Report on Final Suffolk Sportshall League meeting at Lowestoft
On
Sunday 3rd
December the final match of the Suffolk Sportshall Athletics League was
contested at the Denes High School Community Sports Centre in Lowestoft . The
teams were from Suffolk West, Waveney, Ipswich , and the Rest of Suffolk and
were made up of both able bodied competitors and athletes with disability.
The
purpose of the inaugural Suffolk Sportshall athletics league was to provide a
route into athletics for youngsters that was fun and team orientated as well as
providing competitive opportunities for athletics clubs in their off season. The
league was so successful in raising the profile of Sportshall athletics that
Suffolk was able to take full teams for the first time in many years to the
Under 11’s Fun in Athletics Regional Finals held in Norwich . The team
performed exceptionally to finish 3rd
and 7th
in the girls competition and 5th
in the boys competition.
In
attendance on Sunday giving encouragement to the athletes and signing autographs
was sporting champion and local athlete Paul Evans. Paul, who lives in Waveney
was a finalist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and 1996 Atlanta Olympics and in
the same year won the Chicago marathon and finished third in the London
Marathon.
Paul
was provided through Sporting Champions – an initiative from Sport England who
use sports stars and emerging talent to inspire and motivate young people. Their
website can be found at www.sportingchampions.org.uk.
Commenting
on the event Paul said “It’s wonderful to host a Sportshall athletics event
in Waveney! Sportshall athletics encourages wide participation and is a great
tool for introducing athletics to new competitors. Its fantastic to see so many
people from across the county here today and big thanks must go to coaches,
volunteers and parents who make events such as this possible."
Suffolk
West were sitting top of the league before the final match with 408 points,
ahead of Ipswich (380), Rest of Suffolk (228) and Waveney (218). All were
wondering if Waveney could make the most of their home advantage at the final
match just as Suffolk West had done two weeks earlier at Abbeycroft Leisure
Centre, and Ipswich had done at Northgate Sports Centre, the two weeks previous
to that. They certainly did, and won the match by 14 points from Suffolk West. A
great performance but not enough to dislodge the Suffolk West Team who took
first place overall to claim the title of 2006 Suffolk Sportshall Athletics
League winners. A special mention should also go to Warren Special School in
Lowestoft who collected 90 pairs of shoes to donate to the Blue Peter Shoe Biz
appeal.
Final
Result
1st
- Suffolk West - 764 points
2nd – Ipswich
– 692 points
3rd - Waveney
- 588 points
4th - Rest of Suffolk - 402 points
An
interesting side issue is that had the two categories of Able bodied and
'Special' been scored separately then Ipswich ‘Special’ team of Orwell
Panthers would have come 1st and Rest of Suffolk, consisting of mainly Panthers
would have come 2nd. Well done.
