Editing Chester (section)

==Sport==
===Football===
[[File:Ccfc.jpg|thumbnail|left|The defunct [[Chester City F.C.|Chester City]] in action in 2007. The [[Deva Stadium]], now used by [[Chester F.C.]], is on the border between England and Wales]]

Chester was home to [[Chester City F.C.]], who were founded in 1885 and elected to the [[Football League]] in 1931 and played at their [[Sealand Road]] stadium until 1990, spending two years playing in [[Macclesfield]] before returning to the city to the new [[Deva Stadium]] – which straddles the border of England and Wales – in 1992. The club first lost its Football League status in 2000, only to reclaim it four years later as [[Football Conference|Conference]] champions. However, they were relegated again in 2009 and went out of business in March 2010 after 125 years in existence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chester-city.co.uk/archive.asp |title=Football Club History |publisher=Chester-city.co.uk |access-date=8 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327161505/http://www.chester-city.co.uk/archive.asp |archive-date=27 March 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref>

Notable former players of the club include [[Ian Rush]] (who later managed the club), [[Cyrille Regis]], [[Arthur Albiston]], [[Earl Barrett]], [[Lee Dixon]], [[Steve Harkness]], [[Roberto Martínez]] and [[Stan Pearson]].

Following their demise, a new team – [[Chester FC]] – was founded. They play at Chester City's [[Deva Stadium]] and were elected to the [[Northern Premier League Division One North]] for the [[2010–11 in English football|2010–11 season]], ending their first season as that division's champions, securing a place in the [[Northern Premier League Premier Division]] for the [[2011–12 in English football|2011–12 season]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/chesterfootballclub/news/chester-fc-crowned-champions-in-crazy-finish-to-league-301375.html |title=Chester FC crowned Champions in a crazy finish League |publisher=Pitchero.com |access-date=8 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021033958/http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/chesterfootballclub/news/chester-fc-crowned-champions-in-crazy-finish-to-league-301375.html |archive-date=21 October 2012 }}</ref> The club achieved promotion for the next two consecutive seasons. Currently they play in the [[National League (division)|National League North]], the sixth tier of English football.

===Basketball===
The city also has a professional basketball team in the country's top competition, the [[British Basketball League]]. [[Cheshire Phoenix]] – formerly known as Cheshire Jets – play at the Cheshire Oaks Arena at nearby Ellesmere Port; and a wheelchair basketball team, Celtic Warriors, formerly known as the Chester Wheelchair Jets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chesterwheelchairjets.org.uk |title=Chester Wheelchair Jets website |access-date=10 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827204704/http://www.chesterwheelchairjets.org.uk/ |archive-date=27 August 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Rugby Union===
[[Chester RUFC|Chester Rugby Club]] ([[rugby union|union]]) plays in the English National League 2 North, having been promoted in 2012. It won the EDF Energy Intermediate Cup in the 2007–08 season and the Cheshire Cup several times.

===Watersports on the River Dee===
The River Dee is home to [[Grosvenor Rowing Club]], [[Royal Chester Rowing Club]] and the University of Chester Rowing Club, and two school clubs, [[The King's School Chester]] Rowing Club and [[Queen's Park High School|Queen's Park High]] Rowing Club. According to the rowing historian Tim Koch, the city's annual rowing regatta dates back to at least 1814,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Koch |first=Tim |date=22 September 2023 |title=Chester Regatta, Part I: Old But How Old? |url=https://heartheboatsing.com/2023/09/22/chester-regatta-part-i-old-but-how-old/ |access-date=5 November 2024 |website=Hear The Boat Sing}}</ref> making it older than [[The Boat Race]] (1829) and [[Henley Royal Regatta]] (1839), although the regatta claims to date back even further to 1733.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A history of Chester Regatta - 1733 to the present |url=https://www.chesterregatta.org/history.html |access-date=5 November 2024 |website=Chester Regatta}}</ref> Other annual rowing events include the Chester Long Distance Sculls and the Dee Autumn Head in autumn, and the North of England Head in March. The weir is used by a number of local canoe and kayak clubs. Each July, the [[Chester Raft Race]] is held on the River Dee in aid of charity.

===Horseracing===
[[Chester Racecourse]] hosts several [[Flat racing|flat race]] meetings from the spring to the autumn. The races take place within view of the City walls and attract tens of thousands of visitors. The May meeting includes several nationally significant races, such as the [[Chester Vase]], which is recognised as a trial for [[Epsom Derby|The Derby]].

===Other sports===
A successful hockey club, Chester H.C., plays at the County Officers' Club on Plas Newton Lane, and a [[handball]] team, Deva Handball Club, boasts of being the largest handball team in the country. Deva's handball club plays in National League 1 of handball. There is also an [[American football]] team, the [[Chester Romans]], part of the [[British American Football League]].

[[Chester Golf Club]] is near the banks of the Dee, and there are numerous private golf courses near the city, as well as a 9-hole municipal course at Westminster Park.

The Northgate Arena is the city's main leisure centre; smaller sports centres are in Christleton and Upton. The Victorian City Baths are in the city centre.

December 2011 saw the first [http://www.speedy-santas.co.uk/chester-santa-dash Chester Santa Dash]. A {{convert|4|km|mi|abbr=on}} running event whose route winds around the streets of Chester in aid of local charities; the Santa Dash is a festive event open to everyone of all ages and abilities.

The city has hosted the [[RAC Rally]] eight times.