Editing Bedford (section)

==Sport==
{{See also|Sport in Bedfordshire}}
There is a long-standing sporting heritage in the Bedford borough with long-established rugby and football clubs. The town has four [[rugby union]] teams called [[Bedford Blues]], Bedford Queens, Bedford Swifts and [[Bedford Athletic]]. Since 2004, Bedford also has a [[rugby league]] team, [[Bedford Tigers]], who compete one tier below the [[National Conference League|National Conference]].

Taking into account the size of its overall urban area, Bedford is one of the largest towns in England without a fully professional [[association football|football]] team. [[Bedford Town F.C.]] currently plays at the seventh level of the [[English football league system]] and [[Real Bedford F.C.]] play at the eighth level.

[[File:Bedford-rowing-club-2012-07-08 14.46.01.jpg|thumb|right|[[Bedford Rowing Club]] boathouse]]
Rowing is also a major part of the sports scene with a number of regatta events hosted throughout the year from February to October; the most significant of these being Bedford Regatta which, in terms of numbers of crews participating, is the second largest in the country. It was on Bedford's River Great Ouse that Olympic rower, [[Tim Foster]], honed his skills as a student of Bedford Modern and member of star club; indeed the borough has produced many other champions of sport past and present including [[Stephanie Cook]], [[Gail Emms]], [[Liz Yelling]] and [[Paula Radcliffe]] who is Life Vice-President of Bedford & County Athletic Club

[[Viking Kayak Club]] organise the Bedford Kayak Marathon with [[canoe racing]] held along the Embankment on Bedford's riverside and organise national ranking [[canoe slalom]] events at the [[Cardington Artificial Slalom Course]] (CASC), which was the first [[artificial whitewater]] course in the United Kingdom. CASC is also the venue each year for the United Kingdom's National Inter Clubs Slalom Finals, the largest canoe slalom event by participation in the United Kingdom. [[Etienne Stott]] – 2012 Olympic Gold Medallist's Club.

Bedford Borough was a major host of national teams preparing for the [[2012 Summer Olympics]] and [[2012 Summer Paralympics|Paralympics]]. The [[Maldives Olympic Committee|Maldives National Olympic Committee]] based its competing athletes in the borough, while Paralympic athletes from [[Angola at the Paralympics|Angola]], the [[Central African Republic at the Paralympics|Central African Republic]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], the [[Gambia at the Olympics#Paralympics|Gambia]], [[Ghana at the Paralympics|Ghana]], [[Ivory Coast at the Paralympics|Ivory Coast]], [[Jamaica at the Paralympics|Jamaica]], [[Lesotho at the Paralympics|Lesotho]], [[Morocco at the Paralympics|Morocco]], [[Niger at the Paralympics|Niger]], [[Pakistan at the Paralympics|Pakistan]], [[Senegal at the Paralympics|Senegal]], [[Tunisia at the Paralympics|Tunisia]] and [[Uganda at the Paralympics|Uganda]] were also based in the area. With the exception of [[Weymouth, Dorset|Weymouth]] (which hosted various sailing events), Bedford Borough accommodated more Olympic teams in 2012 than any other local authority area in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |title=On Your Marks! Bedford Borough to host teams from around the world ahead of London 2012 |url=http://www.bedford.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/council_news/archived_news/february_2012/on_your_marks.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120714070430/http://www.bedford.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/council_news/archived_news/february_2012/on_your_marks.aspx |archive-date=14 July 2012}}</ref>