TEAM
DORSET SURVIVE 1st YEAR IN PREMIER LEAGUE
UK Young Athletes League –
Bracknell – 19 July 2009
Team Dorset’s young
athletes went to the final fixture in the Young Athletes League Southern
Premier Division in the top spot of the relegation zone. In order to
ensure that we did not get relegated in our first season in this
division, the team had to come either 1st or 2nd.
It was possible that a 3rd spot could have been enough, but
we would then be dependent upon results from the other fixtures. This
led to an exciting and anxious afternoon of competition.
Right from the first few
events the pattern of the competition was laid out – Reading AC were in
the driving seat, however it was nip and tuck between Team Dorset,
Tonbridge, and Maidstone with only a handful of points separating those
three. The scores were announced quite regularly through the afternoon,
and as it progressed it became apparent that the competition for second
place would be close between Tonbridge and Team Dorset. It really was
exciting and we didn’t know how we had done until the final relays
started. We were a couple of points ahead in the race for 2nd
place, but the results of the relays didn’t all go our way and we had to
wait until the final scores were announced for the confirmation that we
had clinched that vital 2nd spot.
Great cheers of delight
went up from the whole of the team – we had ensured our survival in our
first season in the Premier Division. We would have to wait a couple of
days until all results from all matches were collated and the final
positions in the league would be announced. In the end we came 11th out
of 16 teams, 2 positions and 2 points above the relegation zone.
Full results can be
accessed through the UK Young Athletes
website. Our WAC representatives for the Bracknell fixture were:
Hannah Winton, Abi Card, Alex Vaughan-Johncey, Abbie Hine, Ben Amey,
Matt Curtis, Alwyn Harries, and Jack Snook, and they certainly played
their part performing well on the day, as all our WAC representatives
have done throughout the league campaign.
It has been a huge
commitment to make it to these fixtures, as the nearest one to us has
been Basingstoke, so a big thanks to all the athletes and the parents
and helpers who have endured the antisocial early Sunday mornings and
helped to ensure another successful season for Team Dorset in the
league.
Well done everyone!
Steve Snook
