came out to train whatever the weather.

“We played and trained as separate teams for a few months until we decided to merge.

“Our treasurer, Nichola Hunter, managed to secure funding from Hermes which paid for new equipment for the club and has since secured sponsorship from Sport England and Calderdale Council which has paid for our venue hire and our new match kit and will also go towards our coaching qualifications and further training as soon as COVID restrictions allow.

“We’re so grateful for their support as the club is now just going from strength to strength with more new players joining every week.

“Our mission is to get Calderdale fit and active and we have done so with the help of our sponsors.

“They have supported us financially as stated with equipment, uniform and training but also in other ways too, by offering support and advice over this period and regular check-ins, and helping us maintain affordable memberships fees, so membership is accessible to all income levels.

“We strive to maintain a safe, fun environment which not only promotes a healthy lifestyle, but I also believe with the strong sense of community we have developed, our team-mates feel supported with their mental health and overall well being too.

“We are on social media and have a very popular WhatsApp group dedicated to this support which is 24/7, seven days a week.”

Fundamental to the club’s success has been their ethos of tolerance and equality.

“We are an all inclusive club,” says Marie. “Any age, over 16, any race, any nationality, any sexuality or ability can play.

“Our logo is LGBTQ+ focused - mainly due to what the rainbow stands for in terms of identity and solidarity.”Everyone is different, but what makes us the same is the fact we all love rounders.

“We really wanted to promote LGBT inclusion within our club and designed our logo to reflect this message.

“Rounders is so much fun and it’d be such a shame for anyone to miss out on this because they didn’t feel accepted or comfortable so it was important to us that we made it clear we are an all inclusive club.

“We’re hoping to start a mixed team in the future so we can include the boys too but as we’re so busy with running the ladies teams we may need to recruit another coach to help us with that.

“We are also big advocates of the ‘women support women’ mentality. Rounders is such a friendly sport and no matter where you go or who you play, you know that the ladies on the opposing teams will be cheering you on too which is brilliant.

“Although we’re competing and everyone obviously wants to win, we can still appreciate a great catch or brilliant hit and we let each other know it.”

Training sessions take place on a Tuesday evening (6.20pm-7.20pm and 7.30pm-8.30pm) and on a Saturday (10.30am-11.30am) at Trinity Academy.

“We were hoping to compete in the West Yorkshire Rounders League this summer but unfortunately COVID threw a spanner in the works,” says Marie.

“WYRL are hoping to run a winter league instead which we will definitely enter if it gets the go ahead.

“We were all really gutted when we could no longer play during the recent lockdown and we were actually quite worried that all our hard work with growing the club would be wasted due to people losing interest so we had to come up with ways to keep in touch and keep up the momentum.

“We created weekly ‘Corona Challenges’ which included quizzes and games, we made a team ‘pass it on’ video where we made it look like we were batting loo roll to each other, we got creative to make a thank you video for our key workers and NHS and we used Zoom to complete escape rooms and play games amongst other things and it proved that, despite the lockdown we were still a really tight team.

“It made a few of us feel quite emotional at times when we realised the bond we have all created and the way everyone supported each other through the difficult times.

“We never imagined we would all become such good friends but we really are.

“Since the restrictions have been relaxed for grass roots sports, we’ve been able to play in a lot of friendlies with the other teams who were hoping to play in the West Yorkshire League too and we’ve been doing really well.

“We’ve come up against some really tough teams but we’ve definitely given most of them a run for their money.

“We’ve had some losses but we’ve won just as many so we’ve got high hopes for ourselves when the league finally goes ahead.

“The dream would be to have our own local league so if any ladies out there are up for starting a team of their own we’d be more than happy to help them do so.”

The club has more than 40 active members with three teams, The Hornets, The Bees and a brand new third team, The Wasps, and members are from all walks of life, ranging from ages 16 to over 60.

“I think people join because it’s a really fun way to keep fit and I think the camaraderie is a welcome bonus.

“Everyone can remember how much fun rounders was when they were growing up and I think it just brings back a sense of nostalgia.

“When new members come along for the first time, a lot of them haven’t played since school and feel a bit nervous because they can’t really remember the rules but it’s amazing how quickly it all comes flooding back to them.

“We’re so lucky to have such a friendly bunch of ladies, new members are always made to feel so welcome and I think this is what keeps them coming back week after week.”

For more information, email [email protected] or visit their Facebook page.