QES_Sports_Bulletin_Autumn_2022

INVESTING IN TECHNOLOGY

Putting players and PE teachers in the picture

The School’s investment in a specialist AI-driven portable camera is already helping QE’s sportsmen improve their game.

Mounted high on its stand on the touchline, the green VEO Cam 2 has fast become a familiar sight at QE, where it has been used to record more than ten rugby games this season across three different age groups.

The state-of-the-art camera, which is widely used in professional sport, can automatically livestream both fixtures and training sessions. But it is as its analysis capabilities are deployed that it really comes into its own, helping players and staff alike with team structure and game play.

Director of Sport Jon Hart said: “It allows pupils to analyse their own performance and helps them generate areas to develop. It is also extremely useful for staff. We currently know, for example, that the First XV have made 18 line breaks in their matches so far and have also won 85% of set piece plays, so we can analyse and show pupils how they have achieved this.”

The camera’s features allow the user to: automatically detect set plays; pan and zoom in on the picture; draw on the screen to help in giving feedback to pupils; tag players and comment on highlights, and create an individual highlights reel.

PE & Games teacher Luke Pollard said: “Our rugby players are really enjoying watching themselves play with their teammates and coming up with ways to improve their performances.

“We intend to roll this out across other sports such as water polo and cricket to help improve standards across the School. I can’t wait for other pupils to benefit from this when we use it for our other sports.”

FEATURED IN THIS EDITION:

UPPING OUR GAME WITH TECHNOLOGY

WINNING COMBINATION OF RUGBY AND STEM AT OUNDLE

U15 RUGBY PLAYERS MEET OE SPORTS STAR AT AWAY MATCH

OFF TO A FLYING START IN CROSS COUNTRY FOCUS ON FENCING

The camera software allows users to draw on images of actual play.

Cheer on the boys

Strong in mind and body: the 2022 trip to Oundle

While the new VEO camera has been helping QE rugby players improve their game on home territory, Year 9s learned more about how science is used in sport at a huge away fixture at Oundle School.

And the trip by 90 boys to Northamptonshire for a winning combination of rugby and STEM activities was such a success that there are plans to make next year’s visit even bigger and to add Eton Fives into the mix.

The day started in the independent school’s lecture theatre with a Marvellous Maths talk as part of a Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) roadshow held in collaboration with Imperial College, London. A tour of the STEM building was then followed by some interactive lessons that demonstrated how science is used in sport and how sportsmen use it to their advantage when playing.

After a quick lunch and change into rugby kit, the A, B, C, D and E teams went off to enjoy a game of rugby, which saw some pupils represent the School for the very first time.

Director of Sport Jon Hart said: “Despite the awful weather, there were some great performances throughout the afternoon – particularly from the victorious E team, but also from the A team, who were ahead at half-time, but unfortunately fell just short in the end.”

Victor Varbanov, who captained the As, said: “It is great to come and play such a prestigious school and experience a game played in the right spirit; it was a very physical game which we enjoyed immensely.” He and his teammates had “learnt a lot from the day”, he added.

The visit is a long-established tradition and is the largest QE fixture in terms of the number of teams in a single year group playing on one day.

Mr Hart added: “It is really important for our pupils to have meaningful experiences like this where they travel to a different context and interact with other students.

“We thank Oundle School for being such great hosts and putting on the activities for our pupils.

“Both schools are keen to increase the number of pupils involved next year by extending the STEM activities and also including Eton Fives into the schedule.”

Tough wins against the tourists

QE hosted Pate’s Grammar School from Cheltenham for a busy visit that brought success for the home sides, but only after they battled through games that were hard-fought in every case.

The touring school, a former holder of the State Secondary School of the Year title that QE currently holds, brought five teams with them to north London. They enjoyed a trip to Wembley Stadium before coming to Barnet and playing five matches against our U13 and U14 teams.

RESULTS:

U13A: QE won 35-30

U13B: QE won 60-10

U13C: QE won 25-20

U14A: QE won 32-17

U14B: QE drew 7-7

RUGBY

The School’s U15 rugby players had more than one reason to celebrate after an away fixture in Berkshire.

Not only did the U15 A XV secure an impressive 23-0 victory, but they also had the opportunity to meet one of QE’s sporting heroes, Old Elizabethan Tom Aggar (1995–2002), who took gold in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics men’s single sculls rowing discipline.

Tom now teaches in the Science department at Claires Court, an independent school in Maidenhead.

Head of Rugby James Clarke, a fellow OE (1999–2004), said: “This was a great day out for us – and as for Tom, he must have been torn as to which side to support.”

Tom wrote afterwards in a message to the Headmaster that he had enjoyed the game and confessed that he had indeed not been too disappointed at the outcome!

“As ever, all your boys were great ambassadors of the School – very warm, friendly and respectful – and it was great to meet them all briefly after the game.”

The fixture came in the second round of the National Bowl competition.

PE & Games teacher Peter Pickford said: “The team played extremely well, as their constant line speed and the pressure put on the opposition led to more opportunities to score.”

Mr Pickford

“The boys really deserved the win: it was the hard work and commitment demonstrated by the team that ensured our progress to the third round.”

RUGBY

Heads held high against Habs

QE’s players enjoyed an exciting night as they took on Haberdashers’ Boys’ School yesterday at the StoneX Stadium, home of Saracens.

Cheered on by friends, alumni and staff, the U12A and U13A teams relished their first taste of playing in a professional ground, but were unable to spoil the party for Habs, celebrating their centenary of rugby.

Head of Rugby James Clarke said: “Our First XV started brightly, putting pressure on Habs’ scrum and lineout to force errors and gain possession. A narrow defeat, in an even contest, was hard to take for the team, but they should be proud of their efforts.”

RESULTS:

U12s: QE lost 40-5

U13s: QE lost 40-10

First XV: QE lost 15-10

... and they’re off!

CROSS-COUNTRY

In the Barnet league event, the School entered boys in four different age groups to compete against runners from other state and independent schools.

Two QE runners were picked to represent Barnet at the London Youth Games after reaching their required qualifying time at the first round of the season in the borough’s cross-country league.

The speedy performance by Year 9’s Keeyan Shah (pictured with Councillor Ernest Ambe) and Darius Dudau, of Year 10, took the pair to the London Youth Games’ flagship cross-country event, held this year at Parliament Hill Fields in Hampstead – considered by many to be the home of English cross-country running. Joining an 1,800-strong field, they ran for Barnet against competitors from 31 other London boroughs.

Director of Sport Jon Hart said: “These meets are the preliminary rounds before we compete at the Barnet cross-country championships in December. Keeyan and Darius certainly put in notable performances, while a special mention should also go to the Year 7s who ran, as this was the first time they have represented the School.”

Developing the modern-day knight

Members of QE’s fencing club have been spending this term refining their skills as they prepare to do battle, ready for their fixtures in 2023.

With a membership of 48 boys, the club has been growing, boosted by every new intake of Year 7s. The School club is part of the Academy Network of Fencing Schools and is working towards accreditation as an Academy Fencing School of Excellence. It is led by Paul Davis, director of the Paul Davis Fencing Academy – a leading centre for the sport, based in St Albans.

“Fencing, the Olympic sport of sword-fighting, has been proven to improve flexibility, reflexes, speed and agility, whilst providing an all-round form of mental and physical exercise essential for total health and wellness. Fencing has been labelled ‘athletic chess’, which makes it great for those who excel in strategy and tactics.”

Mr Davis sees parallels with the life of mediaeval knights, who, while certainly known for their ability to wield a sword well, were also famous for their lifestyle and for the values they espoused.

“Our academy’s aim is not to teach the boys how to make a living, but rather to teach them how to make a life. Our community message is: it is not what you get; it is who you become.

“Our team pride ourselves on our core values, which identify that fencing is more than a sport: it is a tool to help create well-rounded and confident individuals,

engaging with the essential physical skills of fencing, whilst gaining world skills such as leadership and self-belief.”

These values are embedded in a core syllabus taught by international and ex-international fencers who have a passion for the sport and for teaching, Mr Davis added.

“Boys involved with the fencing club are given the opportunity to develop new skills, take on volunteering and leadership roles, and compete in the Hertfordshire school league representing QE at local and national levels.

“The club is open to boys of all ages, and anyone is welcome to join.”

Fencing Facts

The word ‘fencing’ came into English, via Old French, from the Latin word ‘defensa’, which means ‘protection’.

The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre. At QE, boys focus on the foil.

Fencers score points through their weapon’s contact with an opponent within a defined target area of the body.

The fencing suits are white, because historically contact was recorded using a piece of cotton dipped in ink and attached to the tip of the weapon.

Fencing is one of only four sports to have been featured in every modern Olympics.

Fencing was a sport in the Greek Olympic Games of antiquity.

Fencing is the only combat sport with no weight classes.

Many of the positions in ballet are derived from fencing.