History
The team was founded in 1983 and played as Tolworth Reckers in the Surrey League until 1994 when as Chessington Wildcats they moved up to the regional NBL Division Three South. In 1996 they were promoted to the national NBL Division 2.
The team changed their name to Kingston Wildcats in an attempt to improve its profile in 1998 and this coupled with some shrewd recruiting culminated in winning the Division Two Play off final at Wembley beating the highly fancied Manchester Magic. An automatic place in Division One was initially denied due to the capacity at Chessington Sports Centre being below the 500 stipulated for the division.
In 2000 to take their place in Division One they moved to Tolworth Recreation Centre. TRC had hosted top flight basketball in the 70's and 80's when Kingston Kings were one of the best teams in the country, however a large investment by both Kingston Council and Kingston Wildcats was required to get the centre's equipment up to the required standard.
The club withdrew from the EBL prior to the 2006/07 season due to financial problems, and returned to the Surrey League. In 2007/08 the club entered the National Founders Cup, getting to the final where they lost by one point to London Lithuanians. In 2008/09 a win against King's Lynn Ironwolf in the final of same competition gave the club their second trophy on the national stage. In 2009/10 an injury depleted team lost in the final once again to London Lithuanians this time by one point. In 2010/11 Kingston reached the final again, but lost 79 -70 to London Rocco's Raiders.
Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London. Historically part of Surrey, today it is the largest salient of Greater London into that county. At the 2011 census it had a population of 18,973. The Bonesgate Stream, a tributary of the Hogsmill River, runs through it. The popular theme park resort Chessington World of Adventures, which incorporates Chessington Zoo, is located in the south-west of the area.
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four royal boroughs in England. The others are the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea and Greenwich, and Windsor and Maidenhead, the site of Windsor Castle. The local authority is Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council.
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