SUFFOLK SPORTS COLLEGES BATTLE IT OUT IN INTERSCHOOL TCHOUKBALL CLASH
Date: 11 February 2009
Suffolk was the battle ground for another closely fought interschool tchoukball match last night, with both sports colleges involved walking away with two points.
King Edward VI School hosted rivals Westbourne Sports College – but neither Year 10 side was able to edge the other at the end of thirty minutes.
The final scored ended 41 all – with Westbourne pinching a final point in the dying seconds. The previous clash between the colleges finished closely too with home side Westbourne winning by a single point (30-31).
Both sides gave typically strong performances and showed their potential for competition at a more senior level.
Mike Harman, Head Coach at King Edwards VI, said:
“The match was a fantastic achievement for both teams, and built on the foundations set by the first game in November last year. The match was full of twists and turns and, like the first, we gave it away in the last minute!
“Both sets of students showed an eagerness to win, but also a great deal of sportsmanship and fair play towards each other.
“The popularity of tchoukball has really taking my coaching team and I by surprise. I had to disappoint a few students by not selecting them, but was encouraged when they turned up for practice the next day along with four or five new players. The tchoukball bug has spread into Year 11 and currently we have 50 students turning up for at least an hour’s tchoukball every week.”
Mark Ismay, Westbourne Coach, said:
“I still can’t believe that after two whole matches played, our teams are only separated by one point.
“Tchoukball allows competitive games to be played in the best spirit because of its clear rules and lack of contact between players. This means mixed-gender competitive games which is not available in other sports.
“I would recommend any school to try tchoukball as I am sure they will fall in love with it as Westbourne has.”
Both schools now have well established tchoukball clubs and are delivering tchoukball as part of the curriculum for both boys and girls.
Tchoukball is increasingly being seen as an ideal sport for schools because it is a non contact team sport and therefore boys and girls of different ages can play and compete together. For more information about how you can introduce tchoukball to your school or college, visit our New Year New Sport pages here. |