The Lion | Summer 2004
7
Girls’ sport HOCKEY
ATHLETICS
At the end of last term both the U13 & U15 hockey teams won their Warwickshire tournament. The U13s beat Kings High 2-0 in the semi-final and then went on to beat Stratford Grammar in the final and won 2-0, both goals from Lijana Kaziow. The U15s beat King Henry VIII in the semi-final and a goal from Jade Payne secured a 1-0 win in the final over Stratford Grammar. The U13s had also won the 7 a side U13 Warwickshire schools and clubs tournament and went on to the Midlands finals on 25th April. It was a hot day for our many supporters to sit back, relax (at times!) and watch some excellent hockey. The girls put in a superb effort and were a credit to the school and Warwickshire. In their section they beat Wolverhampton Grammar School 5-1, beat Dame Alice Harpur School 4-0, then lost to Belper Club 0-6 and beat Moor Park 3-1. In the semi-final a tactical job was given to Charlotte Weaver which she did superbly well while the rest of the team put away 2 goals to secure a place in the final. It was against Belper. Bablake put up a better performance but could not hold them back and lost 1-4 to finish runners up. Congratulations go to Sarah Mills and Jade Payne on reaching final trials for the U17 Midlands Squad, to Holly Payne and Lucy Horn on gaining a place in the U15 Performance squad (both girls being 2 years younger than many in the team), and to Lauren Boon and Lijana Kaziow on reaching trials for the U14 Midlands squad.
The inter girls team came joint first with Tile Hill Wood in the Track and Field Competition and gained a place in the Regional ‘B’ final. The junior girls went one better and won their area round out right to go through to the Regional ‘A’ final. The inter girls came 2nd by one point and the Junior girls won their Coventry School Championships. Individual winners of their events were: Jessica Thompson in the 300m and high jump, Rebeka Healy in the 800m, Jenny Gardner in the 100m & 200m, Eleanor Donaldson in high jump, Lijana Kaziow in long jump and hurdles and finally Jenny Gardner, Lijana Kaziow, Siobhan Robinson & Laura Dean in the 4 x 100m relay. Girls selected to represent Coventry in the West Midlands Championships were: Jenna Thompson (300m), Sarah Mills (javelin), Jessica Thompson (high jump, hurdles & 800m), Rebekah Healy (800m), Abigail Taberer (shot), Jenny Gardner (100m, 200m & relay), Lijana Kaziow (hurdles, long jump & relay), Eleanor Donaldson (800m & high jump), Lisa Bird (javelin), Siobhan Robinson (high jump, 100m & relay), Charlotte Weaver (hurdles & relay), Natalie Clisham (200m) and Lauren Boon (javelin). Many girls qualified in the first and second year for the Coventry Schools Championships on 23rd June.
NETBALL The commitment and enthusiasm of the senior netball squads throughout the year resulted in a number of successes at the end of the season. In the West Midlands Colleges Leagues both 1st & 2nd teams won their respective leagues winning all 5 of their matches. In the Colleges tournament the 1st VII won their section scoring 47 goals and only conceding 5 and the 2nd VII were runners up in their section, thus ensuring the two Bablake sides met in the semi-final! It was a nerve-wracking time as the 2nd VIIs were determined not to let the 1st VII get away and the teams were all square at half time. In the second half the 1st VII managed to edge ahead, eventually winning 8-5. The final against KEGS 1st VII was set to be well contested but the Bablake team saved some of their best netball until last and recorded a 12-6 victory. At the end of the term two senior teams were privileged to take part in the Dominique Matthews Tournament. This was held in memory of Dominique, a keen netball player and former pupil of Coundon Court who sadly died. Some of the girls knew and had played against Dominique and have regular contact with her father Ken (who is one of the area’s top umpires) through league, county and school netball. It was a wonderful tribute to Dominique to see so many senior teams from the city enjoying playing netball in the true spirit of the game. In teams which bore a mix of 1st, 2nd and U16 players Bablake A and B met in the semi-final, the A team narrowly winning. The final against Tile Hill Wood was an excellent and exciting match, with Bablake just emerging as winners. It was, however, netball and the occasion that won the day and we hope the Matthews’ family felt that too. Back in March the U13 netball teams played in the Coventry Schools Netball Tournament. The A team won their section convincingly. They won a place in the final by beating Coundon Court 9-4 in the semi-final and then went on to become overall winners by beating Finham Park 10-2 in the final. Meanwhile the B team also won their section and went on to beat Finham Park 9-2 in the semi-final. In the final they had a very close match against King Henry VIII, which they won 5-4 after extra time. Congratulations go to Jenna Thompson, Jessica Thompson, Hannah Davies and Joanne Mitchell for gaining places on the England Netball Talent Training Camps.
TENNIS The tennis season has been short but pleasantly successful. The lower school teams have not lost a match whilst the senior teams have had a series of enjoyable matches against King Henry VIII, Wrekin and Solihull. Three girls, Rebecca Sewell, Rebecca Devall and Joanne Simons, have been selected for the Greater Warwickshire Youth Games Tennis Squad and have been training weekly. 20 girls entered the Coventry Schools singles event this year. 10 in the U15 competition and 10 in the U13 competition. In the U15 tournament 7 of the 8 girls to qualify were from Bablake. For the second year running Joanne Mitchell became the U15 Coventry Schools Singles Champion. In the U13 tournament 7 of the 8 girls qualifying were again from Bablake. Lucy Thorne reached the Semi Final competition and Ira Kleine came runner up. ROUNDERS The rounders season got off to a slow start due to the weather and a number of matches were cancelled. However, once the sun did decide to come out for the summer, practices and matches went well. The U15, U14 and U13 teams have all secured places in the Coventry Schools Rounders Tournaments final after winning the North section of the city. SWIMMING Bromsgrove School holds an annual U15 & U18 swimming relays gala every year and this year Bablake was invited to take part. Bablake took an U15 girls team along. 19 independent schools participated and Alison Ball, Gillian Ball, Hannah Davies and Jade Payne finished 7th in the 4 x 50m medley relay, whilst Alison, Gillian, Laura Rouse and Jessica Thompson came 12th in the 4 x 50m freestyle relay. GOLF Congratulations to Stacey Edwards on being selected as Captain of the U17 Warwickshire County Team. TOUR Fund raising for the South Africa Tour in 2005. The girls raised £315 from their part in the Silent Auction and would like to thank all those who donated prizes and bid for them. In the sponsored swim £375 was raised for the tour and the same amount for PHAB. FOOTBALL SUCCESS Congratulation to Rebecca Sewell of Shell Y for her continued success in the Coventry City Girls Centre of Excellence in Football. She has had to compete in many trials and is one of only 14 girls in the Coventry area to be selected for this very exclusive centre. Rebecca also competed in the National Festival of Football held at Warwick University on the 12th of June against Aston Villa, Leicester City and Arsenal.