Groundhop Scottish weekends

[TFW]

A number of years ago I visited the very first Scottish Groundhop at Dalbeattie Star when they played Edinburgh City. The Groundhoppers have been back a few times since then, and although they can be a pain in the proverbial they can put some very welcome money into a club's coffers.

What is the Scottish Groundhop? It's a number of matches, usually in one particular league, spread over three days with varying kick off times, and if clubs have their making money heads on there's plenty to be made.

Groundhoppers have one love....visiting as many different grounds as possible in a season / career and then usually boring the arse off everybody with their tales about them. A typical Groundhop weekend has a match on the Friday night, so if we're looking at Ayrshire ex Juniors, it could be at Kello Rovers on the Friday night. Saturday might see games at Glenafton 11am kick off, followed by Cumnock at 2pm, and then Talbot at 5pm. Three games in the day, i's the stuff of fantasy for these fans. Sunday might see a visit to Lugar at 11am and then Muirkirk at 2pm, before heading home down south.

These are eagerly awaited each season by the folk who go on them. I tried to see about getting the Western Juniors to agree to looking at the possibility of hosting one such weekend, but their response was "We kick off at 2pm, so NO!" Unfortunately that head in the sand attitude has denied some clubs from a decent pay day. True, I know ther eare  anumber of fans at the hosting clubs who moan about having their kick off times messed about to accommodate the Hoppers, but they tend to be in a minority.

Commercially, the Hoppers spend money as they all want souvenirs of their visit. So any club with any commercial nous will have special programmes printed, new badges commissioned, maybe a few pennants etc. At Dalbeattie they had a real ale beer tent, which was hugely popular. There's bucketloads of money to be made from such a visit. Wonder how long it'll take for the first visit, Covid-19 notwithstanding?

[Hillonearth]

Don't see why it shouldn't be a goer, although a lot of the more hardcore of their number will probably have already been to a game at most of the more iconic west former junior grounds. Strangely enough, although the likes of Kello would be one of the last grounds anyone in the central belt attempting to do all 63 of the former junior grounds in the west would visit, it tends to be one of the first English groundhoppers I've known go to on account of its proximity to the border.

It's a guaranteed money spinner though -especially for teams with pre-existing club shops - with only the slight downside that some kickoff times would have to be changed although with enough notice that isn't any kind of dealbreaker. The only other thing to bear in mind is that nobody's ever going to actually make any lifelong new fans out of it...they'll be away somewhere else the following week as that's the nature of what they do.

The groundhoppers are an eccentric, but in the main essentially decent bunch...the only thing I've never been able to understand is why they seem to prefer a uniformity of experience - programme/pin badge/real ale all MUST be available - rather than the randomness of showing up at a new ground  and not knowing what the unique vibe of the club is.

[AsimButtHitsASix]

Could do it over a bank holiday weekend over three days with a day each for the WoS/EoS/SoS/LL from the Friday to the Monday

[Marten]

I've been to the groundhop games in the EOS back in 2018, they were well organised and well attended. It's worth mentioning that every game the home team had roughly 200 more people in attandence than their season's average. That means that most of the "extra people" weren't of the organised groundhoppers trip but were just others who decided to pop along, myself included.

Some of these groundhoppers are odd people indeed, I'm also a bit of a "groundhopper" considering I'm going to games all over. But I simply count a ground when I've been there and seen a football game. Some of them have many additional rules, some of them absolutely crazy. That includes not including a ground when you see a friendly, a 0-0, when they don't have a program, when you don't touch the match ball (yes, there are really people like that!) and so on... Some of them are odd people, but all I've met seem decent enough.

Edited June 16, 2020 by Marten

[TFW]

I knew of one bloke in particular who had to touch the crossbar, physically, at both ends of the ground to actually tick it off his list of visited grounds! 

The 0-0 thing is really weird. Heard the tale of one guy coming up on the hop to a Scottish Cup tie, i think at one of the University teams, which turned out to be 0-0 so he had to come up again later in the season (from south London) because he had to see a goal.

They are very well organised affairs. Hotels booked en masse, long before the weekend kicks off. Coaches travelling from London and south Wales. The sheer close proximity of the made up schedule I put in the original post would be attractive to the organisers as travel between each of the games would be very simple. Finding a hotel / hotels that might be able over 100 hoppers in the locality might prove somewhat trickier. As someone with a programme and memorabilia hut open on matchdays every home game at Beechwood I'd be rubbing my hands in anticipation.

 

[Hillonearth]

I do it myself when we're either not playing or it's an away game I don't fancy, although I suspect my lack of rigour would appall the self-imposed rulebound types...for example rather than making three trips to Forfar I caught the first half of West End, wandered round the corner to watch the second half of Albion and then round to Station Park where I caught the last 20 minutes of Forfar Athletic v Stranraer!

Yeah, some of their quirks are legendary; one of the programme obsessives apparently turned up from SE England to a game up here, found out there wasn't a programme that day, turned around and went home! I also remember being at a game when somebody was telling me about the one that has to touch the match ball, and literally at that moment the ball being cleared out of play and off the side of their head...didn't miss a beat...

"Well, YOU can tick this one..."

[Andy groundhopper]

Quite right, some of their 'rules' make them obsession beyond belief. I just enjoy visiting the area, having a few pints in pubs/clubhouse, meeting fans and enjoying a game. Can't go for all that writing down bollocks, beyond me. Knew one nutcase who went to a rearranged game - then had to go back again,to get an original programme. Or up in Seaham (nth east) grndhopper said I've ordered 10 progs, man on gate said we only print 25 now f**k off

[Scuzz]

They were initially looking to reschedule the March Groundhop for October, visiting the same grounds that were due to be part of the original weekend. Probably be pushed back a bit now sadly.

You are right about the reason they use the EOS/LL teams to visit, when they approached the Junior high heedyins about hosting matches a few years back they were told to bolt basically. A poor decision for the clubs who would benefit financially at the cost of moving a kick-off time, even the away team is guaranteed a cash sum for being involved.

A number of years ago I visited the very first Scottish Groundhop at Dalbeattie Star when they played Edinburgh City. The Groundhoppers have been back a few times since then, and although they can be a pain in the proverbial they can put some very welcome money into a club's coffers.
What is the Scottish Groundhop? It's a number of matches, usually in one particular league, spread over three days with varying kick off times, and if clubs have their making money heads on there's plenty to be made.
Groundhoppers have one love....visiting as many different grounds as possible in a season / career and then usually boring the arse off everybody with their tales about them. A typical Groundhop weekend has a match on the Friday night, so if we're looking at Ayrshire ex Juniors, it could be at Kello Rovers on the Friday night. Saturday might see games at Glenafton 11am kick off, followed by Cumnock at 2pm, and then Talbot at 5pm. Three games in the day, i's the stuff of fantasy for these fans. Sunday might see a visit to Lugar at 11am and then Muirkirk at 2pm, before heading home down south.
These are eagerly awaited each season by the folk who go on them. I tried to see about getting the Western Juniors to agree to looking at the possibility of hosting one such weekend, but their response was "We kick off at 2pm, so NO!" Unfortunately that head in the sand attitude has denied some clubs from a decent pay day. True, I know ther eare  anumber of fans at the hosting clubs who moan about having their kick off times messed about to accommodate the Hoppers, but they tend to be in a minority.
Commercially, the Hoppers spend money as they all want souvenirs of their visit. So any club with any commercial nous will have special programmes printed, new badges commissioned, maybe a few pennants etc. At Dalbeattie they had a real ale beer tent, which was hugely popular. There's bucketloads of money to be made from such a visit. Wonder how long it'll take for the first visit, Covid-19 notwithstanding?

[Scuzz]

And also, for the change in Kick-off time the clubs were made aware when the season long fixture list was released who was involved and at what time so plenty notice. My club had 8 months or so notice about our fixture being held on the Sunday for example so as you say, hardly a deal breaker!

A number of years ago I visited the very first Scottish Groundhop at Dalbeattie Star when they played Edinburgh City. The Groundhoppers have been back a few times since then, and although they can be a pain in the proverbial they can put some very welcome money into a club's coffers.
What is the Scottish Groundhop? It's a number of matches, usually in one particular league, spread over three days with varying kick off times, and if clubs have their making money heads on there's plenty to be made.
Groundhoppers have one love....visiting as many different grounds as possible in a season / career and then usually boring the arse off everybody with their tales about them. A typical Groundhop weekend has a match on the Friday night, so if we're looking at Ayrshire ex Juniors, it could be at Kello Rovers on the Friday night. Saturday might see games at Glenafton 11am kick off, followed by Cumnock at 2pm, and then Talbot at 5pm. Three games in the day, i's the stuff of fantasy for these fans. Sunday might see a visit to Lugar at 11am and then Muirkirk at 2pm, before heading home down south.
These are eagerly awaited each season by the folk who go on them. I tried to see about getting the Western Juniors to agree to looking at the possibility of hosting one such weekend, but their response was "We kick off at 2pm, so NO!" Unfortunately that head in the sand attitude has denied some clubs from a decent pay day. True, I know ther eare  anumber of fans at the hosting clubs who moan about having their kick off times messed about to accommodate the Hoppers, but they tend to be in a minority.
Commercially, the Hoppers spend money as they all want souvenirs of their visit. So any club with any commercial nous will have special programmes printed, new badges commissioned, maybe a few pennants etc. At Dalbeattie they had a real ale beer tent, which was hugely popular. There's bucketloads of money to be made from such a visit. Wonder how long it'll take for the first visit, Covid-19 notwithstanding?

[Hillonearth]

1 hour ago, Andy groundhopper said:

Quite right, some of their 'rules' make them obsession beyond belief. I just enjoy visiting the area, having a few pints in pubs/clubhouse, meeting fans and enjoying a game. Can't go for all that writing down bollocks, beyond me. Knew one nutcase who went to a rearranged game - then had to go back again,to get an original programme. Or up in Seaham (nth east) grndhopper said I've ordered 10 progs, man on gate said we only print 25 now f**k off

We had that once - one showed up with zero notice and asked for something oddly specific like 17 copies of the programme. It was back when we were in the old Central Second and I think we'd only done maybe 30 which had to serve all the regulars too, so he was told it wasn't happening but he could have whatever was left over if anything. Wasn't happy.

I do remember going to Upper Annandale's first game in the SoS which seemed to attract hordes of them, perhaps due to the presence of a folded sheet of A4 that served as a programme...I'm guessing a lot of them were the proper hardcore, as very few of them seemed to have much interest in the game that was going on in front of them, preferring to regale each other with stories of games they'd seen in the Vietnamese or Armenian second divisions.

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by Hillonearth

[Andy groundhopper]

21 hours ago, Hillonearth said:

We had that once - one showed up with zero notice and asked for something oddly specific like 17 copies of the programme. It was back when we were in the old Central Second and I think we'd only done maybe 30 which had to serve all the regulars too, so he was told it wasn't happening but he could have whatever was left over if anything. Wasn't happy.

I do remember going to Upper Annandale's first game in the SoS which seemed to attract hordes of them, perhaps due to the presence of a folded sheet of A4 that served as a programme...I'm guessing a lot of them were the proper hardcore, as very few of them seemed to have much interest in the game that was going on in front of them, preferring to regale each other with stories of games they'd seen in the Vietnamese or Armenian second divisions.

 

Bizarrely tales of ground visits due to - it's now a 3g pitch/ they moved the actual pitch / club changed name etc etc. They make all the effort and write everything down (seen them argue over goal times) and then miss the last 20 mins coz they got to get the last train ! See them with their loaded bags makes you think they've left home !

 

On 15/06/2020 at 15:10, Robert James said:

In case anyone missed it, Will Clark confirms in the Northern Times, that new club Scourie FC has submitted an application to join the NCL for 2020/21, which will be considered at its AGM next weekend. 

The nucleus of Scourie FC, will be drawn from Kinlochbervie AFC, who play in the North West Sutherland (summer) Amateur League.. Their Manager, Tony Richardson, is quoted as saying that it would be great for the north west highlands  to have a 'senior' club in the North Caledonian League. The level of support for football  in the area is good, as it is drawn from Scourie, Kinlochbervie, and from the other villages throughout this stunning area. 

Furthermore TR says, the club's players, are keen to test themselves at a higher (Tier 6 ?) level . 

 

 

[Le Tout P'ti FC]

Looks like Groundhop is 19-21 March 2021.

Bo'ness v Kelty Friday 7:45pm
Bonnyrigg v Berwick Saturday 2:00pm

Presumably Dalkeith, Easthouses and Newtongrange will be getting the other Saturday games.

[VillanoXIV]

I had planned to go to the groundhop in March and was really looking forward to it. I think it would be a fun day but it definitely would be tiring dealing with their OCD antics all the time.

I would classify myself as a groundhopper, but I am by no means a neurotic about details. I keep a phone listing date, score and venue of each match through the season but it’s more a reference thing as my memory is atrocious these days.

I hope to get to this.

[rncaa]

Groundhoppers really are a massive pain in the arse. 

Only good thing about these restrictions will be less of them kicking about football parks. 

[Marten]

16 hours ago, VillanoXIV said:

I had planned to go to the groundhop in March and was really looking forward to it. I think it would be a fun day but it definitely would be tiring dealing with their OCD antics all the time.

I would classify myself as a groundhopper, but I am by no means a neurotic about details. I keep a phone listing date, score and venue of each match through the season but it’s more a reference thing as my memory is atrocious these days.

I hope to get to this.

To be fair, most of the people I met at the 2018 groundhop weekend were fairly normal and they were constantly taking the p!ss out of the extreme ones.

[Andy groundhopper]

Glad to say that most groundhoppers are normal folk, the extreme one's spoil it for the rest of us, with their over the top antics. You wouldn't recognise me from being any different to the usual fans, apart from my accent I usually steer clear of organised events, usually doing things by myself in my own time.

[Marten]

14 hours ago, Andy groundhopper said:

Glad to say that most groundhoppers are normal folk, the extreme one's spoil it for the rest of us, with their over the top antics. You wouldn't recognise me from being any different to the usual fans, apart from my accent I usually steer clear of organised events, usually doing things by myself in my own time.

Some of the rules the extreme ones come up with are just laughable. they panic if there is no program because they can't count the visit then apparently. Some even don't count 0-0 draws, have to touch the match ball or whatever other rubbish they come up with. That's just mental. But most groundhoppers, like me, don't have any of these crazy rules.

I count a ground when I've been there and I've seen a football game, end of.

[Hillonearth]

10 minutes ago, Marten said:

Some of the rules the extreme ones come up with are just laughable. they panic if there is no program because they can't count the visit then apparently. Some even don't count 0-0 draws, have to touch the match ball or whatever other rubbish they come up with. That's just mental. But most groundhoppers, like me, don't have any of these crazy rules.

I count a ground when I've been there and I've seen a football game, end of.

There was hilarious footage up on Youtube a while back of a notorious one who arrived five minutes into a game - whether he was late or the game kicked off a few minutes early I'm not sure - and was barracking the ref to stop the game and restart it from scratch so he could count it...as it was already 1-0 you can imagine the response he got!

[highlandcowden]

On ‎14‎/‎09‎/‎2020 at 22:23, VillanoXIV said:

I had planned to go to the groundhop in March and was really looking forward to it. I think it would be a fun day but it definitely would be tiring dealing with their OCD antics all the time.

I would classify myself as a groundhopper, but I am by no means a neurotic about details. I keep a phone listing date, score and venue of each match through the season but it’s more a reference thing as my memory is atrocious these days.

I hope to get to this.

how would you be dealing with their antics?sure if you ignore them theyll ignore you

hope to get to the rearranged weekend,doubtless ill be rostered to work

Edited September 16, 2020 by highlandcowden

[Andy groundhopper]

Ignorance is bliss, must say I sometimes boil over and give em a mouthful clubs are run by volunteers, haven't got time to do a programme or put on a 4course  meal for some fat bloke. Enjoy the game, the area if poss, etc etc.and be happy just to be there. Heard one clown drove 120 mls and then returned coz there wasn't a programme, missing the game. Should be in an asylum. (On a par with train hoppers)