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Great progress in Kenya

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 14:19:49 GMT

Just heard from Kenya ...

The proactive and inspirational patron of VX Kenya is very keen to see VX spread through schools in Kenya and then into the rest of East Africa. He has just messaged to inform us that they will be showcasing VX at high profile school games that are to be launched by President Rutto. Kenya is to host the East Africa High Schools Games in Western Kenya - there will be participants from Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, South Sudan and Tanzania.

We hope this goes well and VX experience the usual response!

Hong Kong Going Well

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 13:44:49 GMT

VX is on the map in Hong Kong

The team in Hong Kong continue to push forward with the sport and we are delighted to hear that they were one of the sports featured in the Government's Sport for All event.

If you remember VX Hong Kong hosted the most recent VX World Championships and this gave a great boost to their efforts.

Our thanks go to the team in Hong Kong for their hard work in growing and developing the sport.

VX Kenya needs help

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 10:50:08 GMT

Appeal on behalf of VX Kenya

I have been working closely with some organisations in Africa, predominantly Kenya and Uganda. I did a lot of work with the inspirational Cosmas Nabungolo who was principal of St Peter’s Boys’ School in Mumias. Cosmas has now moved to St Joseph’s nearer Nairobi and is working hard to improve the school and the provision to his young charges.

Cosmas has worked hard to develop VX in Kenya and, as you can see, is keen to develop it further and spread it further through East Africa. As part of this he wishes to obtain digital cameras and equipment and, if possible, a drone

Is there anyone out there who has any such equipment lying unused and unwanted? It could be put to very good use in Kenya.

If you are in a position to help, please get in touch

Many thanks

VX at the Youth Sport Trust Conference 2025

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 09:59:32 GMT

Global VX were at the YST conference & had great support from PE Office

You probably don't know but VX was actually launched at the Youth Sport Trust Conference in Feb 2006, in its previous guise as Rock-it-Ball. We attended several YST Conferences but hadn't been back for several years until last year where we met Lucy from PE Office.

This year Global VX were back - and Lucy came to join them on the stand.

The conference itself was great and having Lucy there was a great help. Not only that, the materials that VX and PE Office have created were available as a free download.

VX created a lot of interest, we had several people throwing balls around and we made lots of contacts.

Thank you to the YST for a great conference and to Lucy and PE office for their support

Great news for VX

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 16:08:03 GMT

VX enters into a relationship with PE Office

Last year at the Youth Sport Trust Conference we met Lucy from PE Office. She was interested to hear about VX and we had a good chat. She suggested we should collaborate on the development of VX materials and over the past year we have been doing just that. Between us we have developed a six week module with scheme of work, detailed lesson plans and video clips (filmed at our Regional Centre of Excellence, Outwood Academy, Kirkby - thanks, guys!).

The resources are free to download from PE Office - just click this link and follow the instructions: https://zurl.co/XgArD

We are delighted with this new relationship and look forward to working more with PE Office in the future.

Bureaucrats, Pah!

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 10:05:45 GMT

Here's another example of why we regard bureaucrats with such disdain

VX is making great strides in Kenya under the leadership of it's inspirational patron Mr Cosmas Nabungolo. In order to support this we were looking forward very much to welcoming two Kenyan players in January so we could qualify them as coaches and give them a thorough VX education. We had a full programme planned including coach qualification, going into schools and VX clubs. We also had sessions planned with some of the top players. We had written letters of support in which we undertook to provide accommodation and subsistence over here and to cater for all their travel needs. We guaranteed to collect them from the airport and then return them to the airport at the end.

We found out today that the visas have been refused - on the grounds that (a) they didn't demonstrate enough of a tie to their home country and (b) they don't earn enough therefore the bureaucrats decide they probably aren't going to return to Kenya. One of the girls is a businesswoman with investments and her bank statements have helped people get visas to the US. Knowing it was going to be cold she had bought a whole load of warm clothes and is now well out of pocket.

Let's contrast this with what happens to people who come across in rubber dinghies illegally - they are accommodated in 3* or 4* hotels, given smartphones, food, spending money and free access to immigration lawyers. They are also provided with free medical and dental care on site. We are told this costs the country £41,000 per year per person.

Like most bureaucrats this lot want an easy life - dealing with the hordes of illegal immigrants is too much like hard work so, to 'show they are tackling immigration' and to go some way to meeting their targets they take the low-hanging fruit, the people who are trying to do things legally, the right way. They're an easy target and this isn't the first time this has happened to us as we try to grow the sport abroad.

We have been hit with many problems as we have tried to grow VX but the single biggest obstacle to our development has been - bureaucrats.

We are very sorry for the two young ladies who were due to come over and who were excited to spend a couple of weeks gaining a VX education. Girls- we can only apologise.

Great News From Kenya

Sun, 08 Sep 2024 12:41:26 GMT

Cosmas Nabungolo named as Sports Personality of the Year 2024 in Kenya

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Exciting new collaboration for VX

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 12:42:13 GMT

Exciting news for schools

VX has entered into a collaboration with PE Office to produce teaching materials for VX. The first will be a 6-week module of lesson plans with video clips to accompany.

We have spent time with the guys from PE Office filming teaching points and skills & drills for the first batch of resources.

You can find PE Office at https://peoffice.co.uk

For any purchases made through PE Office there will also be an additional discount over and above the standard education discount.

vXciting times ...

2024 World Cup Postponed

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 09:00:37 GMT

Just in from Global VX

We have just heard from Global VX that the 2024 V2 World Championships that were due to be held in Uganda have unfortunately had to be postponed until 2025. This is due to circumstances beyond the control of Global VX.

Global send their apologies to the VX Community and look forward to seeing everyone in Uganda in 2025.

Back to the where we started - the Youth Sport Trust

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 11:04:26 GMT

Global VX will be at the Youth Sport Trust Conference Wed March 20th

This is where it all started. VX, or Rock-it-Ball as it was called then, was launched at the Youth Sports Trust Sports Colleges Conference in Feb 2005 where it was an immediate hit! This was in the days of Sports Colleges, School Sports Partnerships (SSPs) and Partnership Development Managers (PDMs).

PDMs couldn't get enough of it - it ticked all their boxes. Best of all was it helped increase participation as it is a sport that is accessible to all. Suddenly there was something for the less-sporty kids. PDMs and schools all over the country adopted the sport at a rate of knots. The YST loved the values of the sport and included it in a number of their programmes including TOP Activity that was supported by Sainsburys.

Since then the landscape has changed - no more SSPs and PDMs. There has been changeover of staff and some schools have the equipment but no longer know what to do with it. Even though the landscape has changed VX has made amazing progress:

a presence in 26 countries
clubs, leagues, tournaments
different versions
international competition - test match series, annual singles World Cup, 4-yearly team world cup ...

The BBC called it 'the best sport you've never heard of' - If you're going to be at the conference why not pop along and see Global VX on stand NGB15 and find out what all the fuss is about - and ask them about the conference discount!

V2 World Championships 2023

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 14:19:46 GMT

Our first World Championships since 2019 (thanks to Covid!)

Well, that was a fantastic event – our thanks and congratulations go to VX Hong Kong for a wonderful V2 World Championships.

As we continue to rebuild after the Covid pandemic we have finally managed to have our first V2 World Championships. The Covid restrictions were lifted late in Hong Kong which meant that the organising committee were under immense pressure – they could not postpone for Covid reasons any longer otherwise they would have lost their deposit so had to organise the event with a short lead time. This also put other countries under pressure for getting things in place to travel.

We had 6 countries confirming that they wished to participate – Hong Kong, England, Kenya, Uganda, India and Pakistan, however the short lead time and other circumstances conspired to make it very difficult for them. The cost of flights from the UK has more than doubled so a number of players were forced to pull out as they simply could not afford the flights. Kenya were unable to get the funding they had requested, the visas for Pakistan did not arrive in time and India suffered catastrophic flooding affecting the players who were due to travel. Uganda got some funding but not for all the players they wanted to send.

This meant that the event went right back to our first ever V2 World Championships! That first event had only three countries, too so, as things turned out, this was hugely symbolic.

So how did it go? The event was well-organised by VX Hong Kong- they had organised a superb venue with accommodation and squash courts – the HillTop Country Club.

Players registered for the event on the Thursday and had the briefing and then things kicked off on the Friday with group matches, four groups of six players each. The top two in each group would go through to the knockout stages, the next two would go through to the knockout of the Craig Buttery Trophy and the bottom two would be eliminated.

What was impressive was the progress that the players in Hong Kong have made. It was wonderful to see some old faces and to meet new faces who are making great progress with a number of players attracting a lot of interest and admiration.

England’s Paul Hildreth, who had come out of retirement specifically for this event, had a shock in his first game, winning by a mere four points as Hong Kong players gave a statement of intent!

Into the knockout stages and Uganda’s Mukaga John ‘Brilliant’ Brian was making spectacular progress, former World Champion Tom Hildreth was giving a masterclass as he moved through his matches. Then we reached the semi finals of the V2 World Championships – Ka Lok of Hong Kong against Mukaga John ‘Brilliant’ Brian of Uganda, and Englands Tom Hildreth and Paul Hildreth faced each other. We think that this is the first time a father and son have competed against each other in a V2 World Championships. Although Paul fought hard Tom won by 20 points to progress to the final. The other semi was a high-octane affair between to high-energy players. Unfortunately for him Mukaga caught Ka Lok in the face with the VstiX and attracted a penalty (for being too close) and then also attracted a penalty for travelling and ended up losing 70-68 and going into the 3rd place play off against veteran Paul Hildreth.

The third place play off proved to be an interesting contrast of styles – Brian using his energetic style to try to overwhelm his much older opponent, however Paul brought all his experience to bear to try to control the game, doing enough to win 69-65 and grab a podium place.

The penultimate match was the Craig Buttery final, contested between Sonny and Oscar, both of Hong Kong. Oscar took the match 88-75 to claim his first trophy. Then came the final with Tom taking no chances and calling on all his experience to dominate the match and beat Ka Lok 102-56.

All that remained were the presentations to be made by the Guests of Honour and then the end of tournament celebrations hosted by VX Hong Kong.

Our thanks go to the Guests of Honour and to the team at VX Hong Kong. Our congratulations go to Tom Hildreth for becoming World Champion for the 4th time, to Oscar for winning the Craig Buttery trophy, to ALL the players and officials for their participation, and to VX Hong Kong for organising the rebirth of the V2 World Championships.

New Centre of Excellence

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 14:51:40 GMT

Outwood Academy Kirkby becomes a new VX Centre of Excellence

Paul recently drove down to Kirkby in Ashfield in Nottinghamshire to spend the day at Outwood Academy Kirkby for the launch event of the Academy as a VX Centre of Excellence.

This development has been driven by the awesome Steph Kennedy and her enthusiastic colleague Paul Smith - the dynamic duo!

The day saw students from across the year groups come for dedicated VX sessions. After the school day, Steph had invited local primary schools to come along for a taster session. Paul thoroughly enjoyed the day working with the students and sports leaders, saying the youngsters were a credit to the school and staff.

Steph and her colleague Paul have great ideas and big plans to represent and grow our amazing sport in the local area, thinking of a regular school club, primary school competitions, secondary school competitions and regional Outwood competitions. VX is already embedded in the Outwood curriculum and Steph and Paul use it to deliver a number of areas.

We could do with more 'champions' like these two who recognise the benefits that VX brings.

Well done to Steph and Paul and to Outwood who gave their backing to this initiative. Thank you also to the youngsters at Outwood Kirkby for their enthusiastic participation.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 10:22:27 GMT

Guardian Angel

OK, this is not one of our normal blog posts – it’s not VX news, but it IS something we feel we really have to write about.

One of our good friends and supporters is called Stuart Stead. He runs Creative Software Limited, has developed our membership system and sponsors Global VX. He’s just launched Business Guardian Angel. What’s that we hear you ask – well it isn’t an app to protect businesses but to improve the safety and security of people. The first version is aimed at the business market. We think back to Suzy Lamplugh who was an estate agent and was murdered by a prospect she met at a property. This app is designed to give people added security and peace of mind in such situations and in many other situations, too.

When an organisation implements Business Guardian Angel they will set up a ‘group’ of users.

The app has two functions – HelpMe and TrackMe.

With HelpMe, if a user feels threatened or intimidated or needs help urgently they can activate a call for help by a simple button press or a voice command. The system will immediately start an audio recording and send a notification to the group, one of whom will take ownership of the call. This sends an audible notification to the user that the call for help has been acknowledged. The supervisor can listen to the first short recording and decide what action to take – eg initiating a video call from within the app or calling the police. Simply hearing that help is on the way might deter some perpetrators, but even if the situation continues the system will continue to record (gathering evidence) and showing the location on a map. The supervisor can continue to monitor the location and liaise with the emergency services.

This is perfect for any organisation that has employees out in the field – care workers, council workers, social services, estate agents, just to name a few. It is an ideal tool for the HR department to look after workers in their organisation – if someone is being subjected to bullying or harassment this system can gather evidence.

The second function, TrackMe, can be switched on at the beginning of a journey. Again, a member of the group will take ownership and will be able to monitor the journey. There are far too many occurrences where a person goes missing on the way to or from work or to some other destination. This app would be invaluable in those cases.

Following the release of Business Guardian Angel, Family Guardian Angel is also due to be launched. This is intended to be a free version (funded by advertising). Stuart tells us that times are hard and that he doesn’t want anyone to have to compromise their safety because they can’t afford it. As far as we are concerned every business and every family should have this – it’s perfect for families with kids - parents can track the kids on the way home, it can solve playground bullying situations. It’s even useful in cases of domestic abuse. Women walking alone, university students – there are so many applications. Everyone should have it.

At VX International we are very proud that we were the first business to sign up for this for our core staff who travel and are out on the road.

www.theguardianangelservice.com

Please share this – everyone should be using this!

VX Spring Sale

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 14:33:25 GMT

VX International's First Ever Sale!

We get it - times are hard for everyone, families and businesses and in schools and colleges budgets are ever more squeezed. We have therefore decided that it is time to hold a Spring Sale. We've never held a sale before - we've not needed to, but we thought this was maybe a way in which we could help.

For our Spring Sale we are offering 30% of all VstiX and Carry Bags. That includes VstiX Pro, XVstiX Junior and the remaining limited edition Predators.

We have already had a great response to this from people who are delighted with the reduction and we hope that it will make a substantial difference to any individual or organisation considering purchasing VstiX.

The sale will run until April 30th 2023 and until then it will replace all other discounts.

If you want to take advantage of the sale please email Paul on pmh@vxinternational.com

Global VX Person of the Year 2022

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 18:08:39 GMT

Congratulations: Dan Shuker

We wanted to take the opportunity to offer our heartiest congratulations to England International Dan Shuker who was recently named as Global VX's Person of the Year for 2022.

Dan has been a VX-er for many years now and was taken to an England trial by his then coach Matty Horsfield. He hasn't looked back and has been a stalwart of the England squad - in fact Dan has participated in every tournament since becoming a member of the squad, including every single foreign trip and competition. Most recently Dan was one of the three people who travelled to Graz to represent VX as a demonstration sport at the Racketlon World Cup.

It is this dedication and commitment that convinced Global VX that Dan would be a worthy recipient of their annual reward - and we totally agree. Well done. Dan! Very well deserved.

2022 Look Back

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 08:29:34 GMT

It's been a strange year - but we have made progress

This will sadly be another short report as we still continue to try to recover from the damage caused by Covid.

Let's get the bad news out of the way to start with. The first bit of bad news is that the world's most successful VX Club has had to close. You may remember that, last year, club coach Carl Alsop had to step down for personal/family reasons and that Leigh Branton was stepping in to keep the club going. Leigh has kept it going for a year but finds himself in the same boat and is also having to step down because of external pressures. We are very grateful to Leigh for his hard work in keeping the club going. At least some of the York players will now be training as guests of Easi-RockIts VX Club but keeping their York identity.

We have unfortunately not been able to hold the postponed World Cup in Hong Kong as Covid restrictions have remained very strict. These have recently started to ease a little so we are hopeful of running the postponed World Cup in Hong Kong in 2023.

The last bit of bad news is that we had hoped to welcome coaches from Uganda and Kenya to the UK. This hasn't happened for various reasons but is still planned and we hope it will happen in the coming year.

And now on to better news:

VX Hong Kong are World Record Holders! Have a look at this link https://sdgs.un.org/goals VX Hong Kong are working on goals 3 and 5 in their development of VX in the region, and have already achieved goal 10! Congratulations to VX Hong Kong.

News from VX England now. We are delighted that Pete Gonsalves from Sunderland and Leah Drake from near Ripon are joining Ian Crosby on the Board of VX England. Leah has been playing VX since she was 7 and is going to be events organiser. The first events she will be looking at are the V2 National Finals and the 365 Invitational Trophy. Pete has been involved in VX for a while now and was keen to take a larger role. He also heads up VX North East.

We now have a new NGB! Mr Sardar Z M Hassni contacted us and as satisfied all the requirements and has set up VX Pakistan. We are delighted to welcome our friends from Pakistan to the VX Family and look forward to seeing them at international competition.

The big news from 2022 is that Tom and Paul along with England International Dan Shuker went over to Graz for the Racketlon World Championships where VX was to be a demonstration sport. They were there for four days and demonstrated outside to passers by and inside on the squash courts. VX was very well-received (as usual) and the guys at Racketlon put a nice little video together. You can find it on https://tv.vxinternational.com . Not only that, they wanted to keep the VX equipment to use when they go into schools to introduce Racketlon. They thought that VX would an accessible, fun activity to get the kids started.

More big news is that VX has partnered with WiiStream so that VX can provide its own video-streaming platform. You can find it on https://tv.vxinternational.com . This is a massive step forward for VX. Please go and have a look at it- you need to sign up to view the videos but it is free to do so. We look forward to getting more and more video content up on there.

In 2021 VX International was named Regional Sports Organisation of the Year - well, we only went and won it for the second year running! 'The judges praised the simplicity and inclusivity of VX as a sport ... Those taking up the sport for the first time quickly become seduced by the non-stop, fast and furious fun, which is especially appealing for those who sometimes find other more proscriptive sports more difficult. The gender-neutral and respectful game comes without the baggage of more traditional sports and it is therefore able to give opportunities to a wider range of people.'

Finally - we are entertaining hopes that the 2023 VX and V2 World Cups will go ahead in Hong Kong. Covid restrictions have started to ease back a little and we are hopeful that we will finally get our postponed World Cups. The 2024 V2 World Cup is already scheduled for Uganda.

All that remains now is to thank you all for your support and wish you a healthy, happy and successful 2023!

Happy Christmas Everyone!

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Fri, 23 Dec 2022 17:39:47 GMT

It's that time of year again

Well, there have been ups and downs this year as we try to recover from the damage caused to the sport by Covid but we have made some progress and look forward to building on this in 2023.

For now we wanted to take the opportunity to wish VX-ers everywhere a happy Christmas and a healthy and successful 2023.

Thank you all for your support

Award Winners - second year running!

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 14:21:48 GMT

VX International - Sports Organisation of the Year

For the second year running VX International has been named Sports Organisation of the Year in the Yorkshire Region of the Prestige Awards.

This is what they said:

VX International is an organisation promoting the brand new sport, VX – a single, doubles or team- based sport which has had a massive impact on schools and communities since its launch in 2006.

Combining the best attributes of squash, pelota, lacrosse and dodgeball, the sport has already gained a significant foothold in schools across the country and is now being adopted by universities, colleges, leisure centres, prisons, youth organisations, the military and PCTs.

VX International has been around since VX’s inception and are available as a supporting and advisory body for the sport. Furthermore, they are incredibly keen to help spread participation through conversations with partners, licensees,

sponsors and investors.

The judges praised the simplicity and inclusivity of VX as a sport. With no zones, no markings, no goals and no targets, players score points by hitting opponents with the specially designed balls and get familiar with the rules in no time. Those taking up the sport for the first time quickly become seduced by the non-stop, fast and furious fun, which is especially

appealing for those who sometimes find other more proscriptive sports more difficult. The gender neutral and respectful game comes without the baggage of more traditional sports and is therefore able to give opportunities to a wider range of people.

More good news from VX Hong Kong

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 10:18:44 GMT

VX Hong Kong - Record Breakers!

We were delighted when VX Hong Kong sent us the above photo - they really are innovative and keep pushing forward. This particular achievement (reducing inequalities) is especially relevant for VX with it being such an inclusive sport. We are also delighted to see that the second city in the above certificate is in China - well done to the VX Hong Kong team for now pushing VX onto the mainland!

The 2020 World Cup was supposed to be in Hong Kong but Covid stopped that! It has been postponed until 2023 - Hong Kong has still been under lockdown until very recently, however now travel into and out of Hong Kong. There are very specific requirements but now that travel is allowed again, VX Hong Kong are able to start looking at arrangements and the hope is that the VX World Cup and V2 World Championships will go ahead in August 2023 in Hong Kong!

Congratulations to the guys in VX Hong Kong - despite the ongoing restrictions they have managed to keep pushing our wonderful sport ahead.

Fantastic News from Easi-RockIts

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 10:24:03 GMT

Please support Easi-RockIts

Fantastic news from Easi-RockIts – they have been selected as one of the causes for the Co-op’s local community fund.

The link to their Cause Profile Page is https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/73674

Co-op members can select Easi as their cause with just one click.

If you are not a Co-op member you can easily sign up here: https://membership.coop.co.uk/register

Even though Easi are linked to a Co-op community, members can still raise money for their cause by shopping at any of the Co-op Group stores across the UK.

Easi-RockIts is the oldest VX club and the equipment is showing its age. The club is trying to raise funds to buy new equipment and bibs. They are a great representative of the sport – VX is a gender-neutral sport which is highly accessible. It gives people of all ages and abilities opportunities that they would not get in mainstream sports.

Easi have some very sporty players but also players who do no other sport whatsoever but who have still managed to compete and achieve success. Some players have even gone on to compete and travel internationally in the sport. Some of their young players are also doing their coaching badges and are helping with the junior section. Easi also have a wide age range – the youngest is 6 and the oldest is 75!

VX is a true community, family sport that is unlike any other. The four cornerstones of the sport are honesty, integrity, sportsmanship and respect. Easi-RockIts are great ambassadors for the sport and are keen to promote the core values. Please support them in this fund.

VX at the Racketlon World Championships

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 14:07:03 GMT

VX was a demonstration sport at the 2022 Racketlon World Championships in Graz

As you may know VX is a member of the Sport REcognized Association. RAcketlon is also an SRE member and made the kind offer that any other SRE member sports could attend the Racketlon World Championships, that Racketlon would film and then produce a promotional video for SRE.

VX and Nanbudo were the only two sports that made the journey. From VX Paul, Tom and Dan made the trip. We also hoped to have two top Indian players, Gursewak Singh and Pawan Tanwar joining us but sadly the bureaucrats again got in the way.

Despite having all the relevant paperwork, invitations from Global VX and invitations from Racketlon Austria, Gursewak and Pawan were denied visas - and yet there was an Indian Racketlon team at the event. We hate bureaucrats.

Tom, Dan and Paul arrived late Thursday evening and expected to have three full days of demonstrating and had been assured they would have access to time on the squash court. They had also been told this was a city centre location and there would be a lot of people seeing the demonstrations. It didn't turn out like that. We were in a suburb and there was one path passing by the racket sports centre. VX was told they would be on the outdoor handball court. We thought, yeah we can make this work. We can get people to try the basics and then play a match. There were not many passers-by but eventually we got a handful of Racketlon players for a timed demonstration - plus three local kids who had seen us setting up and wanted to play. Unfortunately by now an inflatable had been set up, and then, just before our timed slot table tennis set up and then badminton *sigh*

We managed though - we played on a tennis court. Later on we got 8 minutes on a squash court. Guess what though - even though we hadn't done as much as we expected on day 1, we had a major impact! such is the power of VX. When we got our 8 minutes on the squash court there were about 4 people watching when we started - but by the end the spectator gallery was rammed with enthusiastic spectators. Afterwards a young lady (Mathilda) a GB Racketlon international, came dashing up to talk to us, delighted to have seen VX because, wait for it, she used to play at school in Leeds!

On top of this Racketlon were delighted with the footage they got including a very enthusiastic interview with one of their youth internationals. A chat with Peter from Racketlon Europe who was co-ordinating the demonstration sports and the video revealed that he was very excited about VX having tried it in the demonstration and would like to use it in schools as part of the Racketlon introduction!

On day 2 Paul had to attend the General Assembly of SRE which went on longer than expected so there was no chance to demonstrate. On Day 3, Sunday, it was finals day so there was less demand on the squash court and we got a decent amount of time on there to get some more footage, and we took the opportunity to get some more interviews.

All in all, this was a very worthwhile trip - perhaps more quality than quantity and we look forward to seeing the final video.

Thank you very much to Racketlon for this opportunity and for their help in getting it organised

Kostye Makes History

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 12:54:54 GMT

Kostye Teplov is our first Ukrainian Coach

Congratulations to Kostye Teplov who attended the recent Level 1 coaching course and thereby became our first Ukrainian coach!

Kostye and his daughter Mariia are from the East of Ukraine and are temporarily living in North Yorkshire. Kostye is a sports professional back home (his speciality is climbing) and we were delighted that he came along to the Coaching Course.

Since then Kostye and |Mariia have both been attending the Helperby VX Club on Tuesday evenings. Mariia made such an impression that she won the silVerstiX in her first session!

In other news Kostye has agreed to be the club assistant coach and would love to welcome other Ukrainians who are living in the area to come and try VX with the Helperby club.

New Coaches!

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 12:47:55 GMT

New VX Coaches

As VX rebuilds after the ravages of Covid the Helperby VX Club was delighted to host a Level Coach Qualification Course. In the interests of getting more new coaches and rebuilding the sport we were very grateful to the Ripon VX club for sponsoring the course.

We were very delighted to see the number of young people, players from several clubs who were keen to increase their involvement and development in the sport. if they were aged 14 or 15 they were awarded an Activity Leaders' Award which will become a Level 1 Assistant Club Coach qualification on their 16th birthday.

Congratulations to

Benjamin Higgins (Easi-RockIts)

Tizzy Scott (Easi-RockIts)

Ellie Bowman (Easi-RockIts)

Nella Timoney (Helperby)

Matthew Dundon (Easi-RockIts)

Finn Sowray (Helperby)

Jack Martinez (York)

Matty Bowen (York)
Dan Shuker (Northallerton)

Kostye Teplov

We hear from the the clubs that the young people have really stepped up and have started to take the lead in sessions!

Well done, all!

New appointment at VX England

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 11:06:11 GMT

Leah Drake has been appointed Events Manager by VX England

VX has always been a sport that loves to give opportunities to young people and the latest example of this is that Leah Drake has been appointed as Events Manager for VX England.

Leah has been a part of VX for over 11 years - - she started playing at Primary School in an after school club and competing for her school in tournaments. Then she joined Ripon VX Club of which she is still a member. She has moved through the England Youth Squad to now be a part of the senior squad where she gained her first representation in Bilbao where she was part of the England team that won the European Championships.

Leah's first event will be the V2 National Finals for 2022 as VX England slowly starts to rebuild the calendar of events.

VX England are delighted to welcome Leah on board and would love to hear from anyone else who would like to get involved in further developing our amazing sport.

Ukraine Invasion

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 13:47:00 GMT

We can't believe what is happening

OK, this isn't a VX-related post but the events happening in Ukraine are momentous and touch all of us. We are a tiny sport. We are even smaller than we were thanks to Brexit and Covid and we are just starting to rebuild so our voice doesn't carry the weight of major established sports - but that doesn't lessen the horror that we feel when we see the images coming from Ukraine and we hear the ramblings of the nutter in the Kremlin.

What we say won't make the slightest bit of difference but we still have to speak to express our horror, support and solidarity. We have seen conflicts before - in the Middle East, in Afghanistan and in the Balkans, but this feels different. There has been nothing like this since WWII - and it's frightening.

VX hasn't reached the Ukraine. We've been to many countries with it and have competed internationally but in Europe we haven't been further east than Poland and the Czech Republic. We have good friends in both those countries, but we had not reached the Ukraine. That doesn't matter - we still watch what is unfolding with horror and a sense of disbelief.

Today we watched footage of Ukrainian civilians standing in front of a Russian convoy - it's emotional and heartbreaking. When, oh when, will we learn from history?

Russian people don't want this! Nobody else wants this except the nutter and his hawks in the Kremlin.

To the people in the Ukraine - our hearts go out to you. As a tiny, fledgling sport there is nothing we can do but as individuals we will be supporting and contributing to any appeals that are being made in our area. We hope and pray that you come through this.

World Cup News

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 09:51:55 GMT

Covid continues to have an impact

We have just heard from Global VX about their meeting with VX Hong Kong. They have now taken a decision on this year's World Cup.

Hong Kong are currently in lockdown again for two months. ALL sport has ceased and the medical infrastructure is under severe strain. As this is the case VX Hong Kong have requested that they do not host the World Championships again this year. Global VX have willingly agreed to this and VX Hong Kong will now host the 2023 World Championships. Bear in mind that 2023 is not only the V2 World Championships but the VX World Cup, too.

VX Uganda had floated the idea that if VX Hong Kong were unable to host the World Championships again this year, that they could maybe do so - however: VX is a member sport of the Sport REcognized Association. Racketlon is also a member sport and will be holding its World Championships in Vienna and Graz in Austria in August. Racketlon have extended an invitation to SRE sports to be demonstration sports at their event and they will fund the filming and production of a promotional video of SRE and the member sports.

Global VX have therefore taken the decision that the V2 World Championships will sadly again be postponed. Instead they hope to have some players attending the Racketlon World Championships in Graz in August to represent VX as a demonstration sport.

VX Scotland were due to host after VX Hong Kong but they have indicated that they might be willing to defer this to allow VX Uganda the opportunity to host before them. Global VX will be holding discussions with VX Scotland, VX Kenya, VX Africa and VX Uganda to discuss which country hosts in 2024 and 2025

England are back!

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 13:52:49 GMT

The first England VX squad training session since Covid hit

As a young sport VX has been hit particularly hard by Covid. We have lost a number of players and the England VX squad has felt the impact of this. On top of that they have players away at university and away in the armed forces so this first session back was a major step in the rebuilding of the squad and the rebuilding of the sport as a whole.

The coaching staff consists of Carl Alsop (Head Coach), Scott Snowdon (Assistant Coach), Tom Hildreth (Fitness/Tactics Coach) and Paul Hildreth (Team Manager). Paul had been head coach for many years but resigned after the successful 2019 World Cup. During his tenure he had put together a strong coaching staff, implemented regular training sessions which followed a structured format. All players wore uniform for the sessions and the national programme had moved to a new level. The squad won two European Championships in Bilbao, travelled to India for the first ever Test Match Series, the Masters enjoyed a joint event with Stoolball and both youth and senior squads won the VX world cup. At that point Paul felt he had taken the squad as far as he could and that they needed new energy and ideas so he handed over the head coach position to Carl. The team of Carl, Scott and Tom have ramped up the energy of the sessions and plan to take the squad even higher.

Normally new players have to go through dedicated trials but as part of the rebuilding, it was decided to put triallists through their paces in a normal session.

Congratulations to Tizzy Scott (pictured, youth), Benjamin Higgins (youth), Jack Martinez (youth), Matthew Bowen (youth) and James Parnaby (seniors) who all sailed through their trials and became part of the National Programme.

Carl Receives His Awards

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 13:38:56 GMT

Presentation made to Carl Alsop

As you know, Carl has resigned as coach of York VX Club and as a member of the Board of VX England. We are all delighted that he has agreed to stay on as Head Coach of the England VX Squad.

On Feb 20th the England VX squad had their first training session since Covid hit and Carl was presented with his Person of the Year 2021 Award from Global VX.

He was also presented with a wooden plaque as thanks for all he has put into the sport during the many years he has been involved.

Our thanks go to our good friend Craig Buttery of Rugged Crafts who made the plaque for us. in delightful twist, Craig was the first ever England VX Coach and Carl is the latest ...

Person of the Year 2021

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 15:24:32 GMT

Award for Carl Alsop

Announcement from Global VX:

it's a bit late but we are now in a position to announce the 2021 Person of the Year. As you know Covid has hit us very hard and so we are having to rebuild rather than being able to move forward from where we were before the arrival of Covid. Indeed, we were almost 18 months of nothing and so for a period there was no Person of the Year.

Also, as you know, Carl Alsop has had to step down as Head Coach of the York VX Club and from his position on the Board of VX England. We are very grateful to Carl that he has agreed to stay on as Head Coach of the England National VX Squad.

Carl has been involved in VX for many years and has given an immense amount to the development of the sport in many ways. We are delighted therefore to announce Carl as Person of the Year 2021 in gratitude for all he has given to the sport.

When looking at what Carl has done for the sport it also becomes apparent what he has achieved as both a player and a coach - the first V2 World Champion, World Cup Winner with England, Regional and VX National Titles. He has made York VX Club into the single most successful club in the world. As a result of these achievements it became very clear that Carl should become the 4th member of our 'Legends' Gallery.

We would like to offer our congratulations to Carl and our heartfelt thanks for all he has done for the sport

Lookback 2021

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 30 Dec 2021 18:56:13 GMT

The year the rebuild started

2020 was obviously a total non-event for VX - everything was cancelled. All the events we were due to attend, all our own events, club sessions, school sessions, everything. Obviously this was the same for all sports but as such a young sport this hit us particularly hard. Basically we had to rebuild and this was the year we had to start.

As we got into 2021 things carried on much the same but then in mid year junior sections of clubs started to get back and finally the senior sections, too.

A lot of damage had been done though - we found we had lost quite a number of players who had drifted away over the 18 months. For a young sport, this is a big hit. Schools still weren't taking external people in and none of the events we normally attend were running again.

Much of our own competition was also still being postponed. Some local V2 (VX) leagues took place but the VX League and knockout are being postponed whilst we rebuild. Even the World Cup was still postponed and it still remains to be seen whether this will take place in 2022.

There are good things to report though:

Back to VX. Carl Alsop of VX England organised a VX tournament with a difference to get people playing again. Normally VX is played by teams of 5 and get 5 points for a win, 3 points for a draw and 1 point for getting over half the opponents' score. On this occasion there was a handicap in place. Different players were worth different point values. A team could be made up of 4 points (with bonus players in some cases - eg very new players or younger players). The final positions were calculated purely on how many points you scored over the tournament.

There is a video of the event and Carl explains it in more detail. You can find the video here: Back to VX

VX International managed to obtain some equipment to donate to VX Kenya and VX Uganda and that was shipped over - the guys over there have big plans for growing the sport and we are preparing to welcome David Atayo across early in the New Year (Covid permitting). David is head coach of the Canaan VX Club, Assistant Head Coach of the Ugandan VX squad and a member of the VX Uganda Executive Committee) .

We hope to welcome other players from Uganda and Kenya, too, to further their VX education. We also look forward to going back to visit out friends over there.

We have also developed other links with Africa - the Ripon VX Club have twinned with the Canaan VX Club - our first international twinning. Ripon also donated some equipment for the Canaan VX Club and it was shipped across with the donation from VX International! We have also partnered with the Sports Aid Network based in Lugazi.

We do have other news in the pipeline - we are working on changing the status of Global VX and we have a partnership to announce in the New Year - watch this space.

We were delighted to win the 'Sports Organisation of the Year' Award in the Yorkshire Prestige Awards. The judges were impressed by the professionalism evidenced in this rapidly growing sport. There are already independent clubs, leagues and tournaments and strong international growth too. The judges applauded the diversity of players; welcoming those of all ages and abilities is a testament to the nature of the sport and its organisation. The impact of the pandemic has meant many cancelled tournaments, leading to limited income used to keep the game going. Despite this, VX International has still provided support for VX

The nest thing was - we have sadly had to say goodbye to Carl as Head Coach of the York VX Club due to pressures of work. Happily Carl is going to continue to compete and to maintain his role as Head Coach of the England VX squad. Many thanks to Leigh Branton who is going to take over the running of the York Club. Carl has been a big part of VX. He's been part of it for many years and has many achievements. He has built the York club to be the most successful VX Club ever. He was instrumental in developing the squash court versions of VX and was the first V2 World Champion. He has travelled and competed abroad with the sport. When we look back at what he has contributed, it is nothing short of amazing.

Finally - we were able to get back to exhibiting at a conference. AfPE ran a one day conference and, as Business Associates of AfPE, we were delighted to be there in attendance, to see some old faces and meet some new ones.

And that's about it for this year. All that remains is to wish you all a very happy New Year and a healthy and successful 2022 and hope that we can make great strides with the rebuilding of VX!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 10:34:26 GMT

We just wanted to say ...

As Christmas is almost upon us we wanted to take the opportunity to wish VX-ers all over the world a very happy vXmas and a vXcellent New Year. We hope that 2022 is very good to you and that we get chance to continue to rebuild our sport!

Happy Christmas, everyone!

It's goodbye - but not totally

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Sat, 18 Dec 2021 14:39:20 GMT

Carl Alsop retires as Head Coach of York VX Club

We heard recently that Carl Alsop was retiring as head coach of the York VX Club due to family and work commitments. We are delighted to hear, however, that he will be remaining as Head Coach of the England VX Squad and will continue to compete as a player.

Carl has provided immense service to VX and we thought this would be a good opportunity to cast an eye over his record. He is a person with immense 'get up and go.' He encountered VX way back in the earliest days of the sport at an Air Cadet session where he was a cadet Flight Sergeant. He said at the end of the session that he wanted to get involved - and get involved he certainly did.

He organised his cadet squadron to play, initially getting a team together for the Carnegie Open tournament and subsequently getting two teams up to compete in the league - with his team (Raptors) becoming National Champions.

Carl became one of the first members of the fledgling England squad and competed in the inaugural World Cup - a photo of him in action at this event featured on the first van!

We were delighted to have Carl come along with us on one of our trips to the USA and he also accompanied on some school sessions where he had to get used to signing autographs!

Carl's impact was so great that he was inducted into the Hall of Fame!

Carl was instrumental in moving VX onto the squash courts and he made history by becoming our first ever V2 World Champion.

Since then he has travelled abroad to compete and finally became a VX World Cup Winner with the senior England VX squad in 2019.

As a coach Carl has built York VX Club into the most successful VX Club ever, wresting that title from Easi-RockIts and hanging on to it - the titles they have won (national champions, regional champions, UK Club Champions and National Knockout Champions) are too numerous to list.

Let's not forget that Carl has also been involved in the administration of the sport - being part of the Rules Committee, the Board of VX England and he was part of the organising committee for the 2019 World Cup.

As you can see - we owe Carl an immense debt of gratitude for all that he has done for the sport and all the effort he has put in to help make the sport what it is. We fully understand his reasons for having to reduce his participation and are simply delighted that he will be maintaining his involvement with the England VX Squad and as a player.

Winners in the Yorkshire Prestige Awards

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 16:26:28 GMT

VX International named Sports Organisation of the Year in the Yorkshire Prestige Awards 2021

VX International are delighted to be announced as Sports Organisation of the Year in the Yorkshire Prestige Awards.

In a ceremony held at Hazlewood Castle near Leeds and featuring organisations in variety of categories from all around the region, Directors Tom and Paul Hildreth were presented with the award.

VX International is a small organisation – but with a wide reach. VX is a young Yorkshire-born sport. It was designed and developed in Yorkshire. Even though the sport is centred in Yorkshire it has silos of activity all over the country, has a foothold in 26 countries and is making especially good progress in India, Hong Kong and Africa.

The sport has grown from nothing to a sport that has 3 official versions, has independent clubs, national teams, international competition, leagues and tournaments. There is an annual singles world cup, a team world cup every 4 years, a European championship every two years and there has been the first Test Match series and the first set of international friendlies. All this for a Yorkshire-born sport.

Sadly the sport has been hit very hard by Covid-19– all events where VX was due to be present were cancelled, all VX competitions and tournaments were cancelled, all school sessions and all clubs. This, of course, is no different to other sports, however as such a young sport this had an even more devastating impact on VX but progress has still been made:

Despite the impact of Covid the team at VX International has continued to work with the global administrative body, in particular:

• Has helped the Ripon VX Club twin with the Canaan VX Club and ship some donated equipment over to Uganda

• Has donated equipment to VX Kenya and VX Uganda to help them move to the next level

• Has partnered with the Sports Aid Network, based in Kampala Uganda

The judges were impressed by the professionalism evidenced in this rapidly growing sport. There are already independent clubs, leagues and tournaments and strong international growth too. The judges applauded the diversity of players; welcoming those of all ages and abilities is a testament to the nature of the sport and its organisation. The impact of the pandemic has meant many cancelled tournaments, leading to limited income used to keep the game going. Despite this, VX International has still provided support for VX

Paul said: “We are very honoured to receive this award and it is recognition of the work of all the volunteers in the sport and how they have worked to keep the sport alive and to start rebuilding. We aim to return to Africa as soon as possible as our colleagues in Uganda and Kenya want us to help them spread the sport to Rwanda, Tanzania (and from there to Zimbabwe and South Africa).

We also plan to return to Hong Kong at the earliest opportunity to help our colleagues there move to the next level and prepare for the next World Cup which has been postponed. Thank you very much to Yorkshire Prestige Awards and the judges for recognising the efforts of everyone involved in the sport.”

2022 V2 World Cup

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 15:09:02 GMT

World Cup update

We have just had word from Global VX that they have been in discussions with VX Hong Kong about the next V2 World Cup which is due to take place in Hong Kong.

They tell us that because the Covid situation is still so volatile and with winter still to arrive, that VX Hong Kong have asked that a decision is postponed until Jan 31st 2022.

At that point Global VX and VX Hong Kong will evaluate the situation again and take a decision as to whether the World Cup will go ahead as planned or be postponed for another year.

We'll be keeping our fingers crossed that the event can take place. We have missed the World Cups, and missed our friends from around the world.

Picture shows the Hong Kong team at the 2019 World Cup that was held in the UK

We're going to be at the 2021 AfPE Conference

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 12:10:37 GMT

It's great to be able to go to conferences again

It seems a long time since we were able to go to any conferences and a long time since we saw our friends at AfPE so we are looking forward very much to this year's Conference on Monday Dec 6.

This is the first Association for Physical Education (afPE) professional development day emanating from the Taskforce recommendations and afPE’s new strategic plan. It is a one-day conference and will be held in the impressive setting of the Football Association's St George's Park.

We're already looking forward to it!

We support Mini's Law

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 15:30:30 GMT

Congratulations to the team campaigning for Mini's Law - they've reached the next step

As an ethical company we have already come out in explicit support for Mini's Law.

For those of you who still don't know what this is, it goes back to earlier this year when a cat (Mini) was sunning herself on her doorstop in a residential area when the hunt came through with their dogs - who saw, caught and killed Mini. The whipper-in then grabbed her body and flung it over a hedge to hide the evidence. Fortunately this was caught on camera by a neighbour and the campaign is an attempt to provide further protection for domestic and farm animals. Research done by Keep the Ban suggests there is, on average, a reported incident every two weeks!

As today is a milestone we thought it a good idea to bring you up to date and thank any of you who have signed the petition or sent in your photos to Mini's Law.

The first milestone was 10,000 signatures. That was achieved in no time at all. At 10,000 signatures the Government will respond - and they did, but it was the usual 'fob off' response that petitions always get. It's a response but it is NEVER satisfactory.

The next target was 100,000 signatures. If a petition reaches 100,000 signatures it will be 'considered for' debate in Parliament. Today was the deadline and as you can see, the petition went past the 100,000 mark. The next step for the Mini's Law team will be to try and ensure it does get debated. They tell us they do have plans going forward.

The other issue is the court case - that has been adjourned until December for some reason. The team have asked us not to comment on this until it is over in case it prejudices the case, so we won't, however once it is over we will have plenty to say. We do know that Mini's family is still suffering from the trauma they experienced.

We wish the team at Mini's Law lots of luck in their campaign.

Just to add to this - as a sports company, we take great offence that blood sports, such as fox-hunting, are described as sports. For us a sport should have willing participants competing against each other. If fox-hunting is classed as a sport - then why not mugging? Its the same principle!

V2 Leagues Start Again

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 10:17:49 GMT

It's the V2 League Season!

V2 leagues run from Sept to January. After the hiatus of Covid we wondered how hard clubs and leagues had been hit. The word is that they have been hit quite hard but are rebuilding. Easi-RockIts tell us that they are actually growing again and the Junior section is now bigger than it was before Covid struck.

Easi-RockIts also tell us that the Easingwold District V2 League is up and running - the first few matches have been played and others are scheduled.

We look forward to hearing that other districts are up and running, too

Easi-RockIts working hard to recruit

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 13:12:07 GMT

Easi-RockIts take VX into the community

Easi-RockIts have a great track record of taking VX into the community - they have been at Easingwold's LittleFest and Newton on Ouse Party in the Park on several occasions and at the Easingwold Diamond Jubilee Celebrations among other things.

This year, now that they train at Huby, they will be at the Great Huby Get Together on Saturday Sept 4th.

They plan to have a portable vCourt with them along with an information stand and they hope to generate more members - this has been a very successful strategy in the past. Indeed, this is how the reigning V2 Youth World Champion Becca Fram got started. She encountered Easi-RockIts at one of the LittleFests and joined the club with her brother and sister.

Easi-RockIts are the longest-established VX Club in existence and are very adept at the community aspect of the sport.

We look forward to seeing photos from the event. Here's hoping they have good weather and generate lots more players for our wonderful sport

VX Hong Kong at Sport Expo 21

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 10:26:26 GMT

More great stuff from VX Hong Kong

VX Hong Kong were offered a demonstration spot at Sport Expo 21. Our global ambassador Natalie Chan therefore went along to tell people about our wonderful sport.

The session offered was better than first expected in that VX Hong Kong didn't only have their own small demo area but Natalie also got a couple of spots on one of the stages. You can see from the photo above she is discussing the sport with the presenter and telling the crowd all about VX. The other photo also shows some of the participants.

Apparently it was a great success. Well done VX Hong Kong and massive thanks to Natalie

The last word goes to Natalie: << Grateful to have this opportunity to share VX @SportsExpo 2021

A big thank you to MasterX and GOTrust Solutions for all the support ❣️❣️�� >>

Training starts in Kenya

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 11:13:34 GMT

St Peter's preparing to make history again

St Peter's Boys' School in Mumias is the National Centre of vXcellence in Kenya. We have visited twice and qualified several people as coaches. The Principal, the inspirational Cosmas Nabungolo is the patron of VX Kenya and other members of the school are officers on the Executive Committee.

St Peter's have have lent equipment to another local school in Shibale and have already played a tournament against the Shibale school - this took place during our last visit and made history as the first VX match between two Kenyan schools.

Now they are preparing for their first international match - as Covid restrictions in the area start to lift they are preparing for a match against the Canaan VX Club from Lugazi in Uganda.

We look forward very much to hearing about this and seeing some photos of the event

VX is BACK!

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 10:18:41 GMT

'Back to VX' Tournament was a great success

The Galtres Centre in Easingwold saw a major VX tournament recently as ten teams converged on Easingwold to celebrate being able to play and compete in VX again.

This tournament was billed as a ‘Back to VX’ tournament and was designed to be an open, informal, fun tournament that anyone could win. Points were not awarded for wins and draws but a team’s number of strikes throughout the course of the competition. With some players being seeded teams were made up of anywhere between 2 and 5 players. On top of this the age range was wide open – the age gap between youngest and oldest was 51 years, the youngest being 11 year old George Scott of Easi RockIts and the oldest our own Paul Hildreth, Head Coach of Easi-RockIts at 62. Paul is pictured above with his team where he is older than the combined ages of the rest of his team, showing just how inclusive this sport is. With ‘challenge badges’ available to compete for and every team playing every other team, the scene was set for anyone to win.

Eleven teams had entered, some from clubs and some made up of players teaming up with players from other clubs. The favourites were Carl Alsop and Scott Snowdon. Carl was the sport's first V2 World Champion and Scott is the reigning V2 World Champion. They were, however, run very close by a team comprising of Jak Foster and his father Andrew Foster from Scunthorpe, Leigh Branton from York and Léna Fowles from Easi-RockIts. This highly-experienced team even beat the favourites and only lost one game, however with the favourites scoring more highly across their matches they were the ones who ran out winners.

At the end of the tournament players submitted their nominations for Players’ Player of the Tournament and the Cornerstones Award.

In the Players' Player of the Tournament George, the youngest player and competing in his first formal tournament was runner-up in this category, missing out on the trophy by a single vote to a worthy winner Jhapin Shahi from Ripon.

It was also a close call for the Cornerstones Award with our sponsored player Charlie Ford missing out by a single vote to club mate Leigh Branton.

We would like to thank Carl and VX England for such a fun, creative tournament. It was wonderful to be playing competitively again. We would also like to thank all the players for their participation and sportsmanship.

VX Hong Kong to be at Sport Expo 21

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 10:12:50 GMT

Things continue to move well with VX Hong Kong

We are delighted to hear from VX Hong Kong that they will be running some taster VX sessions at Sport Expo 21! VX Ambassador Natalie Chan said

""I’m glad to share with you guys that we will have two 30-min VX session at the SportsExpo, which is organized by one of the Sports media platforms in Hong Kong. ��

I am honoured and humbled to be invited by one of the sport marketing agencies to join force with a Sports App to promote VX in such a sizeable sports expo. This would be a great and valuable experience for our VX development in Hong Kong"

Natalie will be running two 30-minute sessions with 8 participants in each.

Despite the continuing impact of Covid things are still happening in the VX world and we are delighted to see great progress in different areas.

Congratulations to VX Hong Kong for getting this opportunity . We look forward to hearing all about it

Recognition for VX Kenya

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 18:43:48 GMT

VX Kenya becomes the second NGB to get state recognition

We had a very productive zoom call with representatives of VX Uganda and VX Kenya recently, during which Mr Danston Kukubo, the President of VX Kenya, informed the meeting that VX Kenya was now successfully registered.

This is excellent news both for VX in Africa and VX as a sport in general.

VX Uganda were the first NGB to get state recognition and we are delighted the VX Kenya have now had the same success.

Both NGBs have big plans for sport in the region - they are planning to help spread the sport to Tanzania and Rwanda, VX Kenya are on the verge of establishing their first league in Nairobi and both are keen to support the efforts of VX Africa to formalise their existence. Both VX Uganda and VX Kenya plan to send representatives to the UK for further training as soon as the pandemic situation allows.

Congratulations to all in Uganda and Kenya for their hard work in establishing VX in the region. The future of VX in Africa looks good

'Back to VX' Competition

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 09:32:15 GMT

fun, informal 'handicap' tournament organised by VX England

VX England are organising a tournament for all ages 12 and above to give players something to get back to. It's designed to be fun, informal and set up so anyone has a chance to win.

here is the email from Carl, the organiser:

<< Hi All

The pandemic was rubbish and properly hurt our already fragile sport, but you’re reading this because you are still here and are still passionate about the sport, so now that we can let’s play!

Between 1000-1500 on Saturday 15th August anyone who plays VX at junior level or older is invited to Easingwold Galtres Centre to take part in a very different competition which is set up to be wide open for any team to win! It doesn’t matter if you haven’t played for 3 years, come and have a go whilst it anyone’s game

all we need to know is what team you want to put in. Teams can be any number from 1-6 so long as they only total 4 points

Points?

Anyone ranked in the top 10 as listed below will be worth 2 points (2)

Anyone not in that list who has participated in competitions before will be worth 1 point (1)

Anyone who hasn’t competed previously will also be worth 1 point but 2 of this type together gets you 1 free additional person of this type, (1+)

Top 10

Scott Snowdon
Tom Hildreth
Carl Alsop
Matty Horsefield
Charlie Ford
Paul Hildreth
Jess Porter
Chris Town
Cain Branton
Olly Stocks

*organisers may add to this list if unexpected players attend, this is just to keep it as fair as possible!

Points will be scored on the day by how many points your team gains.

Each player will also be given a random “quest” in each game where they can choose a difficulty level and if completed will gain additional points

Hopefully all this will offer a handicap of sorts and allow anyone the opportunity to bring it on the day and win, Teams do not need to be from clubs or towns you can team up with whoever you want.

Examples:

Tom Hildreth (2) goes with Paul Hildreth (2) for a total of (4)
Tom Hildreth (2) goes with Olly Stocks (1) and Leigh Branton (1) for a total of (4)
Tom Hildreth goes with Sam Brown (1+) Tom Brown (1+) so they also get Matthew Bowen (1+)

Using example one

Tom and Paul lose their first game 111-97 Tom completes his 20 point quest
They win their second 140-135 Paul completes his 15 point quest
They draws their third 80-80 Both complete their 10 point quest

Their total points for the day are: 372

This will then compare against others and the most points wins the day!

Simple, fun, mixed up competition, if you don’t have matching shirts we have bibs, you don’t need non marking soles, just yourself a fiver to enter a Vstix and maybe some lunch

Lets get as many people here as possible and make a day out of it,

Regards

Carl >>

We support Mini's Law

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 08:38:28 GMT

Not VX related but very important

Earlier this year, on Saturday 6th March 2021, Mini the cat was killed by out of control hunt dogs. She was on her own drive, sitting in the sun. It's too late for Mini, but it must never happen to any other animal. There is a campaign to change the law.

VX is a sport - we as an organisation do NOT consider blood sports as sport, and as an ethical organisation, VX International opposes ALL forms of animal abuse and cruelty and is proud to stand up and support Mini's Law

If anyone else would like to support, it is very simple:

1) Please go and ‘like’ the campaign FaceBook Page :

2) If you haven’t already done so, please sign and share the petition. Click Here

3) Please download the poster, take a selfie and send it on for inclusion on their page (if you’ve visited the page you’ll have seen the pics of other people doing it). You can send it as a direct message to the Mini’s Law FaceBook Page

You can download the poster here

4) And don’t forget to watch and share the video of Mini’s Mum Carly talking about the campaign:

On YouTube

or on the KeepTheBan page

We know this isn't VX-related but it is a cause dear to our hearts and we are proud to support this campaign and urge anyone else who is opposed to animal abuse and cruelty to do the same. We'd love to see more business and organisations also lend their support to this cause.

Our first club twinning

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 13 May 2021 10:03:23 GMT

Ripon VX Club twin with Canaan VX Club in Lugazi, Uganda

Ripon VX Club are delighted to announce their official twinning with the Canaan VX Club from Lugazi in Uganda.

As the Yorkshire-born sport of VX continues its steady growth in Africa, the Ripon VX Club demonstrates its position as one of the UK’s leading clubs by becoming the first club to be twinned with a club abroad.

Ripon have enjoyed a high degree of success under the leadership of Head Coach Tom Hildreth but the Covid epidemic has had a major impact as it has hit hard. In line with other sports there have been no club sessions and no competition. This does not mean that all activity has ceased, however, and work has gone on behind the scenes to bring this twinning to fruition. This has now been cemented as a donation of equipment has been sent across to Uganda for the club to use.

The twinning was a result of our MD Dr Paul Hildreth, making one of his regular visits to the area to help grow the sport. He spent some time at Canaan High School in Lugazi where he met with the Director Mr Isaac Ssekamwa and introduced VX to the school. Mr Ssekamwa was so delighted with the impact of VX that he agreed to become the patron of VX Uganda and was keen to establish a club and Centre of Excellence in Lugazi.

A number of students at the Canaan High School have qualified as coaches and are set to take leading roles in developing the sport in their country.

Paul said: "I have loved my visits to Lugazi and can't wait to go back. I am very fond of the kids there and very proud of the progress they have already made, both as players and as young coaches. I am looking forward to going back there and also to welcoming some of them to the UK. With these guys involved the future of VX in Africa is promising."

So what’s next for the clubs? Ripon are looking forward to receiving photos of the equipment in use and being able to link personally with their Uganda friends on line ahead of some Ugandan players being able to visit the Ripon Club.

The final word goes to Mr Ssekamwa, who leads the Canaan VX Club: “We are delighted to have this twinning with such a successful club in the UK and are very grateful for their donation of equipment. We are very keen to make our club a leading club in Uganda and to be at the forefront of the growth of VX in Africa. We already have plans to travel to Kenya to play against the boys from St Peter’s School in Mumias which is the Centre of Excellence for Kenya. We have big plans and hope that some day we can also welcome some players from Ripon here in Uganda”

Almost There!

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 14:34:21 GMT

The next step in the Roadmap to Recovery

April 12th is the next step for getting back to 'normal' and part of this is that indoor sport for U-18s can restart. We've heard that some clubs will therefore be starting their junior sessions again as from the week beginning Aril 12th.

We are delighted to see this move back towards VX activity. and look forward to the senior sessions being able to start again in May.

Don't forget - Global VX tell us that memberships will need to be renewed as everyone's membership will have lapsed. Global VX suspended all membership renewals for 2020 as there was no play or competition. Global VX also tell us that, with VX England, they had been trialling a new format in which all memberships will be due for renewal on Jan 1st. This system proved to be a success and will be implemented across England. If a new player joins on or before June 30th they will pay the full fee and renew the following Jan 1. If they join after June 30 they will pay half the fee and, again, renew the following Jan 1.

V2 World Cup Postponed

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 13:23:57 GMT

The Latest Announcement from Global VX

Global VX have been in discussions with both VX Hong Kong and VX Scotland regarding the postponed World Cup.

Those discussions resulted in the decision being made to postpone the World Cup again for a year. This means that there will be no World Cup this year and therefore

2022 - Hong Kong V2 World Cup

2023 - Scotland V2 and VX World Cups.

The rationale for the further postponement was as follows:

VX Hong Kong felt that the timing is not yet right in Hong Kong due to the Covid pandemic and feel that a further postponement is prudent. Global VX are in total agreement as the situation is still very fluid. The UK has a 'roadmap' to return and has provisional stage dates. However moving to the next stage is dependent on certain criteria being met. As well as this the travel situation is still very uncertain and the Covid situation in Europe is still very severe.

VX Scotland feel that gyms and leisure centres will have been hit hard by Covid and might need to be changing their business model, therefore an extra year to prepare for the World Cup will be very helpful.

With the postponement Global VX had given a commitment to the youth players who had been due to compete in 2020 that they could still compete in the youth competition. This commitment will still stand - the upper age limit for the youth competition for 2021 will be age 20. In 2022 the age limit will revert to 17. We feel this is fair as Covid has meant there have not been the new players coming along, nor the competition to prepare for the World Cup so this should have minimal impact on new youth players. If any of those players who were due to have competed in the youth category prefer to compete in the senior tournament they will be welcome to do so (if there is space for them)

This has been a very difficult period for everyone and we thank you all for your continued support and involvement. Now let's set about rebuilding our sport!

Roadmap to Return

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 16:35:57 GMT

The latest bulletin from Global VX regarding the restart of play ...

Global VX Additional Covid-19 bulletin, March 5th 2021

This bulletin reflects on the ‘roadmap’ issued by the Government regarding the country getting back to normal after Covid.

Please note, the ‘roadmap’ is not fixed and each step will depend on the evaluations of four factors

• the vaccine deployment programme continues successfully

• evidence shows vaccines are sufficiently effective in reducing hospitalisations and deaths in those vaccinated

• infection rates do not risk a surge in hospitalisations which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS

• the assessment of the risks is not fundamentally changed by new Variants of Concern

Only if these conditions are met will progress be made to the next stage in the roadmap.

The key dates for sport are:

March 29 – Part of Phase 1. Outdoor sports facilities such as tennis and basketball courts, and open-air swimming pools, will also be allowed to reopen, and people will be able to take part in formally organised outdoor sports.

April 12 – Phase 2. Indoor leisure facilities such as gyms will also reopen (but only for use by people on their own or in household groups)

May 17 – Phase 3. Organised indoor sport allowed.

June 24 – Phase 4. No legal limits on social contact.

Here in more detail:

Step 1 - March 8, and March 29 at the earliest.

From March 8, under-18s can take part in sport at school as part of the reopening of educational settings from that date, or as part of wraparound care.

From March 29, the second part of step one, outdoor sports facilities can reopen. These can be used by groups of up to six people, with those from different bubbles adhering to social distancing.

Organised adults and children's outdoor sports can also return at this stage, and will not be subject to gatherings limits.

Step 2 - April 12 at the earliest

Indoor leisure facilities such as gyms can reopen, but only to be used alone or as part of a household group.

Children will be able to attend any indoor activity, including sport, regardless of circumstances.

The roadmap also sets April as the date when pilot events will begin to test out how enhanced testing and other measures can allow for the safe return of spectators to events without the need for social distancing.

Step 3 - May 17 at the earliest

Crowds can return to sports venues. For larger outdoor seated venues this could mean as many as 10,000 people; for smaller outdoor venues it would be 4,000 maximum or 50 per cent capacity, whichever is lowest; for indoor venues it would be 1,000 maximum or 50 per cent capacity, whichever is lowest.

Organised indoor sports for adults could also resume.

Step 4 - June 21 at the earliest

Full capacity venues possible dependent on the success of pilot events. At that step, the intention is to "remove all legal limits on social contact".

What does this mean for VX?

If you work in schools – contact the school to check their timescale for restarting VX, whether it is in school time or as after school clubs.

Phase 2 April 12: Indoor sport has not restarted but children can attend any indoor activity including sport therefore junior sessions can restart. However we strongly recommend that the Covid precautions that were in place before are maintained.

Phase 3 May 17: Clubs can restart their adult sessions. We strongly recommend that the Covid precautions that were in place before are maintained at this stage.

New International Partnership for Global VX

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 14:29:21 GMT

Global VX partners with Sports Aid Network

Although Covid has hit grassroots sport hard with clubs, competitions and school sessions being cancelled, developments have continued behind the scenes in VX. The first of those developments now comes to fruition as Global VX announce a new partnership with the Uganda based international organisation Sports Aid Network. In a further development Global VX’s Managing Director, Dr Paul Hildreth, has been invited to lead the UK arm of the organisation.

Sports Aid Network is an international organisation dedicated to enriching the lives of young people through sport. They cross international boundaries to deliver hope and use sport as the medium for improving lives. Although the headquarters are in Uganda, SAN operates in six African countries and has arms and partners in many other countries. Sports Aid Network (UK) will be the latest addition.

Examples of SAN activities are fund-raising to build sports fields and football fields and centres so that communities have facilities to continue using. They also run Life Skills and Youth Leadership Programmes, using sport combined with a set curriculum. SAN organise and run sports tournaments and work in schools and refugee settlement camps where they host tournaments encouraging both the young and adults to participate in sporting competitions that increase teamwork, unity, confidence, and happiness. Post-conflict trauma and uprooted lives has made resettlement and rehabilitation for refugees an almost impossible prospect. SAN uses sport, a universal vehicle that, among many other things, most importantly increases health and happiness, to tackle these deep-seeded challenges.

Mr Isaac Ssekamwa, founder and director of Sports Aid Network said: “We are delighted that Dr Hildreth has agreed to represent us in the UK. We have met him on a number of occasions when he has visited Uganda with VX and have seen first hand the power of the sport. We are very keen to use VX as key part of the programmes we deliver here in Africa. It is a sport that brings a unique set of benefits that will be a perfect fit with what we want to do.”

SAN need volunteers, donations and partners. They are looking for public/private schools and corporations , non-profit companies, social enterprises, and individuals to collaborate with. Global VX is one of the first organisations in the UK to become an official SAN partners.

Paul said: “VX is making excellent progress in both Uganda and Kenya and the people who run VX Kenya and VX Uganda are keen to spread the sport through other countries. The impact of VX is a perfect fit for the aims and objectives of Sports Aid Network and I am proud and honoured to have been asked to become involved.”

Sports Aid Network can be found at www.sportsaidnetwork.org

Sports Aid Network UK are at https://www.facebook.com/sportsaidnetworkuk

It's been a year

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 10:33:24 GMT

Exactly a year ago I was with our VX family in Africa

At the end of February 2020 I flew out to help move our VX friends in Kenya and Uganda to the next level. As I left there were indications that some strange virus was approaching from the East, but the country I left in February was as normal as can be. Two weeks later, when I returned the country was transformed.

The trip to Africa itself was very successful - I love it in Kenya and Uganda and I love the people down there. In Kenya I was again hosted by St Peter's Boys School in Mumias which is to be the Kenyan National Centre of Excellence and where a large part of VX Kenya is based. The Head of VX Africa, Robert Bakaze (who incidentally is the person who brought VX to Africa in the first place) came across to join me. The head of St Peter's is the inspirational and influential Cosmas Nabungolo who is the patron of VX Kenya. We ran a training day at St Peter's and then did two days at Shibale where two of the teachers had qualified as coaches on my previous visit. We also visited Kisumu and scouted a venue for a potential future international tournament.

On the Saturday we then ran the first ever inter-school tournament in Kenya, with Shibale running out narrow winners.

From there it was over to Uganda where we were again based at Canaan School in Lugazi. This is where a large part of the Ugandan NGB is based and is also destined to be the Ugandan National Centre of Excellence. There is a group of older kids there who are heavily into VX - an absolutely wonderful bunch of young people. We spent a lot of time developing their skills and qualifying them as coaches so they can work with the awesome David Atayo. As well as the time spent in the school we were also featured on the Ugandan Broadcasting Corporation and took some students to Kampala to compete against players from the university club run by Ugandan International and Head Coach, our good friend, Didus Businghe.

I returned home with lots of plans to build on the trip but I returned to insanity. I arrived back and had a meeting scheduled. I managed to attend the meeting and then the following day everything shut down!

So what have we managed to achieve from this trip and where has Covid stopped us?

Canaan were to set up a VX Club - and they have done this. We have quite a major announcement about this to come in the next couple of weeks. Watch this space.

VX Kenya were in the process of registering with the government. We think this has been completed.

Kenyan and Ugandan players were to have participate in the World Cup - that was cancelled. We still need to decide whether it goes ahead this year or is postponed again to 2022.

We should have hosted a couple of people from Kenyan and 3 from Uganda already but that could not happen due to Covid. We look forward to hosting them as soon as possible

So - most of what came out of that trip is still only a plan:

we look forward to hosting 3 people from Canaan
we look forward to hosting a couple of people from St Peter's
we are looking forward very much to revisiting them asap
we do have an announcement to make about Canaan VX Club - watch this space
both Kenya and Uganda are very keen for an England squad to visit
we have discussed with VX India the possibility of an Indian VX Team playing a test match series against VX Kenya and VX Uganda
we need to look closely at the Covid situation and timescale to make a decision on the World Cup
Cosmas has asked that on one of my visits a couple of top players accompany me.
On the next visit the guys in Kenya and Uganda want to push into Rwanda or Tanzania

The most important thing is - we look forward to visiting again - we miss you guys. It has been a very strange year that has hit us hard but we will be back!

Back into Lockdown

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 15:57:59 GMT

Global VX has asked us to pass on the following announcement

Lockdown

Global VX has been monitoring the Covid situation and issuing guidance to clubs, however the latest announcement from the government means that there will simply be no more VX in the UK (the other home nations are also in lockdown) in the near future. The lockdown is due to be reviewed in mid-February and Global VX will evaluate the situation at that point.

Rules Committee

Global VX have decided that there will be no Rules Committee sitting this year - there has been so little VX played since the last one, that it was felt to be superfluous.

Memberships

As you know, Global VX gave everyone a 3-month break from memberships but this simply got extended as time went on. They had already trialled a new system (for England) with the York Club - everyone renews on Jan 1st. If a new member joins on or before June 30th, they pay a full year but then renew with a full year on Jan 1. If they join after June 30th they pay half a year and then renew on Jan 1. However, as we are in lockdown and there is still no competition or training Global VX are continuing the membership suspension until we can get back.

We do ask you to bear in mind however, that Global VX has lost 100% of its income this year (no membership income, no events, plus all the events that Global VX attend and earn from were cancelled) but when clubs started playing again in September Global VX had to renew the insurance for a year (even though clubs had to stop again after 4 weeks), plus they have ongoing web domain costs which are substantial. Global VX were also refused help by Sport England (no surprise there) so this is making things very difficult for Global VX financially.

This has been a very difficult year for us all and both Global VX and we are aware that we will have to 'reboot' the sport in the UK at some point during the year and we will appreciate any support you can give us in this

Lookback 2020

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Sun, 27 Dec 2020 16:42:11 GMT

Hint - this year's 'Lookback' is going to be a short one ...

The main thing to report this year is the trip to Africa in Feb/March because everything else got cancelled - no school sessions, clubs suspended and all competition cancelled - so no champions.

The year started normally enough - we had heard bits about a virus in China and were concerned for our friends in Hong Kong but apart from that all seemed normal as I flew off to Africa work with our friends in Kenya and Uganda.

I arrived in Kisumu and had a good meeting with a new contact there and we looked at a possible venue for future international events. From there it was back up to Mumias to St Peter's School. We had a busy couple of days there running sessions with the students and then had a couple of days at a school in Shibale - on our previous visit we had qualified a couple of teachers there and they wanted to now introduce the sport to their students so that they could compete against St Peter's.

After a couple of days coaching the students we got both schools together for the first Kenyan Schools Competition. Each school put two teams in and we ran a tournament between the 4 teams with a Shibale team running out winners.

And then it was on to Uganda and back to our friends in Canaan High School in Lugazi. We had worked with a small group of the senior students before and this time they were to lead on coaching other students as part of their coach qualification programme - and they did an awesome job!

Whilst in Uganda we also had meetings with VX Uganda, and VX Africa and were invited into the UBC studios to be featured on a sports programme.

Finally we took some selected students through to Kampala to compete against some students at Makerere University who are coached by our old friend Didus Businghe who is now Head Coach of the Ugandan National VX Squad.

Then it was back home to insanity - restrictions and things closing down. I arrived back on the 16th, had a meeting on the 17th and then everything locked down. Global VX cancelled all competition and took the decision that the World Cup programme would be moved back 12 months - so all VX and V2 leagues stopped - so no champions to compliment this year. All school sessions stopped and all club sessions were suspended. As we came out of lockdown one or two clubs got started again, but this only last 4 weeks or so before everything had to lock down again.

Sadly, VX fell through all the cracks so got zero support from the authorities. Even the £20m fund that Sport England had opened up to help sport - refused to VX, but we are still standing. We took the chance to catch up on some of the backlog, Global VX has been working to become a charity, we have had regular Zoom meetings with VX Africa planning the next visit as they are making big plans over there, we have rebuilt and relaunched our VX International website (still some tweaks to do but at least it is up and running); we have been migrating all of the VX domain names (this has proved to be more time-consuming and complicated than expected) and, thanks to our friend Stuart Stead, have been helping Global VX totally restructure all the Global VX and NGB web offerings (and this has also proved to be more complicated than expected but watch this space). Of course, a lot of time was also taken up sifting through the restrictions to be able to advise clubs as to what they could and couldn't do, producing procedures and updates. We have also been in discussions with Pete from the North East who is now ready to hit the ground running when things improve. More to report soon, we hope! Finally, the guys in Hong Kong continue to push forward and as part of that we now have a new Ambassador for VX - the lovely Natalie Chan has taken on the role!

So - just a short 'look back' this year. It has certainly been a strange year that has hit us very hard and we know we will need to reboot in 2021.

It just remains to say a big thank you to all of our players, volunteers, officers and coaches around the world for their involvement and for their efforts on behalf of our amazing sport. Thank you to all those people who support us and what we do.

Happy Christmas

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 12:51:21 GMT

We wish VX-ers everywhere a Happy Christmas and a vXcellent New Year

It has been a very srange year for everyone and it has been very difficult for VX - all competition was cancelled, all school sessions were cancelled and all club sessions were suspended. Some clubs got started again but 4 weeks later had to shut down again.

We have been working hard in the background and have made some progress and hope soon to have some announcements to make

We wonder what 2021 will bring and will monitor the situation but we look forward to being able to reboot and rebuild.

We thank you all for your patience, forbearance and involvement. Without you VX would be nothing.

So - thank you all for being part of VX. Thank you for your efforts and involvement in making our sport what it is.

We wish you all a happy and peaceful Christmas and a healthy, happy and successful 2021

Welcome to the new website

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 15:49:35 GMT

The new website is here at last

We are delighted to have finally been able to revamp the website from the ground up and hope that it will be more informative and easier to navigate for you.

We have added more items to the FAQs, added more photos to the products in the store and have added more information about the sport in general. We also hope that purchasing from the store will be easier and even more secure than before. We have also created dedicated sections about VX in education.

We plan to add more products into the store in the coming days and we also plan to include downloadable resources. Some of them are ours and for the others we have been granted permission from our partners Global VX to include them on our site. These should be available very soon.

Best of all - with the new site we can have more images and videos so if you are new to VX you should find the answers to all your questions here. If not - please feel free to get in touch: info@vxinternational.com

GoToHealth

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 17:15:07 GMT

GoToHealth UK - a new fitness, wellness and sport community portal

We are delighted to be a founder member of the new innovative GoToHealthUK community portal. To start with it will be focussed on providing the service to Surrey. It is a one-stop shop for sports, wellness and health needs in Surrey. Users can find trusted providers, read reviews and blogs and get coupons to save money.

You can find them

- on Facebook on https://www.facebook.com/GoToHealthUK

- on Twitter on https://twitter.com/GoToHealth_UK

- on Instagram on

Good luck to everyone at GoToHealth UK - it's a great initiative!

Paul Interviewed for the Small Business Saturday 2020 Tour

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 15:46:00 GMT

Have a listen to the interview on www.watchvx.tv

Small Business Saturday UK do a tour round the country every year. Normally this is a real tour with a real bus but due to the impact of Covid-19 the 2020 tour is a virtual tour.

Small Business Saturday is a grass-roots, non-political, non-commercial campaign that encourages people to support small businesses in their communities, both on the Saturday itself and beyond. The campaign also aims to support, inspire and promote small business all year round.

The initiative started in 2010 in the US, and has generated a lot of custom for small businesses. The campaign is now in its fourth year in the UK.

Our nation's small businesses provide almost two thirds of private sector employment and almost half of private sector turnover.

You can find them on Facebook on https://www.facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturdayUK

and you can find the interview with Paul on watchvx.tv

And it all shuts down again

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 15:08:07 GMT

So with the latest lockdown everything in the UK grinds to a halt ...

More severe restrictions have been announced for the UK meaning that those clubs that had got started now have to cease operations again.

Some clubs had not managed to start anyway - generally because their venues were not available, however a handful of clubs had started their sessions again.

The most recent restrictions had sadly forced those clubs to stop their training sessions again. The predicted date for the lifting of the latest lockdown is Dec 2nd but we are aware that the situation is still very volatile and we will just have to keep an eye on things.

We are, however, glad to report, that things are moving well in Hong Kong, and that clubs are up and running again. VX Hong Kong have plans for further development. Watch this space ...

Are we seeing a restart?

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 16:21:58 GMT

We are delighted to hear that some clubs are managing to start training again

We hear from a few clubs that they have managed to start training again - albeit with reduced numbers and implementing the restrictions advised by the NGB. This involves extending the personal zone to 2m and enforcing it more rigidly, maintaining social distance and hand hygiene and playing adapted versions of the sport and using more coach-led activities. Those clubs with more adult players are also having to restrict the number of adults to 6.

Clearly the numbers are depleted as activities have been suspended for so long and some players will understandably be nervous about starting again just yet.

Some clubs haven't been able to start at all. One of them has been training outdoors as none of the venues in their area is planning to open before January, but as the weather worsens their activities are now being curtailed. Some clubs that train in squash courts are also not yet being allowed to start back.

Also, as the weather worsens, we fully expect the Covid situation to deteriorate and more restrictions to be imposed. Global VX tell us that for this precise reason, all competition remains suspended. As there is the limit of 6 over-18s, England training sessions also remain suspended and there are no coach qualification sessions planned until the situation eases.

From our own perspective, our work in schools remains suspended as they wish to wait until half term to see what the situation is like. We look forward very much to being able to resume school sessions.

In the meantime, there is plenty to keep us busy and we are delighted to see some clubs managing to make a start on their sessions again.

New Ambassador for VX

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 16:03:18 GMT

October 7 2020: We've just heard from Global VX that a new VX Ambassador has been appointed

We would like to offer our heartfelt congratulations to Natalie Chan from Hong Kong who has been appointed VX Ambassador by Global VX. Natalie was one of the first people to take up VX when it was introduced in Hong Kong and has become a very pro-active and influential figure in the sport, both coaching and as an officer of VX Hong Kong. Natalie travels widely and works with marketing companies and is keen to use her experience, abilities and contacts to spread the word about VX.

This is a real recognition of Natalie's efforts on behalf of VX and also real recognition of the progress VX Hong Kong have made in growing the sport in their area. Well done and congratulations to all of you

Everything's on hold ...

183:845494776 (Paul Hildreth) — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 14:56:23 GMT

April 23 2020: These are strange times as the Covid-19 virus spreads across the world.

Global VX and other VX administrative bodies have suspended all activity. The World Cup programme is being put back a year - so Hong Kong will host in 2021, Scotland in 2022. The European Championships for 2020 have been cancelled outright. Clubs have suspended all their activities, and UK tournaments have been cancelled or postponed. But VX will bounce back - as soon as we come out the other side things will fire up and VX will continue its growth and spread. There are lots of things happening in the background during this period to continue developing the sport. We hope you are all safe and sound and we look forward to seeing you on the other side

Paul named as first Orfi Hero

websitebuilder@1and1.de — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 16:25:02 GMT

Jan 24 2020. We were delighted that Orfi Active named Paul as their first 'Orfi Hero'

This is what they said: "Paul is responsible for founding the sport of VX International and in the process, has helped countless people around the world become active and healthy."

For the whole story, check out their latest blog. ��

https://www.orfiactive.com/post/orfi-heroes-paul-hildreth