Here is one of the best pieces of news this website has received recently: The Friends of Herne Hill Velodrome have created a version of Sean Martin’s game Match Sprint that they gave to their members as a 2023 Christmas present. These kind of things make me proud of all the work done keeping this website over the years. Of course, I do not do this as "work" but as a source of pleasure, but still, I have to admit that it takes a lot of time, so I guess that, in a sense, it can be considered -unpaid- work.

Did I say "unpaid"? Actually, it is not so: THIS is my reward. First of all, receiving an email from an elementary school teacher living in (almost) the other end of the world explaining that he has created a cycling game to compel students to think about numbers and probability, and giving me the possibility of offering it as a free print-and-play game. And then, a decade later, learning that someone found this game interesting enough to make their own physical version.

 

 

The Friends of Herne Hill Velodrome (FHHV) is a cycling club based at the historic outdoor velodrome in Herne Hill, London. Their primary purpose is to support the Herne Hill Velodrome through raising and providing funds, organising social events and volunteering. Though I am afraid it has seen better times, and may not be well-known outside the UK, the Herne Hill Velodrome is one of the oldest cycling tracks in the world. It was opened in 1891 and even hosted the 1948 Olympic track cycling events.



 

 

The game is printed on a small (21 x 14.9 cms) plastified board. It includes two counters and a pair of dice.

 

 

Sean Martin's wonderfully simple rules are printed on the board

On the back of the board we find a selection of Herne Hill's golden years' posters

Close up of some of these reproductions. The one on the right depicts the 5-time sprint world champion Reg Harris.