THREE years ago Anne Bispham would not have imagined walking onto the Raiders ground with the players while wearing a cheerleader outfit.
Yet that is just one of the many exciting things that the Silver Raiders get to participate in.
The walking rugby group is aimed at people aged fifty and over but has members who are in their 40s and 70s. The group was set up as an Advantage programme, which is a Barrow Raiders community outreach scheme.
The group, which Anne, 78, says fluctuates between eight to 10 people, participate in walking rugby. This is a variant of rugby where the players are not allowed to tackle or dive, and can only walk. However, the sport provides good exercise for its participants.
They play walking rugby on the ground and they meet and train with Raiders players and coaches.
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The Silver Raiders not only play walking rugby but now play their own part in fundraising for other Advantage programmes. The members create raffles for home games to raise money for Able Raiders, which is a group for adults with learning and physical disabilities.
This is how Anne found herself walking onto the pitch.
She said: "As a joke, I said to the chairman's wife that we will come as cheerleaders, but she said it was a good idea. I said 'oh no.' We walked on with the rugby players before the match. It was quite an honour really. I had never been in a rugby ground until three years ago when I started this. The atmosphere was fantastic."
Anne is starting to set up more activities with the Silver Raiders, such as a country and western event recently. She also participates in Rambling Raiders, a walking group that goes on accessible walks at Biggar Bank, the Dock Museum and the Abbey.
Afterwards, they meet for a coffee which Anne said was important: "We've done some lovely walks. I've met a lot of new people. We got for a coffee for an hour afterwards and there's a really good community spirit."
She said that the walking groups enable people who feel isolated to connect with each other.
Both Silver Raiders and Rambling Raiders can be found on Facebook, and are open to new members.
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