For the past month, a group has been meeting at the CRRC every Monday afternoon to try out a relatively obscure sport called walking soccer. The initiative is the brainchild of Martin Ward, who first heard of the sport from his mother in England. There, it’s known as walking football.

“It’s a huge sport there,” Ward says. “She said, ‘You should try walking football. Surely they have it over there.’ So I researched it a bit and found out that there was nothing in Manitoba.”

To Ward’s surprise, though, there is a Canadian Walking Soccer Association, as well as clubs in a few other provinces. Quite a few of them can be found in Ontario.

The association’s website describes walking soccer as “a modified non-contact sport that involves rule changes from the standard game to promote health and safety in a fun, recreational setting.”

As the name suggests, running isn’t allowed. As a matter of fact, in tournament play, it’s cause for a penalty. One foot must remain on the ground at all times, similar to professional speedwalking.

Other requirements of walking soccer are that players avoid physical contact as much as possible and shots or passes cannot be above knee level.

Ward has been actively involved in sports for most of his life. Unfortunately, following a recent knee surgery, he was told to refrain from running. For this reason, the discovery of walking soccer felt timely for him.

“I’m allowed to walk as long as I’m not doing those pounding movements,” says Ward. “For anyone that’s had knee or hip replacement surgery, it’s one of the best cardiovascular sports out there. It’s comparable to pickleball in that you get a really good workout because you’re walking pretty fast and changing direction. It challenges your overall balance and movement.”

Upon further research, he discovered that the sport had benefits beyond just gentleness on the joints. In England, where the sport first became popular a decade ago, it has been demonstrated to benefit those with neurological issues and cardiovascular diseases.

Ward and his wife Heather decided to invest in a little personal research. They hopped in the car and headed west, making stops in Saskatoon and Lethbridge to check out active walking soccer clubs.

“We dropped in on the Lethbridge club and had a fantastic time,” Ward says. “They were very welcoming. We actually met three people there that had gone over to England and played in the initial World Nations Cup of walking soccer.”

After that, the Wards headed to England to visit family. It is said that more than a thousand walking football clubs exist in the United Kingdom. The Wards played some games in his sister’s hometown.

“They included older people with dementia, with Parkinson’s and other neurological conditions,” says Ward. “It’s the highlight of their week. They get together and get this physical activity. A lot of them say when they play walking soccer they don’t feel like they have symptoms for a few hours afterward.”

This fall, Ward headed to the CRRC to speak with the staff about including walking soccer in their sports offerings. They were incredibly receptive, he says.

For now, walking soccer is being offered as an open gym program from 1:30 to 2:30 every Monday afternoon. With a CRRC membership, attendance is free. Without a membership, there’s a nominal drop-in fee. No registration is required and it’s open to all ages, genders, and skill levels.

So far, Ward says they’ve had up to seven players come out at a time, which allows for three players per side plus one sub. These included a retired police officer, a retired farmer, and a seminary professor from Providence University College.

Still, Ward says there’s so much room for growth as people try it out and discover just how much fun it can be.

First, it’s a matter of getting people to take the sport seriously.

“The problem is, when we talk to people, they say, ‘You’re joking, right? Walking soccer is not a thing.’”

Ward is not deterred, though, and believes it’s just a matter of time. He’s recently discovered groups in Winnipeg and Steinbach who are also trying to promote the sport. If all goes well, Ward says there may eventually be a walking soccer league which includes teams from around the province.

“In England they call it the new pickleball. It’s actually much more popular there than pickleball is now.”

In 2023, England held the first World Nations Cup for walking soccer. This year, Spain hosted the games. Canada sent four teams who competed in different age and gender categories.

CBC’s Matt Galloway hosted a podcast called “Move Over Pickleball: Have You Tried Walking Soccer?” He interviews coach Kerrin Hands and player Faisal Ahmed of the Canadian Men’s over-50 team.

“The comment I hear most often from people that try it for the first time is, ‘I love it!’ says Hands. “That’s a pretty strong statement.”

Ahmed goes on to describe what he loves about the game. It’s fast-paced, he says, despite what the name suggests. It’s a fun way to experience high-intensity interval training without boring treadmills or weights.

Those who play the sport, they say, are most often between the ages of 40 and 80 something. Many of them thought their years of enjoying sports were behind them, until they discovered walking soccer.