AVON U15 Sportshall Athletic Teams at the Sportshall UK FinalHGN 8/4/2014

Sportcity, Manchester was a new and more distant destination for the 2014 competition.

From the squad that gained qualification for the Finals back at Torbay at the beginning of March Ada’oraChigbo (South West Individual Champion) and Emma Warinton from the girl’s team and Gabriel Dos Santos from the boy’s team were not available for the final. Ella Falk not available for Torbay was an excellent addition. We travelled with 6 per team so that all athletes had to do three individual events and a relay No seventh team member to substitute into a relay if an injury occurred. A risky strategy but more enjoyable for all the team members and it worked without any problems.

Dave Turner still excited from the success of the U13s the previous day ( BU13 1st and GU13 2nd ) came with the team which as they say had to follow that success.

Sarah Leong and Susanne Andersen acted as team managers on the day and Pippa Reilly and I provided our complement of officials. My personal and team thanks to the three ladies.

The teams performed excellently against nine other Regional winning teams. A National Final with no apprehension or anxiety and an eagerness to take part and do well. The outcome was 5th place for the girls and 6th for the boys. An Avon girls’ team has never been higher than 4th so without Ada’ora this year has to be a superb outcome. An Avon boys team has never been higher than 5th so this year maintained a consistent level. The third time in six years as 6th. I remember that the boy’s team this year was all of the five who came to the selection trial plus one drafted in from the previous years under 13 squad. So this year is an incredible achievement for the boys and if you check the results only a marginal difference would have pushed the team up to 5th.

The team score is based on the individual total of the best four team members plus the points for the two relays. Generally the individual total dictates the finishing order however the girls moved above Donegal and the boys almost overtook Tyne & Wear by better relay results.

GirlsBoys

Surrey1262Norfolk1250

Birmingham1217Birmingham1249

Norfolk1190Hampshire1246

Derbyshire1127Nottinghamshire1073

Avon1094Tyne & Wear1049

Donegal1085Avon1044

Powys1038Co Londonderry 956

Cheshire1027Lancashire 924

West Yorkshire1002West Yorkshire 899

Tyne & Wear 865North West Wales 839

The table below shows an impressive set of individual Allrounder placings:

BOYSPointsGIRLSPoints

21stAaron Reolizo22213thAbigail Roach245

25th=Alfie Light21725thElla Falk220

31stMichael Bakare20734th=Sofie Andersen207

34thDeclan Walters19834th=Esther Leong207

39th=Alex Crofts19239thJess Dadds200

44th=Harvey Flower18060thRosie Harris148

Sofie Andersen topped the podium with two others who tied with 90 speed bounces in 30 seconds.

Ella Falk and Esther Leong shared third place in the 8 lap paarlauf. Aaron Reolizo, Michael Bakare, Declan Walters and Alex Crofts were a very clear third in the 4 x 2 lap relay.

Events were keenly contested so a top 10 position took some achieving. Abigail Roach was the most consistent with equal positions 8 4LR, 10 SB and 11 SLJ, Ella Falk 4= 4LR and 7 VJ and Jess Dadds 9= SLJ. Aaron Reolizo 5= SLJ and 9= 2LR, Declan Walters 6= SB, Alfie Light 7 SP, Michael Bakare 9= 4LR and Harvey Flower 10= SP.

I had observed all the individual time trial races and eagerly anticipated the relays which did not disappoint at all.

Esther Leong and Ella Falk shared the 8 laps between them and were always just a fraction behind the leading two teams and neck and neck with Donegal. Adrift of the first two teams but well clear of fifth the judges and timekeepers could not separate Avon and Donegal both recording 1min 29.0secs. Had Donegal gained the verdict for a clear third the team result would have been 6th and not 5th. The team place was that close.

Harvey Flower and Alfie Light combined for the boyspaarlauf. A good first 2 laps by each runner and Harvey was struggling on his second effort. Alfie took the baton ½ a lap earlier than intended and coped with the extra distance but was not strong enough to overhaul the Tyne and Wear team who finished just 0.4 seconds in front. Harvey and Alfie’s time was 1min 26.7.

The girls 4x 2 aim was to make the final by either winning a heat or being among the next four quickest teams. The team had run really well at the South West and repeated that in the heat. Bearing in mind that individually Abi had made the top 10 in the 4LR whereas the others had not made the top 20 in the 2LR to qualify was not going to be easy. Third in the heat with 1min 26.0 proved to be the sixth qualifier 0.7 secs clear. A short break and into the final. Another great team effort and 5th with a quicker time of 1min 25.9.

The boys relay 4 x 2 team had been dominant at Torbay with Michael now replacing Gabriel. A similar strategy with Aaron off first, Michael, Declan and Alex to finish. Drawn against Birmingham and Hampshire the heat was run rapidly with Avon 3rd in 1min 17.5 secs. Norfolk won the second heat doing enough to book a place in the final. In the final Aaron’s start and pace rattled the other leading teams. The teams responded, changeovers were slick and the team could not have done better. Norfolk pipped Birmingham by 1/10th of a second and in third the team improved to 1min 16.5 to finish ahead of Hampshire.

Then came the results and the final presentations.

A long trip back with a contented team. An excellent day of competition and team work.

We had been welcomed by George Bunner and other speakers encouraged us to contact our MPs about the lack of funding for Sportshall Athletics. The present arrangements with Sport England puts the emphasis on 14+ activities. There was minimal information from UKA/British Athletics and certainly no consultation about the reduced funding and staff redundancies amongst the sportshall athletics staff. The Regional events only went ahead due to local participating teams finding alternative and cheaper venues. This year we had to pay a team entry fee for the Regional Championships and there were no travel grants available for either the Regional or National Finals. The National Final only took place because Manchester offered the indoor 200m track facility free of charge. The central area used for the running was the best surface ever. The venue did not have enough floor or spectator space to hold the U13 and U15 finals at the same time.

Sportshall athletics is a grass roots activity and we have seen many athletes progress on to become Junior and/or senior internationals. Some may benefit and move into other specific sports. The competition may have been running for over twenty years but it is fresh for each batch of athletes. A new venue was definitely a fresh experience.

So let’s chase those who set the parameters for more sensible funding for Sportshall Athletics.

A full set of results can be found on