Join Finn Macdiarmid with a roundup of Kent's sporting action: on today's episode, we're joined by a man who ran 175 kilometres with his best friend to raise awareness for testicular cancer.
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00:00Hello and welcome along to Invictus Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:26up all of Kent's sporting action.
00:28I'm Finn McDiarmid and here's what you can expect on Monday 2nd December.
00:34Climbing the cliff, Dover narrowly miss out on a win at home but still top the Isthmian
00:38table.
00:39Turkey touchdown, we meet the Medway student having his last away day Thanksgiving game
00:44right here in Kent.
00:48And Action Replay will show you all the best pics and clips sent in by you taking part
00:51in some Kent sport.
00:55Tonight though, Gillingham didn't have a game this weekend as you'll find out in our football
00:58round-up but the pressure is still on to perform against Bromley this week after they lost
01:03at home against Harrogate Town.
01:05According to defender Connor Masterson, the brief break has meant the team has had meetings
01:09with defenders, midfields and forwards about where they can improve and develop.
01:13This comes after they were booed off the Priestfield pitch.
01:15But in slightly lighter news for the Gilles, 19-year-old striker Joe Gabode could go out
01:19on loan in January as the youth product has only played 17 games for the senior team and
01:24was an unused sub in the last three.
01:26Bonner says he's the only homegrown player that isn't out on loan or a scholar.
01:31Next, the Invicta Dynamos had an up-and-down weekend after beating Milton Keynes Thunder
01:3616 points to 2 but going on to lose to the Chelmsford Chieftains 8-2.
01:41The Moes coach Carl Lennon said it was a comfortable win and that he hoped the side would carry
01:44some momentum and confidence into their next game the following day but he admitted it
01:48may have just made them complacent.
01:50They now have a two-week break to give their squad a breather as many are currently carrying
01:54injuries.
01:55Before they return to the ice, they'll be back Saturday December 14th at home to Cardiff
01:58Fire.
01:59And I'm sorry for everyone living in Medway but it's just more heartbreak for Medway teams
02:03this week as the rugby club suffered a third loss this season when they went to Beckenham.
02:08It wasn't just the points they missed out on.
02:10The Jim Kennedy Memorial Trophy was another prize but after a mostly even start with seven
02:15points each, Beckenham managed to squeeze their way into a two-point lead just before
02:18the break.
02:19And it was a physical second stint with yellow cards shown across both ends but a third try
02:23and a conversion left them with a nine-point hill to climb.
02:27They did manage to gain some ground with a penalty and Max Bullock's try meant they were
02:30in sight of a win.
02:31But after some more seesawing, a Beckenham conversion meant defeat for Medway.
02:37Now let's take a look back at this weekend's football results.
02:39Well, Gillingham are gameless, they're still awaiting that clash with Bromley later in
02:43the week.
02:44Elsewhere, Chatham Town, get this, netted a 7-1 victory away at Bocna Regis continuing
02:48their impressive streak of scoring.
02:50In the last two fixtures alone, they've come away with 12 goals and only conceded the one.
02:57Meanwhile, table toppers Dover had everything to play for when they hosted second place
03:00Cray Valley Paper Mills.
03:04And here we are again, welcome to this week's football roundup.
03:07And now that we're coming into the Christmas season, we've been gifted with some lovely
03:11Kentish football to kick it off, starting with a title race match in the Isthmian Premier.
03:15Well, Dover were home at the Krabbel Stadium hoping to extend their unbeaten run of seven
03:20to eight games with a win.
03:22They hosted Cray Valley Paper Mills, who have been snapping at their heels all season long.
03:26Well, the Whites crowd didn't have to wait long, Luca Coccoraccio muscled possession
03:30back, crossing it to Georges Nakaj, who headed a cross goal where stand-in captain Ruben
03:34Soares Jr. delivered an overhead kick, putting the Whites 1-0 up.
03:39The first half ended with Athletic 1-0 up, but it was still anyone's game.
03:44Only 20 seconds after the clock was started again, Dover came out just a bit too eager,
03:49fouling a Paper Mills forward in the box and giving away a penalty.
03:53But it was yet more heartbreak for the away fans, as Freddie Parker's shot narrowly bounced
03:57off the post.
03:58Dover continued to press the opposing defenders high, but they lost the ball in a vulnerable
04:02position.
04:03And the Millers took full advantage, chaining pass after pass to the feet of Impact sub
04:07Matthew Vigar, who brought them back into the game with a smooth tap-in right at the
04:11net.
04:12And you've got to question Bocchia Sarfo here.
04:13Cray Valley equalled the scoreline in the 87th minute, and the Dover squad are looking
04:18at their boots as the boys in blue celebrate.
04:21Now everyone in the Krabble was expecting a draw at this point, but in this seventh
04:24minute of extra time, Soares Jr. found himself in space and just slotted a calm ball across
04:30to the box for Roman Charles Cook to hit it first time past Ovenden.
04:34And the Whites felt like they had three points waiting for them at the end of the match,
04:37like a present under the tree.
04:40But it didn't turn out to be the Christmas miracle they had hoped for.
04:43Only a minute later, in the 98th minute, and the Millers recovered the ball, sending a
04:48high pass towards goal, landing at the feet of Adam Coombs, who'd just played it off
04:52to Mohamed Idris Oshiladja.
04:54Well the Whites will be so disappointed there that they didn't collect three points.
04:59Elsewhere in the Isthmian Premier, Folkestone travelled to Whitehawk only to lose to a single
05:03goal.
05:04And Chatham Town continue scoring just for fun, it looks like.
05:07They netted seven to Bognor Regis Town's one away.
05:12And here's the table.
05:13Dover keep their top spot, their five points, ahead of Cray Valley Paper Mills.
05:17Chatham are just kept out of the top five thanks to that loss.
05:20Dartford hit ninth, while Chatham are in tenth.
05:22Now it's only going to be a brief stop at League Two, since the Gilles didn't have a
05:26game this week.
05:27They stay at 11th with 23 points, and they'll face Bromley away on Wednesday.
05:32Then heading down to the National League, Ebbsfleet held Boston United to a 0-0 draw,
05:36which could prove crucial in their survival fight, as they try and claw their way out
05:40of the bottom of the table.
05:42Here it is, they'll need to add to their single win of the season if they want to come off
05:45of 24th place dead last.
05:49And finally, in the National League, South Maidstone only managed a draw against a St.
05:53Albans side that's been struggling in the lower end of the table so far, while Tunbridge
05:57had more success, netting a 1-0 victory away at Weymouth.
06:01And here's the table.
06:02Tunbridge only have a point over Maidstone, but the Stones do have a chance to overtake
06:06them with a fixture away against Averley on the second.
06:10And that's all for this week's Football Roundup.
06:12As always, see you next week for all of Kent's very finest footballing action.
08:43Yeah, recovered well.
08:44It's three months, I couldn't do any heavy lifting or exercise, so all through summer
08:50I was just really trying to focus on sort of recovering, get myself back to my normal
08:55sort of state of fitness, as well as I could just through walking.
09:00And yeah, that's healed up really well.
09:01Like I said, I obviously had my right testicle removed, you had the option to have a silicone
09:07all put in by Optics, but not purely just, I did a bit of research online and thought
09:12that probably isn't something that I wanted.
09:15So yeah, just got the one testicle now.
09:18And yeah, this month we've been doing, I've been doing 5k a day.
09:23So I've really built my fitness back up to sort of the best I've ever been at really.
09:28That's brilliant.
09:29I was going to bring that up.
09:30So you ran 175.1 kilometres.
09:34Talk us through that.
09:35What was that?
09:36What was that feeling like?
09:37Oh, amazing.
09:38I mean, like I said, I've been doing it for three months leading up to this, so I thought
09:42hopefully I'll last the first week and I don't, I don't damage my legs too much.
09:48I wasn't really worried about burning myself out too quickly, but I didn't go in too hard.
09:51I started off fairly comfortably.
09:53I think my first run was around 29 minutes.
09:58And by the end of the month, I got my IPB down to 23 minutes and seven seconds.
10:03So I wanted to get sub 25 and I absolutely smashed it.
10:06So I was so happy with that.
10:08Brilliant.
10:09And talk to us a bit about have you got the balls?
10:11It's all to do with Movember.
10:13It's you and your friend Niall, is that right?
10:15That's correct.
10:16Yeah, me and my best friend Niall.
10:19So it all started off, I was always going to do something for Movember for this month
10:23anyway, and sort of toying with a few ideas with Niall for next year, some fundraising
10:28for sort of to testicular cancer.
10:31And I had a message back one morning, Niall's on his way to work, he said I've had the biggest
10:36brainwave ever.
10:37And he said, we need to start, we're going to start a cancer awareness fundraising campaign.
10:43I've come up with the best name for it, have you got the balls?
10:46And it sort of just snowballed from there really, we both were really excited about
10:51it.
10:52And I think the main thing was I wanted to turn something so negative into something
10:55positive, not only for myself, but to really show other young men, I'm only 28, no one
11:01really expects you to get cancer at 28.
11:05So it was more about just really getting out there, making people sort of realise that
11:12you should go to, if there's something wrong with you, you should go to the doctors, get
11:16checked out.
11:17So yeah, so have you got the balls started, something like that really.
11:21So yeah, we've done this for Movember this month, and we're carrying on fundraising for
11:25Movember to the end of the year.
11:26And then we've got a lot of things lined up for next year.
11:29So hopefully we can keep the money coming in for different men's cancer charities.
11:35Brilliant, that's amazing.
11:36Thank you so much for joining us, Curtis, and good luck with everything and enjoy your
11:39holiday.
11:42Now, we've reached half time, which means it's time for a break, but coming up, we'll
11:46have a look back at the plans for Margate's own skate park and talk about some American
11:50football.
11:51Thanks for watching and we'll see you in just a second.
15:04And welcome back to Invicta Sport live on KMTV.
15:11Now it's time to remind you, you can keep up to date with all the latest sports news,
15:15interviews and features from here on Invicta Sport by heading to our website, that's kmtv.co.uk
15:20and clicking on the Sport tab.
15:21There you'll see videos like this one about plans for a skate park in Margate.
15:25Yesterday, a council meeting was held on whether or not to introduce a skate park to the Margate
15:30town, and it seems like it will go ahead.
15:33The council have decided that they will retain ownership of the seafront site and aim to
15:38promote sustainability, safety and community involvement in the area with the new addition.
15:43They will collaborate with Margate's Skate Club and hope that it inspires other towns
15:47in the district to follow in their footsteps.
15:50What it is, is that by putting a skate park in an area, it gives kids something to do.
15:56So rather than them going out and smashing windows, they might, they will get into skateboarding.
16:02Giving kids something to do stops them becoming, you know, getting involved with any social behaviour.
16:08Just having something where you can go to a skate park for like 8-12 hours a day, skate all day,
16:13socialise, you know, it's good for your mental health, it's good for your physical health,
16:17and it's also good for like, you know, learning social skills and they become valuable later on
16:24when you, you know, work, stuff like that, you know.
16:27Efforts will be made to minimise carbon emissions and ensure the site is accessible
16:31and welcoming to all, aiming to foster inclusivity and reduce discrimination.
16:37From car parks to seafronts, this is where plans for the new skate park may go ahead.
16:42The project has funding of almost a million pounds
16:46and includes things like toilets and a new food area.
16:49And after speaking to some locals, it seems that many of them are excited and feel positive
16:54for the possibility of the new addition in this area.
16:57You have a skate park near where I live and it works quite well, it's a focal point for the youth,
17:01it gives, you know, it's good activity, it's outdoors, it's not a year-round thing,
17:05so you have to consider what's going to happen in the wintertime.
17:07I think it's a good idea to have them because it gives kids an outlet to,
17:13you know, express themselves and get into a hobby and
17:16go have somewhere to go rather than complaining that they've got nowhere to go.
17:19So yeah, go for it.
17:21Go for it, I say. It's only a good thing. Who knows, you might get an Olympian out.
17:25Exactly.
17:26As the town prepares for the possibility of the new arrival,
17:29it seems like they will be getting more than they bargained for,
17:32with an added £35,000 to improve the surrounding area
17:36to help improve safety and well-being with improved lighting, railings and CCTV.
17:47Now that we're in the Christmas season across the country,
17:50more and more people will have their mind on the holidays.
17:52But not everyone gets to experience these yearly traditions with their family.
17:55Last week was Thanksgiving,
17:57and I had the chance to join in on an American living in Medway
18:00who uses American football to fend off homesickness
18:03and to bring people, especially international students, closer together.
18:07The University of Kent has one of the highest number of international students,
18:11but across the country, less and less foreign students are coming to UK universities.
18:16One American student found that he missed being back home,
18:19especially on Thanksgiving, a very family-oriented day.
18:22So he organised an annual game of American football
18:25with his friends and other foreign students who might be missing home.
18:31They call it the Turkey Bowl,
18:32and it's a way for American students living in Medway
18:34to just feel a bit more at home during the holidays.
18:37Some of those classic Thanksgiving features,
18:39turkey, breaking the wishbone and, of course, being thankful.
18:42Well, I'm going to be thankful for this nice, big, warm coat.
18:48Brendan is from Washington DC
18:49and is now in his last year of his bachelor's degree.
18:52So this means it's the last annual Turkey Bowl.
18:55I asked him what Thanksgiving is normally like across the pond.
18:58Well, you know, it's really special being back in the US with your family.
19:02You hang out with your cousins all day.
19:04You wake up, first thing you do, you play American football.
19:07Then you go home, you watch American football
19:09and then you eat dinner while watching American football.
19:12It's those types of things that you get to do with your dad,
19:15you get to do with your cousins,
19:16that I didn't realise how much I would miss when I got here.
19:20People I started with aren't here anymore,
19:21which is really sad, but, you know, more people have come in.
19:25So it's a new thing.
19:26It might be the last Turkey Bowl here involving me,
19:29but I think the legacy after me, it'll continue without me.
19:32He added that Thanksgiving in America is a massive celebration across the country
19:36and he remembers fond memories of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York,
19:40dinners with the extended family and, like he mentioned, a lot of American football.
19:45Back to the Turkey Bowl.
19:46Even students from outside the United States
19:48enjoy the community feel that the game can offer.
19:51Like Konstantin from Germany.
19:53Yes, of course.
19:53Normally I celebrate Thanksgiving with my family,
19:56but they're not here obviously,
19:58so I'm happy to be here, celebrate with my friends here
20:02and I'm really comfortable doing it.
20:04It feels very included, I really like it,
20:07especially because you have stuff to do
20:08and you get out and meet friends,
20:10so you're not like sitting in a room and doing nothing.
20:12So I really like it.
20:14Seeing them, I thought I should give it a go,
20:16but not packing cleats ended up being a mistake.
20:19Well, I've had a few goes now,
20:21I don't think I'm going to make the NFL any time soon.
20:23Finn McDermott for KMTV in Medway.
20:28Well, Brendan joined me in the studio earlier.
20:31Brendan, tell me a bit about the difference between sport here in the UK
20:35and the kind of way you treat it back in the US,
20:38especially at that kind of high school level,
20:40just to get an idea of how seriously you guys take sport.
20:43Yeah, absolutely.
20:44So I played basketball for a couple of years,
20:47so I played for my varsity soccer football team back in high school.
20:52And for senior night, we had probably around 200, 300 people coming on to our game.
20:58And we sing the national anthem before the game,
21:00and I think that was one of the most special moments of my entire life,
21:04is having my hand on my heart,
21:06looking at the American flag with 250 plus people watching.
21:10And then when they announce your name,
21:13Brendan Papp, number eight, starting in midfield today.
21:16And then the crowd goes crazy.
21:18It was one of the most amazing feelings I think I've ever had,
21:21walking onto that field.
21:23And also for basketball, we were in high school,
21:27one of the best basketball programs in the country.
21:30Our jump for that is massive.
21:32So you get way more than 250 people for those games.
21:37That stadium isn't big enough for the amount of people that go.
21:40So then coming off of that,
21:41and now I think you play Sunday League football, don't you?
21:45What's the comparison there?
21:47Yeah, you don't get 10 people to come watch your games,
21:51but it's a lot more fun.
21:53In American sports, you don't get anyone smoking on the sidelines during halftime.
21:59But it's a lot easier, I think.
22:01A lot more of a sport is a leisure activity here in the UK.
22:06Now, onto the Turkey Bowl.
22:08Obviously, we just saw some practice there.
22:10Tell us a bit about how that started.
22:12What was the thought process behind it?
22:13Yeah, so I have a friend from Boston, Massachusetts here.
22:17And we were talking about doing a Thanksgiving here in England.
22:19And we both have the same tradition of having a Turkey Bowl.
22:23You wake up in the morning,
22:23the first thing you do is go play some American football.
22:26And so we decided to invite all of our British friends.
22:29We started getting them into the sport over the last couple of months anyways.
22:32So it was very easy to get a good amount of people to come out
22:35and play the sport during the day.
22:37It was a lot of fun.
22:38Brilliant.
22:39And this is your third annual year of doing it.
22:43Talk me through it.
22:44What was it like trying to introduce people to American football
22:47that might have never played?
22:48There was a lot of scepticism.
22:49A lot of people really did not want to play the sport.
22:52But once they started watching it, and it's a confusing sport to watch.
22:55Once you start to understand it, you're like,
22:57this is actually a really fun sport to watch.
22:59And once they play it, they're like, wow, this is a really fun sport to play.
23:03There's a lot of different aspects on it.
23:05There's a lot of IQ goes into the sport, not just running around.
23:11It's a lot of using your intelligence for it.
23:13Brilliant.
23:14And as we saw there, I gave it a go.
23:16And I don't think I really gave it justice.
23:19I think I could have played better.
23:20Bit of a slip.
23:21Yeah, we had a bit of a slip.
23:22I'm sure that will get replayed in the office quite a bit.
23:27Now, you mentioned how much football you play in the States,
23:31especially on Thanksgiving.
23:33And do you feel that it's becoming more of an international sport,
23:37not just at the kind of the Turkey Bowl level at that local level,
23:40but now UK stadiums are hosting NFL matches
23:43and universities like Kent have these American football teams.
23:47What do you think about that?
23:48Well, it's really interesting you bring it up.
23:49Roger Goodell, who's the NFL's commissioner,
23:51is talking about having 11 international games next year,
23:55including games in Spain.
23:57And Madrid is going to be one of them in the new Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
24:01So it's definitely growing very well, especially in Germany,
24:05where my friend Konstantin, he's from there.
24:07He's talking about how much of his friends actually are starting to watch the sport now.
24:11So it really is growing very quickly in Europe.
24:13I went to a game in Tottenham Stadium last year for the Baltimore Ravens.
24:17That stadium was packed and it was very well done.
24:21It felt like I was back in the US, even though I was in the middle of London.
24:24That is really interesting.
24:25Well, I think that is all we have time for.
24:27Well, thank you so much for joining us, Brendan.
24:29Well, thank you for having me.
24:31Now we've reached full time on today's episode,
24:33but there's just a few minutes of extra time to take a look at this week's Action Replay.
24:37It's the segment where we take a look at clips and pictures that you,
24:39the KMTV audience, might have sent in of you taking part in sport.
24:43Well, let's see what we've got in store on this week's Action Replay.
24:47First up on tonight's Action Replay,
24:50Gravesend's Trish Bailey will be among amateurs fighting on the Kent Charity Boxing Show.
24:56Trish has been working hard training for her second amateur boxing match,
25:01and she says boxing has transformed her mental health.
25:05She says it's done wonders for her to be doing something that not only helps herself,
25:10but other people.
25:11We wish her the best of luck with her upcoming tournament.
25:15Up next, the University of Kent handball teams competed in their first
25:19box tournament of this season.
25:21The girls' team travelled to the University of Burnau, and the boys over to Leighton.
25:26Despite both teams losing their first matches, they kept their heads up high,
25:31with the girls winning their second match 9-5 and the boys 13-10.
25:35A massive congratulations to them!
25:38And finally, 67-year-old Colin Larkin from Ashford is competing in the
25:44World Taekwondo Championships, all the way in Hong Kong.
25:48Larkin began Taekwondo in 1972, but took a break and returned in 2014.
25:55Currently, he competes for Great Britain.
25:58The national champion is a part of a three-man team,
26:01and he'll be competing against individuals from places such as America and Argentina.
26:06He has his sights set on coming back to Kent with a medal.
26:09All the best to Colin and his team!
26:12That's it for tonight's Action Replay.
26:14And remember, next time it could be you.
26:17Just send your videos to social media or to sport at kmtv.co.uk.
26:24And it looks like that's full time on today's episode of Invictus Sport,
26:27and if you want more from KMTV, you can head over to our website, that's kmtv.co.uk,
26:33where all of our special shows are available to watch back on demand.
26:37Don't forget to follow us on our social media, at kmtv underscore Kent.
26:41Thanks so much for watching, and I'll see you soon.
26:57you