The county Sportshall events for 2019 – 20 season relocated from TVAC to the American School at Egham (ACS). I am delighted to report that following some initial teething issues the venue has been well received by everyone, with the improved seating and viewing facilities proving particularly popular with parents and athletes alike. Discussions regarding remaining at ACS for the 2020 – 21 season will begin soon.
County Sportshall U11’s
The County Sportshall U11’s Championship was held on Sunday 8th December 2018. We welcomed 118 athletes (178 2018; 171 2017) to the competition.
Despite the reduced numbers throughout the afternoon there were some fantastic and highly competitive performances. Once again it was particularly encouraging to see schools from across the eastern half of the county competing well during the afternoon and challenging the track and field club athletes to the team titles.
The Berkshire County Sportshall U11 winners were :
Girls U11 Maidenhead AC (retaining the title from 2018 – 19)
Boys U11 Lynch Hill PS
The results provide great encouragement for the county team to represent Berkshire in the south regional final in March.
County Sportshall U13’s and U15’s
The Berkshire County U13’s and U15’s Sportshall Championships were held on Sunday 12th January 2020.
With 139 athletes competing from clubs across the county numbers were the same as in both 2019 (138) and 2018 (138) despite once again the absence of a number of schools which entered teams in 2018. This sustained entry number shows the enthusiasm that exists amongst the competing clubs for the format. It was notable that a number of team managers regretted more form their clubs had not entered.
It was once again a very exciting afternoon. There were tight competitions within each of the age and gender groups as well as for the honour of becoming the All-Rounder winner on the afternoon.
The Berkshire County Sportshall winners were :
Girls U13 Reading AC U15 Slough Junior AC
Boys U13 Slough Junior AC U15 Slough Junior AC
It is worth noting in retaining their title, Slough Junior AC U13 Boys team remained unbeaten throughout the 2010’sin the county championships.
The 2019 – 20 Individual All-Rounder winners were :
Girls U13 Tamzin Bellamy Maidenhead AC U15 Madisyn Woodley Slough Junior AC
Boys U13 James Chad Bracknell AC U15 Trey Bennett Slough Junior AC
Sportshall League
The third and final round of the Sportshall league took place on Sunday 26th January 2020. Once again, we welcomed over 300 young athletes to the final round of the league making this event one of the single largest Sportshall events in the country.
Right from the start of the afternoon it was apparent the tension between the teams, anticipation, and excitement levels were high as many of the league titles were too close to call.
Boys Girls
U11 Winners Lynch Hill PS Reading AC
Runners-up Bracknell AC Maidenhead AC
U13 Winners Bracknell AC Slough Junior AC
Runners-up Slough Junior AC Reading AC
U15 Winners Slough Junior AC Slough Junior AC
Runner-up Maidenhead AC Maidenhead AC
Congratulations are also due to Slough Junior AC whose coaches won the coach’s race.
Teams to represent the county at the Regional Sportshall finals to be held at Burgess Hill on Sunday 22nd March will now be selected following the completion of the county league and championship matches.
Junior Officials
I am delighted to confirm we will once again be taking several junior officials from a number of the clubs to support the county teams in a field event officiating capacity at the Regional finals.
My thanks are extended once again to everyone, team managers, parents, coaches, athletes and officials for their continued support of Sportshall Athletics in Berkshire. We are blessed to have such committed support.
