Bridge The Gap National Tournament

It’s all for fun but football is always competitive. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 320.

Last week I mentioned at the end of my blog about the importance of using my skills as a photographer to give something back. That particular weekend was amusing in that I was to photograph two sports related mental health charities two days in a row. Though I should say I was paid a small amount of money for this football tournament I certainly didn’t do it for the money.

Players arriving in the morning. 1/2500s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.

BTG staff were on hand to sign-in the teams. 1/1600s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.

The whole aim of BTG is to foster a community of men who support each other. 1/1600s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.

But before we get into that, what exactly is Bridge the Gap (BTG)? It’s a Christian mental health charity dedicated to creating local footballing communities across the country. Predominantly for young men aged eighteen to thirty, it aims to create a brotherhood and sense of belonging amongst its members to help themselves and others. Creating space for men to talk about their challenges in life with those who may be going through the same thing and ultimately trying to bring down the sad and shocking statistic that suicide is the leading cause of death amongst men under the age of forty-five. Though it doesn’t necessarily lead with religion in its sessions, it is connected to churches across the country, as a way to present themselves to the wider public beyond the normal Sunday service.

The DJ kept the tunes cranking all day long. 1/3200s 35mm F1.4 ISO 64.

The main stand had plenty of merchandise for sale to further raise money for the charity. 1/6400s 35mm F1.4 ISO 200.

Warm-up. 1/8000s 35mm F2.2 ISO 220.

Tristan, the founder and CEO of BTG, briefing all the team captains. 1/2500s 35mm F2.2 ISO 64.

Throughout the season sessions run once a week for an hour and players are split up into 7-a-side teams. Though football is always competitive it’s ultimately just for fun and everyone is playing regardless of ability, which wouldn’t always be the case if you tried to join your local team. With sites across England and Wales there’s likely to be one near you, with some heavily linked to the local university.

Contesting the ball. 1/1000s 300mm F2.8 ISO 125.

Players of all abilities are welcome to play at BTG. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 200.

Aerial defence. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 200.

Heading the ball in the air. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 160.

Every year there two tournaments for that each site can participate in, a Regional Tournament and the National Tournament, and it was the latter I photographed this summer. Bringing together all the teams from across the country into one event is no mean feat with hundreds of participants all vying for two trophies – the cup and the plate. After an initial round-robin, the top teams go onto play for the cup and the bottom teams play for the plate in a series of elimination rounds. This year was the biggest one ever with thirty-two teams, many sites bringing along an A and a B team.

Another camera man was on hand to capture video of the day. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 250.

Slide tackles are not quite in the spirit of BTG but it certainly made for a dramatic photo. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 250.

This year the organsiers put a big emphasis on capturing dramatic celebrations. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 250.

Photographing across so many different matches all running concurrently made it hard to capture individual moments but with persistence you did capture them. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 400.

It was always worth dropping everything else to photograph a penalty shootout. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 320.

Events like this are just not about kicking a ball but also about providing an even greater sense of community. Participants get a chance to meet and make friends with people across the country, or perhaps catch up with friends who’ve moved and now play for a different team. The bonding experience is core, and this is reinforced by the talks at half time. The first from Scott Jackson, the founder of the charity Eddy which helps fathers with their difficulties as parents when something tragic and unexpected happens to their child. The second was from professional footballer Dan Crowley who talked about his struggles with mental health despite having his dream career and finally from Thomas Kirton who talked about how Bridge the Gap and the connected charity Alpha helped him turn his life and mental wellbeing around. I can’t think of many of events that get so many young men thirty and under together in such a setting.

In the middle of the day were a series of talks on mental health. First was Scott Jackson the founder of the charity Eddy which supports fathers struggling with bereavement and tragedies that befall their children. 1/8000s 105mm F1.4 ISO 64.

Everyone was gathered to listen. 1/8000s 105mm F1.4 ISO 64.

Dan Crowley speaks on the mental health struggles he has faced in the ups and downs of his professional football career. 1/8000s 105mm F1.4 ISO 64.

The final talk was by Thomas Kirton who spoke on how BTG and the associated charity Alpha helped him turn his life around. 1/8000s 105mm F1.4 ISO 64.

An added bonus for me on the day was the other photographer was a day-in-day-out sports photography professional who works for Portsmouth FC (Jason Brown who you can see more of by clicking here). This gave me a chance to see how he works and ask him questions and advice on how better to shoot football matches, something I’d only done a handful of times before. That’s the great thing about offering help as there’s often always something you can learn yourself in the process.

The action was non-stop all day long. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 320.

Here comes the corner. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 800.

The goalie punches the ball away. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 640.

The final matches were all played on the main pitch. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 640.

It was a long day but a fun and satisfying one. It’s often hard to measure the outcome of our inputs as individuals but it’s a collective effort and it all adds up. The bigger BTG grows the more young men it can help and the more we help others the more they can help us. The organisation is also expanding and has launched it’s first women’s site in Oxford this summer. I am excited to see how it grows over the coming years and hopefully I’ll be back next year for the National Tournament in 2024.

BTG Herts faced an agonising defeat in the cup final but they had plenty to celebrate when their goalie won goalkeeper of the tournament. 1/800s 35mm F2.2 ISO 200.

BTG Bournemouth were worthy winner and celebrate their victory in the cup. 1/800s 35mm F2.2 ISO 125.

You can learn more about BTG by clicking here.

With thirty-two teams it was the biggest BTG National Tournament yet. 1/1600s 35mm F2.8 ISO 64.

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