In this week's Sports Report, we catch up on all the sports fixtures that have taken place internally and, as was the case for our rowers, externally at Dorney Lake. In football, there was Junior and Senior House Football competitions, and an entertaining match between the Year 13 pupils and members of staff. In netball, there were also House and staff vs pupils matches, in addition to a match between the Year 13 pupils and Old Vikings. Meanwhile, on the water, we bring the latest following a successful outing at the National Schools' Sculling Head, as well as the results from the recent junior GB rowing trials.
Football
Staff vs Year 13
After an intense build up, the first third was dominated by College House. Their quick movement on and off the ball offered a few early chances with S Gillen missing a one-on-one and H Doyle's corner being tipped onto the bar. The second third saw the staff come alive with Mr Miller and Mr Burgess getting the best opportunities they'd had so far, only narrowly beaten by T Barley's header from five yards out that was saved. As it looked like penalties were drawing ever closer, a fantastic run by S Gillen saw a ball being thread through to D Henson who managed to slot the ball into the bottom corner. The celebrations matched the intensity of the game with College House taking the win with only thirty seconds on the clock.
A game that was not only done right by both sides, but one that showed that class and experience is matched by young exuberance! Players of the Match went to T Barley and Mr Miller.
Report: Mr Ben Claridge, Head of Football
Inter-House Football
In the final two weeks of the Spring Term, the Inter-House Football Tournament took place across the College with two events staged – the junior tournament for Years 9 and 10, and the senior tournament for Years 11-13.
The Senior matches took place over two days with the first round of matches being halted due to torrential rain. New Field took a battering from the competitive games, and it became very clear quickly that everyone would have to reconvene on a dry day to conclude the round of matches. On the penultimate day of term, the Houses split for matches on the Riverside Pitches and at Memorial Ground. The games continued to be competitive, including a 6-goal thriller between Burr and Skipwith that ended in a draw. Ultimately though, it was Burr that took home the competition continuing their run of good performances in House Sport having already won the House Ergo Competition. Everett came second place, and Welsh third.
The Junior matches also took place on the Riverside Pitches during the final week of term. Teams were made up of seven players and the matches were played with just the right amount of spirit and competitiveness. It proved to be a close competition with Welsh and Everett both finishing on the same number of points, as well as the same goal difference. However, due to their superior record in goals scored, Welsh were declared the winners of the Junior House Football competition. Credit must go to A Mullens who scored a final second winner in Welsh’s last match against Skipwith. The players did not know it at the time, but this was the goal that clinched the competition for them.
Well done to everyone who took part – it was also fantastic to see all the House colours on display in both the rain and sunshine.
Netball
Staff vs Year 13
On Tuesday 28 March, the Year 13 Gilson girls played a group of staff in a fun netball match after school. The game was organised by Mrs Lovelock who also ensured that the staff knew the rules and had a few training sessions in order to build up their confidence. It was a great way for the Year 13s to end their netball careers at Shiplake College and playing the staff was a fun way to see some of our teachers outside the classroom.
The match ended 33-17 to the Year 13s, which may seem like the pupils dominated for the majority of the time, however there were some staff who really gave it their all. One member of staff who stood out the most to us all was Mrs Green. She played phenomenally with her quick sprinting from the first centre pass and considering she was playing GD, gave the girls a shock as she tactically dodged the Year 13s. Although this was a great advantage for them, it did not stop the girls with E Browne and R Allen’s great teamwork working well in getting the ball into the attacking D. The passes from E Browne and T Firth into the shooting end were incredibly accurate, which brought a lot of chances for R Allen and S Di Cuffa to shoot.
Players’ Player of the Match was awarded to R Allen because even when Mr Brown and Mr Cooper were ‘encouraging’ her to ‘just miss one’, she did not allow this pressure and kept up her consistency. Mrs Lovelock matched R Allen’s consistent shooting and every time she was given the ball, would be determined to get it through the hoop. One thing we all admired about watching Mrs Lovelock was her graceful shooting despite her injury.
Miss James had a great game in attack, working the ball into the staff shooting end and Mrs Neill kept up with the girls and made a lot of tactical interceptions. Mrs Neill also used her knowledge of netball to her advantage when keeping the Year 13 shooters out of the D as she used her body as a block which brought a lot of laughs during the match.
Overall, it was a lovely game and was great fun to play as well as watch. It was great for the girls to see how hard the teachers worked for this match, so thank you to all the staff for this memory at Shiplake. What a brilliant way to end a fantastic netball season!
Report: S Di Cuffa, Netball Captain
Year 13 vs Old Vikings
On Friday 24 March, the Year 13 netballers played the Old Vikings in a game consisting of six sixths. The Year 13s started with a strong side of defence and attack, however the Old Vikings, with strong attacks from E Pendlebury and E Lambert feeding to M Adams and L Way, scored many goals. Both teams went into the second sixth with positive energy and an aim to bring the score level. The Year 13s managed to come out with a draw at the end of the second sixth, following turnovers from E Browne, S Di Cuffa and E Young.
Entering the third sixth, both teams had hopes to increase the score but it was the Year 13s who had a stronger attack with I Wood and R Allen helping the pupils take the lead. Going into the fourth sixth, the Year 13 girls’ aim was to increase the score even more, however the Old Vikings caught up with their shooting and it ended in a draw.
The final sixth was well fought and the Year 13s came out with the victory with a very close 16-15 score. A brilliant evening and it was great to catch up with the former pupils. Thank you to Mrs Lovelock and Mrs Brazil for organising the event, and to Mrs Neill and Miss James for umpiring. Players of the Match went to T Firth and OV M Adams.
Report: R Allen, Girls' Sport Captain
Inter-House Netball
On Wednesday, all of Gilson came together to play in the Inter-House Netball Tournament! With music playing, sun shining, and lots of smiles all around, the girls took to the court in their Houses to play short matches against one another on the AstroTurf. Everett won the first match of the afternoon against Burr, followed by a Skipwith win against Orchard, with A Spooner showing her skills as shooter! Welsh then won against Burr with a 7-2 win and A Merritt had a fantastic first game, showing that they are not just a great rower, but also a great netballer!
Everett carried on with their winning streak, beating Skipwith by one goal; and Welsh were close behind with a 6-1 win against Burr. Burr won their first match against Skipwith and L Schoenmakers and S Di Cuffa shone against Everett in shooting, to gain another win. Skipwith then beat Welsh by one goal and Burr won against Orchard 8-2. It then came down to the final match to decide the winner of the tournament with Welsh coming out with a win against Everett.
This put Orchard in third place, joint second place went to Skipwith, Everett and Burr, and Welsh in first place. Many players received Player of the Match - E Dickson, T Firth and R Allen were the netballers who received Player of the Match award with two matches each. Some non-netballers also shone during the match; A Merritt, who is a rower, received Player of the Match twice, as did A Spooner. Brilliant play from all of Gilson, making it such a fun afternoon with lots of laughter.
Report: Mrs C Lovelock, Head of Girls' Sport
National Schools' Sculling Head
The Year 9 pupils competed at the National Schools' Sculling Head, held at Dorney Lake, on Monday 20 March. For these boys, it was their first external competition. The A and B VIII must have been inspired by our senior rowers' performances last week as they exceeded our expectations with the "A" octuple finishing fourth fastest nationally, only behind Windsor Boys' School, Hampton School and Abingdon School. This is the highest ranking a Shiplake College has ever achieved at this event and the following boys musty be congratulated:
- M Crane
- A Crane
- E Miot
- H Howe-Davies
- W Nicholas
- W Houldsworth
- M Perry
- E Dickinson
- H Cookson
The B crew also put together an outstanding performance to finish sixth fastest B boat of the day, which is also the best performance for a Year 9 B boat at Shiplake College.
- O Wright
- J Terry
- H Tilney
- G Wackerle
- G Kean
- E Fulton
- C Scott
- M Shevlane
- M Joiner
They should be very proud of their achievement and motivated to do well next term at the National Schools' Regatta.
Report: Mr D Currie, Director of Rowing
GB Trials
We were delighted to have the following senior rowers who were selected to attend the U19 GB rowing trials last week:
- J Weir
- E Downing
- F Middleton
- N Floyd
- L Byca
- F Worthington
They were all put through their paces at the spring trial, in a bid to show themselves as candidates to represent GB in the summer.
All of them gave a fantastic account of themselves and had very much put themselves in contention to earn a GB vest this summer. From this trial, N Floyd, F Middleton and J Weir impressed the selectors and have been selected to represent Great Britain at the Munich Junior Regatta in May. Congratulations to all those rowers for such a fantastic achievement.
Report: Mr D Currie, Director of Rowing
