It seems that, as soon as the Summer season comes to a close, the Winter programme starts in earnest and parents are again being asked to travel for competition. There are definitely questions that need to be asked about the viability of the Sportshall contest in its current format, as attendance was not great across the four competing teams, but for the athletes in Chesterfield, 100% effort was given by all.
As we start 2025, it is good to remember that AVEAC took home the title for both under 11 categories last season, as well as the under 15 boys. It is always difficult to compete across the locality enjoyed by our hosts, but we are keen to try and score as many points as we can.
Under 11s
The under 11s were completely contrasting in size: the girls brought a team of 12, including debutants to competing for AVEAC Bethany Davies and Maddie Bateman. On the other side, the boys only brought 2 athletes, with Koa Cullen and Chris Maye.
In the girls’ side of the fixture, all of those present took part in the 1-lap. Eva Price was our first home, 3rd overall, with a time of 14.6, just ahead of Sophie Wright who took home 7 points in 14.9. The other competitors were Macey Offler (15.1), April Malone (15.2), Mya Offler, Bethany & Grace Meehan (15.3), Jessica Wright & Sophia McBain (15.4), Esme Wainwright (15.6), Maddie Bateman (15.7) and Thea King (15.8). In the longer two lap, April scored 9 points for AVEAC, coming in 2nd with a time of 29.5. Sophie again took points – 30.3 was her time. Sophia (30.5), Jessica (31.6) and Esme (32.1) all crossed the line for the yellows.
In the field, Grace took gold with a 36 vertical high jump; Eva was 3rd with a 35. Beth (34), April & Macey (33) and Maddie (31) all jumped high. We had a 1-2-3 in the standing triple. Eva was the only athlete to clear 5m (5.24) though Beth was really close (4.94). Sophie was third in 4.86, with some other good jumps from Grace (4.71), Thea (4.52), Esme (4.45), Mya (4.26), Jessica (4.07) and Sophia (3.81). Finally, Mya (4.85) and Maddie (4.80) took home points in the chest push, with Thea (4.64) and Macey (4.61) also throwing the med ball.
We managed to put out three relay teams for the girls. The team of Eva, Sophie, Macey and April (59.1) came 2nd to claim 8 points, with Mya, Beth, Grace and Jessica (62) and Sophia, Esme, Maddie and Thea (65) completing a good show for the girls.
For the boys, we may have only had two athletes, but they both did well. Chris won both the 1-lap (14.1) and 2-lap (28.6) collecting 20 points. He did forget to sign in for the triple jump though – a lesson for next time! Koa equally did well. He ran a 14.8 in the 1-lap, came 2nd in the vertical (35) and scored 7 points for AVEAC in the chest push (4.59). No relay team I’m afraid with 2 athletes.
Under 13s
Numbers for the under 13s were also disappointing. Our girls put out a team of 4 athletes, the boys three. However, that doesn’t take away anything from those there as we put up some good performances.
For the girls, Evelyn Maye was first home in the 2-lap (28.4) with Sophie Humphrey (30.7) also getting the team points. Florence Protheroe ran a 31.3 in the same race. It was the long 6-lap at this fixture, and Katherine Turner dominated the field to win in 94.2. Meanwhile, in the field, Evelyn took home more points with a 45 vertical jump ahead of Katherine (39) and FloPro (32). Katherine (5.35) and Evelyn (5.04) took the scores for the yellows in standing triple, with Sophie scoring a 4.64. Finally, Sophie (4.85) and FloPro (4.82) scored 13 points together in the shot
Finally, the relay team of Katherine, Evelyn, Sophie and FloPro scored 8 valuable points in a 120 run.
For the boys, Owen Watson was making his debut and ran a good 27.3 to take home team points in the 2-lap. Dylan Knowles (27.9) and Adam Banton (28.4) also ran well. Dylan was our sole 6-lapper. He came back 3rd overall in 95 to score 8 points.
Owen jumped to 38 in the vertical but was triumphant overall in the standing triple with a great 5.92 leap. Adam (5.19) and Dylan (5.08) also cleared 5 metres. No one in the shot regrettably.
Despite having three members, Chris Maye promoted up to the under 13s to run a relay and the team of Chris, Dylan, Adam and Owen came joint 2nd overall in 115.4.
Under 15s
Moving to the under 15 category, numbers were okay as we put out a team of six girls and six boys.
In the female side of the draw, 4 of our contingent entered the 2-lap, with Isla Douglas coming out on top for the yellows. Her run of 26.7 scored 7 points; Olivia Irvine got us 6 points with a dead on 27. Maggie Flinders (27.1) and Lucy Norman (27.5) also in action. For the 4-lap, Isla (56.5) led home a 1-2-3 ahead of Bibi Mulholland (57) and Lucy Norman (57.1). In the vertical, Bibi came 3rd with a 54, with Maggie picking up 5 points with a 46. Lucy also got 46, just head of Biscuits (45), Isla (44) and Ruby Shore (36). Finally, in the shot, Biscuits was the top AVEACer (7.41) with Bibi (7.1), Maggie (6.19) and Ruby (5.69) throwing well.
Finally, the scoring team of Biscuits, Maggie, Bibi and Isla came 2nd in 107.1 in the relay, with the mixed team of Ruby, Lucy, Gabe and Harvey in 3rd (109.9).
Turning to the boys, Joe Moss won the 2-lap in a time of 23.1 (only 1 hundredth of a second off the course record) with Charlie Davies coming third in 25.2. Isaac Smith (27) and Joe Falivena (28.4) completed the yellow troupe. We had 4 in the 4-lap with Harvey Glover taking home bragging rights. His 2nd place was in 55.4, with Charlie (55.8), Joef (57.5) and Isaac (59) just behind. In the field, Joe M won the standing triple with an 8.36 leap. Charlie got 7 points (6.88), whilst the others all jumped over 6m – Joef (6.26), McGlovin (6.15), Isaac (6.08) and Gabriel Parr (6.03). Finally, Joe M won the shot with a 12.88 throw. McGlovin (7.79) and Gabe (7.37) filled up the field.
Finally, the relay team of Joe M, Joef, Isaac and Charlie came first in 101.10.
Current standings
Today’s results were as follows:
- Chesterfield 487
- AVEAC 397.5
- Derby 177.5
- High Peak 168
The season is far from over but, after Match 1, we find ourselves in 2nd place, finishing 89.5 points behind the hosts. We had 33 athletes in Chesterfield; we have 112 eligible athletes who could compete. If we could get 40-45 at the next few Sportshalls, we will have a great chance to narrow the gap and start to pick up some more points. Our under 15 girls were only 13 points off first, whilst our under 11 girls were only 5 off. Turning to the boys, even with two athletes, we scored a few maximums and can easily compete to regain that trophy. Let’s up the numbers for the November fixture.
To finish, it was great to see the athletes in Chesterfield, those who have been there several times before and those who are new. Having team managed for Derbyshire, I can see our athletes helping the county next year if those performances continue. Hope to see you all on 2 November!
Report – Rich Woodward