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The 150-year-old wallball court in Nelson has inspired generations to get involved in the sport.

After “dying its death” in the mid 1990s, wallball could soon feature at the Olympics, with a club in Nelson doing its bit to help grow the game.

Wallball, also known as one-wall handball, is a sport that involves two people hitting a small rubber ball against a wall with their hands.

According to club secretary, and player, Michelle Hooper, Nelson is home to the only outdoor three-wall court in the UK.

Formed in July this year, Ms Hooper spoke to Caerphilly Observer about what motivated her to create the Welsh Wallball Association: “I’m in a relationship with someone who used to play the game as a kid and we both thought how great would it be to see it back again?

“We had loads of local support and now after only five months we have over 40 members ranging from four-year-olds up to 60.”

Within two months, the club decided to put their training to the test, as they signed up to a tournament in Belgium to face off against some of Europe’s best wallball players.

Ms Hooper said: “It was a massive eye-opener. We didn’t manage to get any players out of the group but that didn’t put anyone off. Although I must admit it was overwhelming.”

Far from put off, the club decided to crowdfund to help raise the £1,000 needed to build an indoor court so training could continue into the winter.

“We still wanted the court to be part of the community”, Ms Hooper said. “We had permission from Trelewis Community Centre to build the court there. It should be open this weekend or next”, she added.

With another tournament booked in the Netherlands in January next year, Ms Hooper recognises the balance between competition and fun. She said: “We have some really great players here who I believe can and will compete against the best.

“We also know that we have a lot of younger players so we’re taking a trip to London in February to keep engagement high.

“More than anything we want to put Wales, and Nelson, on the map.”

With travel and any other expenses having to come out of the club’s pocket, Welsh Wallball Association is asking anyone willing to sponsor contact them on welshwallball@gmail.com.