Playing a sport is a hugely valuable thing to spend your time doing.

It’s even better when you can enjoy playing it with your family. This is the case for Paul Cook, the secretary of The Nomads skittles team.

“The team was founded in 1954 by my father Josh Cook. He played for 38 years and retired in 1992,” said Paul.

“I joined in 1973 at the age of 18, which means I am currently in my 44th year of playing for the Nomads. My son joined the club in 2005 and is still playing.

“Our original home alley was the Cheltenham Labour Club. We have also had spells on The Gas Club and the Royal Oak Pub before moving to our current location, The Albion Club, where we play on Monday evenings.”

The Nomads have taken the ‘family feel’ of a closely bonded team to a new level, because it’s not just the Cooks that have made skittles their family pastime – it seems that the team is one big family affair.

“We currently have several father and sons playing in addition to me and my son,” said Paul.

“These include Alan Kendrick and his son David, as well as Mark Gilbert with his son Louis. Mark’s father also played for us.

“Unfortunately, one of our long-serving players, Keith Caudle, passed away last year after playing with us for 38 years. We added his son-in-law to the team this season.

“My two brothers-in-law are also currently playing for us along with other family related members both past and present.”

You might assume that playing with family members means the Cooks are constantly trying to ‘one up’ each other.

In fact, the opposite is true.

“I don’t really notice a competitive edge between family members,” he said.

“Playing with family and close friends means we generally keep a good team spirit and team bond, which is important for the team to continue year on year in what is a declining sport.”

It is clear that Paul and his family are passionate about both The Nomads team and skittles in general – Paul is certainly proud of the team and the great experiences that being a member brings.

“My son and I have only ever played for The Nomads, as have at least half of the team,” said Paul.

“Like all teams over the years, we have won promotions and suffered relegation in equal amounts.

“The main highlight, on a social level, is having a ‘Jolly Boys outing’ at the end of each season, which is normally in May for three or four days.

“In the last 16 years, we have been overseas on trips to locations such as Benidorm, Torremolinos, Magaluf, Palma and so on. Before that, we enjoyed visiting seaside venues in England. All of our tours are well supported by team members – out of a squad of 18, we regularly take 14-16 away.

“I have numerous funny and interesting memories made with my fellow team mates, generally related to the end of season tour. I’m not sure I can say them all!”

The popularity of skittles is sadly decreasing, so it’s great that there are people like Paul and his family committed to playing the sport and stopping it from dying out.

“My feelings are that in a dying sport, success for us is producing a team of players season on season,” said Paul.

If Paul and the team stay this dedicated to enjoying skittles, the sport will no doubt have plenty of life still to live.