Inclusive Boccia Tournament 12-10-17
We kicked off the 2017/18 season of Inclusion events with a visit to our friends at St Mary’s College for an Inclusive Boccia Tournament.
We had a few familiar faces as Charlie Harrison and Flynn Clark made their 2nd appearance at the tournament. With a mixture of complete beginners and some with some PE experience we had 3 finely balanced, enthusiastic teams ready to battle it out with schools from across Hull.
KS4
Joshua Court
Flynn Clark
Cameron Ellam
KS3 A
Charlie Harrison
Megan Myers
Ben Hedges
KS3 B
Sky Ali
Leah Carr
Declan Prest
The tournament was broken into a morning session which was to be a league campaign then the playoffs in the afternoon to determine the final standings. With several teams from a whole host of schools there would be stiff competition from the first game to the last…was our new look teams ability enough to match their hunger and desire?
KS3 A
A magnificent start to their league campain as they blew Ganton A away with an assured 4-0 victory. Shot of the match has to go to Megan Myers who played her ball through the eye of a needle and nestled it between 2 opponents balls next to the jack, not only winning the point but preventing a 2 point loss in the opening end. Fantastic under pressure!
The 2nd game, again, turned out to be the Myers show as she was able to send a sweeping final effort round the St Mary’s guard ball to rest elegantly close to the jack once again. 3-2 final score…the roll continues!
Ben Hedges was calmness personified as he sent out the jack and then followed it up with a perfectly placed opening throw, St Mary’s D had little in response as they could not find a way past that opening ball in the first end. The tension built as St Mary’s was able to take a 2-1 lead in to the final end. All seemed lost until ‘the hedgehunter’ stepped up and smashed into the jack sending it hurtling towards an awaiting 2 SAW balls…2 points scored 3-2 win! What a shot!
The final league game was a more comfortable affair with a confident 3-1 win. The semi finals awaited.
The semi proved a step too far they were beaten by a very capable St Mary’s A team. The 3rd place playoff was far more fruitful and the team was able to secure a bronze medal, a fantastic achievement.
KS3 B
Game 1 v Ganton A – Boom what a start! Leah Carr was in imperious form as she lead the scoring with 2 scoring attempts across the 3 ends, with Declan adding a single point to see SAW A get off to the perfect start. Confidence high, the spring in their step was almost scraping the ceiling. 3-1 W.
Game 2 v St Mary’s D – Back down with a bang! A tough second test left us with a 4-2 loss in the second game. Beaten fair and square, regroup for the next fixture.
Game 3 v St Mary’s C – A nail biting exchange after running up a quick 3-0 lead, St Mary’s late rally wasn’t enough the halt the run of form as SAW A were able to cling on for a 3-2 victory.
Game 4 & 5 – We was not able to capitalise on the momentum from the fantastic previous win and unfortunately the team were unable to bounce back for the 5th and final league game or the 5/6 play off. Despite the difficult games and tough opponents Leah, Skye and Declan remained competitive and fought to the very end. A lot of credit must go to them as I have seen teams crumble in such circumstances, well done!
KS4
There were fewer teams in this category but it was no less competitive and It was very much a case of late swings throughout the competition. It goes to prove how boccia can change in an instant as SAW last 5-4 despite being 4-1 up going into the final end when playing against St Mary’s B.
The SAW men were able to dust themselves down and win a hard fought 3-1 victory v Ganton A in the second fixture. Back on track!
St Mary’s A were simply too good in the 3rd game. A fairly one sided tie saw SM run out deserved 8-1 winners. It was time to dig deep once again for West, with 2 games remaining a place on the podium was still a possibility.
This battle cry was clearly well received as West avenged their earlier late loss with a dramatic win themselves. Court, Clark and Ellam lagged 3-1 behind going into the final end. Thoughts were spiralling in my mind…what would the press say? Will we pass any ‘Rodgers Out!’ banners en route back to SAW? Had I taken the team as far as I could? I must have cut a forlorn figure. It was perhaps this sight which brought the boys roaring back. An excellent first ball meant SM C had to use all of their goes before SAW took the floor. With 5 balls to play and 6 points to play for it was a possibility the dream could survive. 3 balls down, still only 1 point as it stood. Then BANG, BANG, BANG! 3 perfect throws 4 points scored 5-3 win. UN-BE-LIEVABLE!
Thankfully the final game of the league campaign was a straight forward 4-1…I don’t think my heart could handle anymore. We would have to wait on other results to see where that left us…
Awards
Player’s Player went to Cameron Ellam, Megan Myers and Leah Carr. But a huge congratulations must go to all the students who participated. Even during the defeats (some fairly comprehensive) they never let their positive mentality drop.
Myself and Mrs Watson would like to give a final special mention Josh Court, Flynn Clark and Cameron Ellam who we tasked with coaching those who had not played before. They were brilliant in passing on their previous experience in terms of the rules and tactics.
FInal Standings
KS3
A 3rd
B 6th
KS4
=2nd
Chris Rodgers
