Last month, I briefly mentioned the Steve Dovaston Charity Golf Day, held in memory of Sedgefield Golf Society member Steve Dovaston. Hosted at Knotty Hill Golf Centre, the event raised an impressive £8,778.41 for Blood Cancer UK.

Organised by Adam Dovaston and a dedicated team of volunteers, the day enjoyed tremendous support from local businesses, sponsors and participants.

The winning team was Stephen Flockett, Daniel Newby, Marc Jemmeson and Sean Boynton, with Michael Adcock, Robert Adcock, Thomas Adcock and Karl Thompson finishing second, and Mark West, Shaun Evans, John Adcock and Jason Lovell taking third place. Jack Adcock and Michael Adcock won the nearest-the-pin competitions, while James Raw claimed the longest-drive prize.

The Dovaston family thanked everyone involved, saying: "The support across the board was amazing, and we hope that the money raised will help one day to find a cure for blood cancer. We look forward to welcoming everybody back again next year!"

The organisers also expressed their gratitude to the team at Knotty Hill Golf Centre for helping make the inaugural event such a success. Your sports reporter attended part of the day and found the venue buzzing with support for a fitting tribute to Steve and a very worthy cause. Look out for more news from Sedgefield Golf Society in future updates.

It’s a busy time for Sedgefield Harriers, with road, trail and crosscountry races all in full swing.

Two club members recently travelled to take part in the iconic Chicago Marathon. Lisa Darby and Beth Raine both completed the event, with Lisa now having finished five of the six World Marathon Majors. Closer to home, Harriers were out in force at Kielder Marathon weekend. In the Gravel Duathlon team event, Chris Lines, cyclist Ian Dunn and Roger Whitehill secured third place.

The cross-country season has begun with races at Thornley Farm and Eltringham Farm. The senior men are looking to establish themselves in Division 2 after promotion last season, while the women have started strongly and currently sit sixth of 36 teams in Division 3.

The junior section has also enjoyed an excellent start. Among the highlights, U12 girls Kate Sedgwick, Isobel Oldfield and Elise Davies all finished in the top

ten at Thornley, while Isla Shuffleton followed a top-ten finish there with second place at Eltringham. Phoebe Grievson also impressed with sixth place. The club’s strong junior coaching programme continues to produce encouraging results across the age groups.

Sedgefield Community College has also benefited from the club’s talented young runners, with teams competing successfully at the recent County Durham Schools Cross Country Championships.

Many runners begin their journey through parkrun, and Sedgefield is fortunate to host free weekly events at Hardwick Park: the 5km parkrun on Saturdays and the 2km junior parkrun on Sundays. Since launching in 2012, almost 19,000 people have completed Sedgefield parkrun, while around 3,500 children have taken part in junior parkrun since 2015. Some regulars have completed considerably more than one parkrun, including Ray Carmichael who in October celebrated his 500th at Sedgefield. Well done Ray!

Friendly badminton sessions take place at Sedgefield Community College every Monday, 7.15-9.15pm (except bank holidays).

New players welcome, but no beginners due to lack of coaching. Contact Caroline Dalton: 07947 871005.

Sedgefield Squash Club has been shortlisted in two categories at the England Squash National Awards. The club is one of four finalists for Club of the Year, recognising its strong grass-roots junior programme, initiatives encouraging women and girls into the sport, and the high standards maintained both on and off the court.

Junior member Huey Lamb has also been shortlisted for the Rising Star Award following a successful season, most recently winning the Northumberland Under-15 County Championship in his first year in the age group.

Award winners will be announced at the end of November, so fingers crossed for both the club and Huey. Supporting its commitment to growing the women’s game, the club has launched new women-only leagues for players of all abilities.

Following the success of summer ‘try before you buy’ coaching sessions, several newcomers have joined the leagues and are now regulars at the club’s Saturday afternoon sessions.

The season is also underway for the club’s senior teams. Last season’s beaten finalists, the 1st team have reached the quarter-finals of the County Cup, while the 2nd team will face the 4th team in the quarterfinals of the County Challenge Cup.
Both ties will be played early next year.

In the opening Durham & Cleveland League fixture, Sedgefield’s 3rd team defeated the 4th team. The latter will be hoping for revenge in the return match.

As always, Sedgefield Squash Club welcomes new members. Anyone interested in joining can contact membership@sedgefieldsquashclub.co.uk.

Sedgefield Cricket Club has made it back into the Premier Division of the North Yorkshire & South Durham League! Over the last few months, I've reported on the possibility of promotion and after a thumping victory away at Billingham in their penultimate match, it was in the 1st XI's hands to finish the job.

Not wanting to give the supporters an easy ride, the team put everybody through the wringer in the final game at home to Rockliffe Park, securing an incredibly tense two wicket win with only four deliveries remaining.

Cue ecstatic celebrations on the balcony, field and the clubhouse bar for many hours afterwards! Preparations have already begun for the step up to Premier Division cricket in 2027 with the club offering a range of sponsorship opportunities for local businesses which started with a very well supported get together in late September.

Elsewhere, Sedgefield Cricket Club's long-term future looks to be in good hands after the U13 team won their league with ease and after winning a league winners' play-off, were unlucky to lose the overall championship final to Marton. Meanwhile, many of the U13 and U15 boys also play for Sedgefield Community College, and have just been crowned winners of the school U14 Durham County Cup, with a dominant performance in the final.

And last but certainly not least, the club has its first ever women's team, who came third when hosting a tournament in September and will be joining the local league in 2027. This is great news for Sedgefield, creating a pathway for the girls' teams to continue playing beyond junior age groups.

The social aspect of the club is a vital part of its success and sustainability. In that respect the Sedgefield Winkers social cricket team make an important contribution, boosting the bar takings after (and sometimes before and during) their home games.

The team also perform very well on the pitch and were unbeaten this season, securing the North East Social Cricket League and Cup double. Sedgefield Cricket Club remains open seven days a week (weekday evenings and all day on weekends) during the close season.